God makes it clear to the people that their moral corruption, particularly the rot within their justice system, is fully exposed before Him. Even when bribery and injustice are conducted in secret, God sees and knows every detail [אבן עזרא, רד״ק]. The primary approach among commentators points to a legal system that has entirely collapsed into corruption, where judges actively persecute the innocent and pervert justice. The offenses committed are not merely numerous; they carry an exceptional level of severity and destructive power [מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד]. A deeper look reveals a tragic reversal in human behavior. Ordinarily, crimes committed out of deliberate rebellion are severe but rare, while sins driven by personal desire are common but considered less destructive. In this society, however, the moral decay is so profound that deliberate, rebellious crimes have become widespread, and ordinary sins of desire have grown monstrously severe [מלבי״ם].
The leaders of the court act as direct enemies to honest, innocent people [רש״י, מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ]. This widespread perversion of justice is not always motivated by financial gain. In many cases, it stems from a deeply ingrained hatred of justice and an active love for wickedness and extortion [מלבי״ם]. When money is involved, the judges are quick to accept payoffs. While this includes standard bribery to avoid legal consequences [שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל], the transactions often involve a ransom for human life. Judges take money to spare guilty individuals from the death penalty, effectively allowing murderers to buy their freedom and escape punishment [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].
This legal abuse reaches its peak at the city gates, the public arena where the courts convene [רש״י, רד״ק, שטיינזלץ]. It is in this highly visible setting that judges shamelessly and publicly deny justice to the poor [אבן עזרא, אברבנאל]. The destitute are almost always the innocent victims in these disputes, simply because they lack the power and resources to oppress anyone else [רד״ק, אברבנאל]. Because they have no wealth, their court cases rarely involve financial disagreements. Instead, they come to the judges seeking protection from physical violence and assault. Tragically, the courts accept bribes from powerful attackers, denying basic justice to the beaten and vulnerable poor who are left entirely without defense [מלבי״ם].