And wouldest forbear to help him— The meaning of this verse is evident enough from the parallel passage, Deuteronomy 22:4. But it is difficult to make out the literal construction of the Hebrew, as the marginal version of our Bibles may serve to shew. Parkhurst, in his Lexicon, renders it thus, "When thou shalt see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, לו מעזב וחדלת, then thou shalt forbear to leave it to him, (i.e. thou shalt not leave the beast under his burden, but shalt assist him in raising it up again, and then) עמו תעזב עזב thou shalt surely leave it with him. Notwithstanding this, if עזב ozob will bear the sense of helping, as Stockius affirms, I see no great difficulty in understanding the passage according to our version: If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee, &c. and wouldest forbear, or delay, to help him, (influenced by the narrow principles of enmity: I command thee to do far otherwise) thou shalt surely help with him. And this seems very conformable to the mode of expression, Deuteronomy 22:4. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or ox fall down, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up. In Phocylides we read,
"Should'st thou thine adversary's beast espy Fall'n in the road, pass not unheeding by; But help it."—— HARTE.