Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Message—those who condemn a man with a single word, who set traps for the one brave enough to call out sin at the city gates, and who push the righteous aside with hollow pretexts.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.G—those who ensnare a man with a single word, who lay a trap for the one who rebukes at the gate, and thrust the innocent aside with empty argument.
KJV
King James VersionThat make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
BSB
Berean Standard Biblethose who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
Footnotes
"The gate" (שַׁעַר, *sha'ar*) was the civic heart of ancient Israelite city life—the seat of commerce, legal proceedings, and public discourse (cf. Ruth 4:1–12; Amos 5:12, 15; Proverbs 31:23). To rebuke "at the gate" was to speak truth publicly at maximum personal risk. The three-part indictment—entrapping with words, snaring the reprover, subverting justice—describes a system that weaponises language against truth-tellers. FOG uses "rebukes" for its legal precision; FOG Message uses "call out sin" to emphasise the prophetic courage required of the person targeted.
