Payment of Judges (2)

The principle of voluntary payments to judges is confirmed in Romans.

For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor (Rom 13:6,7 NKJV).

This passage states that judges are God’s servants. The thing that they are “attending contually” is dealing with crime and punishing of law breakers.

The work translated as “taxes” is "phoros", which has the root meaning “burden”. I find it ironic that a word for burden is translated as tax. Paul is actually making a play on words. He had earlier said that judges carry the “burden” of the sword (Rom 13:4). Their burden is a responsibility to provide justice to everyone without fear or favour. This gives Christians a burden to ensure that judges are financially supported in this work, especially if they are attending to this work continually (working at it full-time).

The word "phoros" includes a strong sense of compensation. The Roman empire required a phoros from every province as compensation for providing defence. So when Paul is saying we must pay the burden, he is saying that we must compensate judges for providing justice for us.