59 Bible Verses about Leaders, Political

And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the hand of their spoilers;

And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is judging Israel at that time,

And it cometh to pass, when Samuel is aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel. And the name of his first-born son is Joel, and the name of his second Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba: and his sons have not walked in his ways, and turn aside after the dishonest gain, and take a bribe, and turn aside judgment.read more.
And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath, and say unto him, 'Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.' And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, 'Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah. And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people, to all that they say unto thee, for thee they have not rejected, but Me they have rejected, from reigning over them. According to all the works that they have done from the day of My bringing them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, when they forsake Me, and serve other gods -- so they are doing also to thee. And now, hearken to their voice; only, surely thou dost certainly protest to them, and hast declared to them the custom of the king who doth reign over them.' And Samuel speaketh all the words of Jehovah unto the people who are asking from him a king, and saith, 'This is the custom of the king who doth reign over you: Your sons he doth take, and hath appointed for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen, and they have run before his chariots; also to appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; also to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make instruments of his war, and instruments of his charioteer. 'And your daughters he doth take for perfumers, and for cooks, and for bakers; and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards -- the best -- he doth take, and hath given to his servants. And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants. And your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your young men -- the best, and your asses, he doth take, and hath prepared for his own work; your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants. And ye have cried out in that day because of the king whom ye have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah doth not answer you in that day.' And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, 'Nay, but a king is over us, and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.' And Samuel heareth all the words of the people, and speaketh them in the ears of Jehovah;

And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, 'Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king. And Samuel saith, 'How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come; and thou hast called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause thee to know that which thou dost do, and thou hast anointed to Me him of whom I speak unto thee.'read more.
And Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and one saith, 'Is thy coming peace?' and he saith, 'Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice. And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, that he seeth Eliab, and saith, 'Surely, before Jehovah is His anointed.' And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Look not unto his appearance, and unto the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth -- for man looketh at the eyes, and Jehovah looketh at the heart.' And Jesse calleth unto Abinadab, and causeth him to pass by before Samuel; and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.' And Jesse causeth Shammah to pass by, and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.' And Jesse causeth seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel saith to Jesse, 'Jehovah hath not fixed on these.' And Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Are the young men finished?' and he saith, 'Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.' And he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he is ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, 'Rise, anoint him, for this is he.' And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

'When thy days are full, and thou hast lain with thy fathers, then I have raised up thy seed after thee which goeth out from thy bowels, and have established his kingdom;

And king David answereth and saith, 'Call for me for Bath-Sheba;' and she cometh in before the king, and standeth before the king. And the king sweareth and saith, 'Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity; surely as I sware to thee by Jehovah, God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne in my stead; surely so I do this day.'read more.
And Bath-Sheba boweth -- face to the earth -- and doth obeisance to the king, and saith, 'Let my lord, king David, live to the age.' And king David saith, 'Call for me for Zadok the priest, and for Nathan the prophet, and for Benaiah son of Jehoiada;' and they come in before the king. And the king saith to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and ye have caused Solomon my son to ride on mine own mule, and caused him to go down unto Gihon, and anointed him there hath Zadok the priest -- and Nathan the prophet -- for king over Israel, and ye have blown with a trumpet, and said, Let king Solomon live; and ye have come up after him, and he hath come in and hath sat on my throne, and he doth reign in my stead, and him I have appointed to be leader over Israel, and over Judah.' And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answereth the king, and saith, 'Amen! so doth Jehovah, God of my lord the king, say; as Jehovah hath been with my lord the king, so is He with Solomon, and doth make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.' And Zadok the priest goeth down, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause Solomon to ride on the mule of king David, and cause him to go unto Gihon, and Zadok the priest taketh the horn of oil out of the tent, and anointeth Solomon, and they blow with a trumpet, and all the people say, 'Let king Solomon live.' And all the people come up after him, and the people are piping with pipes, and rejoicing -- great joy, and the earth rendeth with their voice.

And Moses cometh, and calleth for the elders of the people, and setteth before them all these words which Jehovah hath commanded him;

When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it -- fallen in a field -- it is not known who hath smitten him, then have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which are round about the slain one,

And Boaz hath gone up to the gate, and sitteth there, and lo, the redeemer is passing by of whom Boaz had spoken, and he saith, 'Turn aside, sit down here, such a one, such a one;' and he turneth aside and sitteth down. And he taketh ten men of the elders of the city, and saith, 'Sit down here;' and they sit down.

When I go out to the gate by the city, In a broad place I prepare my seat. Seen me have youths, and they, been hidden, And the aged have risen -- they stood up. Princes have kept in words, And a hand they place on their mouth.read more.
The voice of leaders hath been hidden, And their tongue to the palate hath cleaved. For the ear heard, and declareth me happy, And the eye hath seen, and testifieth to me. For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who hath no helper.

