9 Bible Verses about Politics

And Pilate, desiring to do what was pleasing to the people, let Barabbas go free, and gave up Jesus, when he had been whipped, to be put to death on the cross.

And Pilate sent for the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, You say that this man has been teaching the people evil things: now I, after going into the question before you, see nothing wrong in this man in connection with the things which you have said against him And Herod is of the same opinion, for he has sent him back to us; for, you see, he has done nothing for which I might put him to death. read more.
And so I will give him punishment and let him go. no translation But with loud voices they said all together, Put this man to death, and make Barabbas free. Now this man was in prison because of an attack against the government in the town, in which there had been loss of life And Pilate again said to them that it was his desire to let Jesus go free. But crying out they said, To the cross with him And he said to them a third time, Why, what evil has he done? I see no reason for putting him to death: I will give him punishment and let him go. But they went on crying out loudly, Let him be put to death on the cross. And they had their way. And Pilate gave his decision for their desire to be put into effect. And in answer to their request, he let that man go free who had been in prison for acting against the government and causing death, and Jesus he gave up to their pleasure.

And he said, Why, what evil has he done? But they gave loud cries, saying, To the cross with him! So when Pilate saw that he was able to do nothing, but that trouble was working up, he took water and, washing his hands before the people, said, The blood of this upright man is not on my hands: you are responsible. And all the people made answer and said, Let his blood be on us, and on our children. read more.
Then he let Barabbas go free: but after having Jesus whipped, he gave him up to be put to death on the cross. Then the ruler's armed men took Jesus into the open square, and got all their band together.

Pilate said to him, True? what is true? Having said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I see no wrong in him. But every year you make a request to me to let a prisoner go free at the Passover. Is it your desire that I let the King of the Jews go free?

And Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I let him come out to you to make it clear to you that I see no wrong in him. Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man! So when the chief priests and the police saw him they gave a loud cry, To the cross! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and put him on the cross: I see no crime in him. read more.
And the Jews made answer, We have a law, and by that law it is right for him to be put to death because he said he was the Son of God. When this saying came to Pilate's ears his fear became greater; And he went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, You say nothing to me? is it not clear to you that I have power to let you go free and power to put you to death on the cross? Jesus gave this answer: You would have no power at all over me if it was not given to you by God; so that he who gave me up to you has the greater sin. Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar. So when these words came to Pilate's ear, he took Jesus out, seating himself in the judge's seat in a place named in Hebrew, Gabbatha, or the Stone Floor.

For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her. And he would have put him to death, but for his fear of the people, because in their eyes John was a prophet. read more.
But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her. So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for. And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was sad; but because of his oaths and because of his guests, he gave the order for it to be given to her; And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison. And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.

For Herod himself had sent men out to take John and put him in prison, because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had taken for himself. For John said to Herod, It is wrong for you to have your brother's wife. And Herodias was bitter against him, desiring to put him to death; but she was not able; read more.
For Herod was in fear of John, being conscious that he was an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And hearing him, he was much troubled; and he gave ear to him gladly. And the chance came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and did a dance, Herod and those who were at table with him were pleased with her; and the king said to the girl, Make a request for anything and I will give it you. And he took an oath, saying to her, Whatever is your desire I will give it to you, even half of my kingdom. And she went out and said to her mother, What is my request to be? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in quickly to the king, and said, My desire is that you give me straight away on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was very sad; but because of his oaths, and those who were with him at table, he would not say 'No' to her. And straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison, And came back with the head on a plate, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by. And the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the town: if I have grace in the eyes of the Lord, he will let me come back and see it and his House again: But if he says, I have no delight in you: then, here I am; let him do to me what seems good to him. read more.
The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. See, I will be waiting at the way across the river, in the waste land, till I get news from you. So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and did not go away from there.

Then a wise woman got up on the wall, and crying out from the town, said, Give ear, give ear; say now to Joab, Come near, so that I may have talk with you. And he came near, and the woman said, Are you Joab? And he said in answer, I am. Then she said, Give ear to your servant's words. And he said, I am giving ear. Then she said, In the old days, there was a saying, Let them put the question in Abel and in Dan, saying, Has what was ordered by men of good faith in Israel ever come to an end? read more.
Your purpose is the destruction of a mother-town in Israel: why would you put an end to the heritage of the Lord? And Joab, answering her, said, Far, far be it from me to be a cause of death or destruction; Not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba, son of Bichri, by name, has taken up arms against the king, against David: give up this man only, and I will go away from the town. And the woman said to Joab, His head will be dropped over the wall to you. Then the woman in her wisdom had talk with all the town. And they had Sheba's head cut off and sent out to Joab. And he had the horn sounded, and sent them all away from the town, every man to his tent. And Joab went back to Jerusalem to the king.

