כלי יקר — שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך

Q — 'שפטים ושטרים *תתן לך*' would naturally continue 'and they shall judge you righteously' — but instead it shifts to 'ושפטו את העם משפט צדק.' Why?

A — Kli Yakar reads the verse as addressed not to the people generally but specifically to the *appointer* of judges — a king, a community leader, anyone with appointing power. 'תתן לך' means: appoint judges who will judge *you* — who will not flatter the very person who appointed them. The corollary is automatic: 'ושפטו את העם משפט צדק' — kal vachomer. If they won't flatter their appointer, they certainly won't flatter strangers. The closing phrase is not a command to the judges, it's a *consequence* of the command to the appointer. Kli Yakar uses this to slam the practice of his time: appointers choose relatives and cronies — 'דומה כאילו התנה עמו בפרוש על מנת שיחניף לו' — and the corrupt precedent becomes binding for the rest of the population too.