And in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar -- Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother, tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene --

And Samuel judgeth Israel all the days of his life,

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Hew for thyself two tables of stone like the first, and I have written on the tables the words which were on the first tables which thou hast broken;

he hath turned aside the high places, and broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cut down the shrine, and beaten down the brazen serpent that Moses made, for unto these days were the sons of Israel making perfume to it, and he calleth it 'a piece of brass.'

And at the completion of all this, gone out have all Israel who are found present to the cities of Judah, and break the standing-pillars, and cut down the shrines, and break down the high places and the altars, out of all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, even to completion, and all the sons of Israel turn back, each to his Possession, to their cities.

And these are they whom David stationed over the parts of the song of the house of Jehovah, from the resting of the ark,

and saith to Jeroboam, 'Take to thee ten pieces, for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, I am rending the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and have given to thee the ten tribes,

and now, come, and I send thee unto Pharaoh, and bring thou out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.'

And Jehovah turneth unto him and saith, 'Go in this -- thy power; and thou hast saved Israel out of the hand of Midian -- have not I sent thee.'

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.

And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, 'Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah. And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people, to all that they say unto thee, for thee they have not rejected, but Me they have rejected, from reigning over them. According to all the works that they have done from the day of My bringing them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, when they forsake Me, and serve other gods -- so they are doing also to thee.

and say unto him, 'Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.'

For he delivereth the needy who crieth, And the poor when he hath no helper, He hath pity on the poor and needy, And the souls of the needy he saveth, From fraud and from violence he redeemeth their soul, And precious is their blood in his eyes.

He judgeth Thy people with righteousness, And Thy poor with judgment.

A king sitting on a throne of judgment, Is scattering with his eyes all evil,

A king by judgment establisheth a land, And one receiving gifts throweth it down.

To the increase of the princely power, And of peace, there is no end, On the throne of David, and on his kingdom, To establish it, and to support it, In judgment and in righteousness, Henceforth, even unto the age, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this.

To refresh him in the fear of Jehovah, And by the sight of his eyes he judgeth not, Nor by the hearing of his ears decideth. And he hath judged in righteousness the poor, And decided in uprightness for the humble of earth, And hath smitten earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips he putteth the wicked to death.

And He fixeth on David His servant, And taketh him from the folds of a flock, From behind suckling ones He hath brought him in, To rule over Jacob His people, And over Israel His inheritance. And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!

Son of man, prophesy concerning shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and thou hast said unto them: To the shepherds, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, Who have been feeding themselves! The flock do not the shepherds feed? The fat ye do eat, and the wool ye put on, The fed one ye slaughter, the flock ye feed not. The weak ye have not strengthened, And the sick one ye have not healed, And the broken ye have not bound up, And the driven away have not brought back, And the lost ye have not sought, And with might ye have ruled them and with rigour.read more.
And they are scattered from want of a shepherd, And are for food to every beast of the field, Yea, they are scattered. Go astray do My flock on all the mountains, And on every high hill, And on all the face of the land have My flock been scattered, And there is none inquiring, and none seeking.

And a rod hath come out from the stock of Jesse, And a branch from his roots is fruitful. Rested on him hath the Spirit of Jehovah, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah.

And it hath been, when he sitteth on the throne of his kingdom, that he hath written for himself the copy of this law, on a book, from that before the priests the Levites, and it hath been with him, and he hath read in it all days of his life, so that he doth learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law, and these statutes, to do them; so that his heart is not high above his brethren, and so as not to turn aside from the command, right or left, so that he prolongeth days over his kingdom, he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.

To refresh him in the fear of Jehovah, And by the sight of his eyes he judgeth not, Nor by the hearing of his ears decideth.

And righteousness hath been the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness -- the girdle of his reins.

By me kings reign, and princes decree righteousness, By me do chiefs rule, and nobles, All judges of the earth.

and Jesus having called them near, said, 'Ye have known that the rulers of the nations do exercise lordship over them, and those great do exercise authority over them,

'Only, he doth not multiply to himself horses, nor cause the people to turn back to Egypt, so as to multiply horses, seeing Jehovah hath said to you, Ye do not add to turn back in this way any more. And he doth not multiply to himself wives, and his heart doth not turn aside, and silver and gold he doth not multiply to himself -- exceedingly.

and saith, 'This is the custom of the king who doth reign over you: Your sons he doth take, and hath appointed for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen, and they have run before his chariots; also to appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; also to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make instruments of his war, and instruments of his charioteer. 'And your daughters he doth take for perfumers, and for cooks, and for bakers;read more.
and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards -- the best -- he doth take, and hath given to his servants. And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants. And your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your young men -- the best, and your asses, he doth take, and hath prepared for his own work; your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants.