Then Nathan said to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, Has it not come to your ears that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king without the knowledge of David our lord? So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon. Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king? read more.
And while you are still talking there with the king, see, I will come in after you and say that your story is true. Then Bath-sheba went into the king's room; now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on him. And Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour. And he said, What is your desire? And she said to him, My lord, you took an oath by the Lord your God and gave your word to your servant, saying, Truly, Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom. And now, see, Adonijah has made himself king without my lord's knowledge; And has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the captain of the army; but he has not sent for Solomon your servant. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him. For as things are, it will come about, when my lord the king is sleeping with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son will be made outlaws. And while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they said to the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he went down on his face on the earth. And Nathan said, O my lord king, have you said, Adonijah is to be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? Because today he has gone down and has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the king's sons to come to him, with the captains of the army and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting before him and crying, Long life to King Adonijah! But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not sent for. Has this thing been done by my lord the king, without giving word to your servants who was to be placed on my lord the king's seat after him? Then King David in answer said, Send for Bath-sheba to come to me. And she came in and took her place before the king. And the king took an oath, and said, By the living Lord, who has been my saviour from all my troubles, As I took an oath to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Certainly Solomon your son will become king after me, seated on my seat in my place; so will I do this day. Then Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour, and said, May my lord King David go on living for ever. And King David said, Send for Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and put Solomon my son on my beast, yes, mine, and take him down to Gihon; And there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him to make him king over Israel; and sounding the horn say, Long life to King Solomon! Then come up after him and he will come in and take his place on the seat of my kingdom; for he is to be king in my place, and I have given orders that he is to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answering the king, said, So be it: and may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon and make the seat of his authority greater than that of my lord King David. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and put Solomon on King David's beast and took him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took the vessel of oil out of the Tent, and put the holy oil on Solomon. And when the horn was sounded, all the people said, Long life to King Solomon! And all the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and they were glad with great joy, so that the earth was shaking with the sound.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, giving him worship and making a request of him. And he said to her, What is your desire? She says to him, Let my two sons be seated, the one at your right hand, and the other at your left, in your kingdom. But Jesus made answer and said, You have no idea what you are requesting. Are you able to take of the cup which I am about to take? read more.
They say to him, We are able. He says to them, Truly, you will take of my cup: but to be seated at my right hand and at my left is not for me to give, but it is for those for whom my Father has made it ready.

Then Bath-sheba went into the king's room; now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on him. And Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour. And he said, What is your desire? And she said to him, My lord, you took an oath by the Lord your God and gave your word to your servant, saying, Truly, Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom. read more.
And now, see, Adonijah has made himself king without my lord's knowledge; And has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the captain of the army; but he has not sent for Solomon your servant. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him. For as things are, it will come about, when my lord the king is sleeping with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son will be made outlaws.

And Absalom got up early, morning after morning, and took his place at the side of the public meeting-place: and when any man had a cause which had to come to the king to be judged, then Absalom, crying out to him, said, What is your town? and he would say, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom would say to him, See, your cause is true and right; but no man has been named by the king to give you a hearing. And more than this, Absalom said, If only I was made judge in the land, so that every man who has any cause or question might come to me, and I would give a right decision for him! read more.
And if any man came near to give him honour, he took him by the hand and gave him a kiss. And this Absalom did to everyone in Israel who came to the king to have his cause judged: so Absalom, like a thief, took away the hearts of the men of Israel.

Then the chief rulers and the captains were looking for some cause for putting Daniel in the wrong in connection with the kingdom, but they were unable to put forward any wrongdoing or error against him; because he was true, and no error or wrong was to be seen in him. Then these men said, We will only get a reason for attacking Daniel in connection with the law of his God. Then these chief rulers and the captains came to the king and said to him, O King Darius, have life for ever. read more.
All the chief rulers of the kingdom, the chiefs and the captains, the wise men and the rulers, have made a common decision to put in force a law having the king's authority, and to give a strong order, that whoever makes any request to any god or man but you, O King, for thirty days, is to be put into the lions' hole. Now, O King, put the order in force, signing the writing so that it may not be changed, like the law of the Medes and Persians which may not come to an end. For this reason King Darius put his name on the writing and the order. And Daniel, on hearing that the writing had been signed, went into his house; (now he had windows in his room on the roof opening in the direction of Jerusalem;) and three times a day he went down on his knees in prayer and praise before his God, as he had done before. Then these men were watching and saw Daniel making prayers and requesting grace before his God. Then they came near before the king and said, O King, have you not put your name to an order that any man who makes a request to any god or man but you, O King, for thirty days, is to be put into the lions' hole? The king made answer and said, The thing is fixed by the law of the Medes and Persians which may not come to an end. Then they made answer and said before the king, Daniel, one of the prisoners of Judah, has no respect for you, O King, or for the order signed by you, but three times a day he makes his prayer to God. When this thing came to the king's ears, it was very evil to him, and his heart was fixed on keeping Daniel safe, and till the going down of the sun he was doing everything in his power to get him free. Then these men said to the king, Be certain, O King, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no order or law which the king has put into force may be changed.

The sinners are walking on every side, and evil is honoured among the children of men.