Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Exodus 23:7/ספורנו על שמות כ״ג:ז׳

אמִדְּבַר שֶׁקֶר תִּרְחָק. מִכָּל דָּבָר שֶׁיּוּכַל לְסַבֵּב שֶׁקֶר, כְּאָמְרָם זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (אבות א:ט) "הֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּדְבָרֶיךָ, שֶׁמָּא מִתּוֹכָם יִלְמְדוּ לְשַׁקֵּר".
1מדבר שקר תרחק, the Torah addresses the judge, telling him to stay clear of anything which could create the impression that he has dealings with something corrupt. Our sages enlarge on this, cautioning that the judge must be careful with all his utterances so that a liar cannot exploit his words for his own nefarious purposes. (Avot 1,9)