Thy father made hard our yoke, and thou, now, make light some of the hard service of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

Woe to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, On his neighbour he layeth service for nought, And his wage he doth not give to him.

And he waiteth seven days, according to the appointment with Samuel, and Samuel hath not come to Gilgal, and the people are scattered from off him. And Saul saith, 'Bring nigh unto me the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings;' and he causeth the burnt-offering to ascend. And it cometh to pass at his completing to cause the burnt-offering to ascend, that lo, Samuel hath come, and Saul goeth out to meet him, to bless him;read more.
and Samuel saith, 'What hast thou done?' And Saul saith, 'Because I saw that the people were scattered from off me, and thou hadst not come at the appointment of the days, and the Philistines are gathered to Michmash, and I say, Now do the Philistines come down unto me to Gilgal, and the face of Jehovah I have not appeased; and I force myself, and cause the burnt-offering to ascend.' And Samuel saith unto Saul, 'Thou hast been foolish; thou hast not kept the command of Jehovah thy God, which He commanded thee, for now had Jehovah established thy kingdom over Israel unto the age;

And at his being strong his heart hath been high unto destruction, and he trespasseth against Jehovah his God, and goeth in unto the temple of Jehovah to make perfume upon the altar of perfume. And Azariah the priest goeth in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah eighty, sons of valour, and they stand up against Uzziah the king, and say to him, 'Not for thee, O Uzziah, to make perfume to Jehovah, but for priests, sons of Aaron, who are sanctified to make perfume; go forth from the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed, and it is not to thee for honour from Jehovah God.'

Then doth Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is on the front of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the sons of Ammon; and so he hath done for all his strange women, who are perfuming and sacrificing to their gods.

A son of twelve years is Manasseh in his reigning, and fifty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Hephzi-Bah; and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel, and he turneth and buildeth the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed, and raiseth altars for Baal, and maketh a shrine, as did Ahab king of Israel, and boweth himself to all the host of the heavens, and serveth them.read more.
And he hath built altars in the house of Jehovah, of which Jehovah said, 'In Jerusalem I put My name.' And he buildeth altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Jehovah; and he hath caused his son to pass through fire, and observed clouds, and used enchantment, and dealt with a familiar spirit and wizards; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah -- to provoke to anger.

Woe to those going down to Egypt for help, And on horses lean, And trust on chariots, because many, And on horsemen, because very strong, And have not looked on the Holy One of Israel, And Jehovah have not sought.

At that time hath Berodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick;

Woe to apostate sons, The affirmation of Jehovah! To do counsel, and not from Me, And to spread out a covering, and not of My spirit, So as to add sin to sin. Who are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt.

And Ephraim is as a simple dove without heart, Egypt they called on -- to Asshur they have gone.

and he said to them, 'Having gone, say to this fox, Lo, I cast forth demons, and perfect cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I am being perfected;

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his head on his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things he hath said. Answered hath Daniel and said, 'I was seeing in my vision by night, and lo, the four winds of the heavens are coming forth to the great sea; and four great beasts are coming up from the sea, diverse one from another.read more.
The first is like a lion, and it hath an eagle's wings. I was seeing till that its wings have been plucked, and it hath been lifted up from the earth, and on feet as a man it hath been caused to stand, and a heart of man is given to it. And lo, another beast, a second, like to a bear, and to the same authority it hath been raised, and three ribs are in its mouth, between its teeth, and thus they are saying to it, Rise, consume much flesh. 'After this I was seeing, and lo, another like a leopard, and it hath four wings of a fowl on its back, and four heads hath the beast, and dominion is given to it. After this I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and fearful, and exceedingly strong; and it hath iron teeth very great, it hath consumed, yea, it doth break small, and the remnant with its feet it hath trampled; and it is diverse from all the beasts that are before it; and it hath ten horns.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw out of the sea a beast coming up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads a name of evil speaking, and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed, and all the earth did wonder after the beast,

Let every soul to the higher authorities be subject, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities existing are appointed by God,

Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only because of the wrath, but also because of the conscience,

Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest, whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good; because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men;read more.
as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God; to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye.

And Peter and the apostles answering, said, 'To obey God it behoveth, rather than men;

And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'

Then they have answered, yea, they are saying before the king, that, 'Daniel, who is of the sons of the Removed of Judah, hath not placed on thee, O king, any regard, nor on the interdict that thou hast signed, and three times in a day he is seeking his petition.'

I exhort, then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, for all men: for kings, and all who are in authority, that a quiet and peaceable life we may lead in all piety and gravity,