EXOD749 It is a negative commandment for a judge not to hear the argument of one party to a lawsuit when the other party is not there for Scripture says, You shall not take up a false report [this verse]. A litigant (party to a dispute) is likewise adjured not to present his statement to the judge before his fellow-litigant comes; we read the text lo thissa, "you shall not take up" as though it were lo thassi, "you shall not cause to be taken up." Included in this prohibition is the rule not to accept and not to relate evil slander, and not to give false testimony.