who obstinately resists it. A person of corrupt character falls into such conduct for one of two reasons: either ignorance of what it entails and what its opposite entails—in which case he is ignorant—or inclination and transgression, which constitute wrongdoing. Thus, no one commits evil deeds unless he is ignorant of them or needs them and takes pleasure in them—in which case he is a wrongdoer. He therefore forbade him to obey the ignorant and the wrongdoers.

Concerning His words:

“They wish that you would compromise,”

and the rest of the verse, He states that they want him to compromise so that they may compromise in turn. Their directions are not offered out of sincere concern. Rather, they want him to make concessions, using his concessions to pave the way for their own, and exploiting him for their purposes while posing as sincere advisers. This arises from their denial of the truth: their hearts no longer have any ultimate commitment to truth, whether truth to be sought or truth concerning what exists—neither in reporting it nor in commanding it, neither in belief nor in purposeful conduct.

Then He said:

“And do not obey any contemptible habitual swearer,”

and so forth. He mentioned four verses, each pair encompassing a category of corrupt, blameworthy character traits. Within each verse, He brought together related traits concerning statements and demands. The habitual swearer is paired with the contemptible person because a habitual swearer swears frequently, and an oath concerns either a statement or a demand: it affirms or denies, urges or restrains. A man resorts to frequent oaths in his statements only when he needs to be believed and his reports trusted. Someone who swears frequently also frequently lies in his pledges and is dependent on others; he is therefore among the most abased of people:

“A contemptible habitual swearer.”

He is a habitual swearer in his words and contemptible in his deeds.