8 Bible Verses about Courts

This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you. {By the testimony} of two or three witnesses every word will be established.

" 'If anyone kills a person, the killer will be put to death {according to the testimony} of witnesses, but someone cannot die on testimony of one person.

{On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness.

{The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}.

But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two [others], so that by {the testimony} of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.

And they incited the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came up [and] seized him and brought [him] to the Sanhedrin.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs!

And [when they] heard [this], they entered at daybreak into the temple [courts] and began teaching. Now [when] the high priest and those with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin--even the whole council of elders of the sons of Israel--and sent to the prison to have them brought.

and [after] calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.

"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.

or he finds lost property and lies about it and swears {falsely} {in regard to} any one of these things by which {a person} might commit sin,

and you shall not swear {falsely} in my name, and so [one of] you profane the name of your God; I [am] Yahweh.

'I have sent it out,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of the one swearing {falsely by my name}, and it will spend the night in that house and will destroy it, with its timber and its stone.'"

sexually immoral people, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and {whatever} else is opposed to sound teaching,

And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, {let him have} your outer garment also.

{Settle the case quickly with your accuser} while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

do not hastily bring out to court, for what will you do at its end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Does anyone among you, [if he] has a matter against someone else, dare to go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

And you will select from all the people men of ability, fearers of God, trustworthy men, haters of [dishonest] gain, and you will appoint [such men] over them [as] commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. And let them judge the people all the time, {and} every major issue they will bring to you, and every minor issue they will judge themselves. And [so] lighten [it] for yourself, and they will bear [it] with you.

And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and [then] I appointed them as leaders over you [as] commanders of [groups of] thousands and commanders of [groups of] hundreds and commanders of [groups of] fifties and commanders of [groups of] tens [as] officials for your tribes. And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, '{hear out your fellow men}, and [then] judge fairly between a man and between his brother and between {his opponent who is a resident alien}.

then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be [in office] in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you {the verdict}.

And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.

then his father and his mother shall take hold of him, and they shall bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his {town},

But if the man [does] not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, 'My brother-in-law refused {to perpetuate his brother's name} in Israel, [for] he is not willing {to marry me}.'

Their hands [are] upon evil, to do [it] well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe, and the great [man] utters the evil desire of his soul; and they weave [it] together.

Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil, and writers who have written harm, to guide [the] needy away from legal claims, and to rob the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; and they plunder orphans.

Her officials in her midst [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they leave nothing until the morning.

" 'You shall not do injustice in judgment; {you shall not show partiality to the powerless}; you shall not give preference {to the powerful}; you shall judge your fellow citizen with justice.

"You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render [for] the people {righteous judgments}. You shall not subvert justice; you shall not {show partiality}; and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind [the] eyes of [the] wise and misrepresents [the] words of [the] righteous.

Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, {saying}, "{This man deserves the death sentence}, because he has prophesied against this city as that [which] you have heard with your ears." Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, {saying}, "Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Now {therefore} amend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and Yahweh will relent of the disaster that he has spoken over you. read more.
But [as for] me, look, I [am] in your hand, do to me what [is] good and right in your eyes. Only you must certainly know that if you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves innocent blood, and on this city and on its inhabitants, for {truly} Yahweh sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears."

Then Pilate entered again into the governor's residence and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Do you say this from yourself, or have others said [this] to you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, [am I]? Your people and the chief priests handed you over to me! What have you done?" read more.
Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here." Then Pilate said to him, "So then you are a king!" Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this [reason] I was born, and for this reason I have come into the world: in order that I can testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."

So Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus said, "You say [so]."

And [after he] had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. On the next day he sat down on the judgment seat [and] gave orders [for] Paul to be brought.

He captured a young man {from Succoth} and questioned him. [The young man] listed for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

Then Pilate entered again into the governor's residence and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

Now [when] he had said these [things], one of the officers who was standing by gave a slap in the face to Jesus, saying, "Do you reply to the high priest in this way?"

the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way.

"{If a matter is too difficult for you}, [for example disputes] between blood and blood, between legal claim and legal claim and between assault and assault [and between] matters of discernment in your {towns}, then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be [in office] in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you {the verdict}. "And {you shall carry out exactly the decision} that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and {you shall diligently observe} according to all that they instruct you. read more.
[And so] according to {the instruction of the law} that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or [to the] left.

And the man who treats with contempt [so as] not to listen to the priest [who] [is] standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He used to go [on the circuit] {from year to year}. He went around Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel [in] all these places.

{And} the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, "What [is] this thing that you [are] doing for the people? Why [are] you sitting alone and all the people [are] standing by you from morning until evening?" And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to seek God. read more.
When {they have an issue}, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known God's rule and his instructions." And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Surely you will wear out, both you and this people who [are] with you, because the thing [is too] {difficult} for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God. And you warn them [of] the rules and the instructions, and you make known to them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do. And you will select from all the people men of ability, fearers of God, trustworthy men, haters of [dishonest] gain, and you will appoint [such men] over them [as] commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. And let them judge the people all the time, {and} every major issue they will bring to you, and every minor issue they will judge themselves. And [so] lighten [it] for yourself, and they will bear [it] with you. If you will do this thing and God will command you, [then] you will be able to endure, and also each of the people will go to his home in peace." And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and he did all that he had said. And Moses chose men of ability from all Israel, and he appointed them [as] heads over the people, [as] commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. And they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves.

If then I am doing wrong and have done anything deserving death, I am not trying to avoid dying. But if there is nothing [true] of [the things] which these [people] are accusing me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!"

And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, all of whom brought charges against Paul to the governor.