Deuteronomy 16:19

Appointing Judges And Officials

¹⁸ You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ¹⁹ You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous. ²⁰ You must pursue justice alone so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Bribe Blinds the Eyes

Pervert Justice

Show Partiality

Turn Aside

Wise Man

Wise Men

Be Partial

Show Favoritism

Wrest Judgment

Exodus 23:2

"You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,

Leviticus 19:15

"'You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.

Ecclesiastes 7:7

Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.

Exodus 23:6-8

"You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

Deuteronomy 10:17

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,

Deuteronomy 24:17

You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow's garment as security for a loan.

Deuteronomy 27:19

Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Proverbs 17:23

A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.

Proverbs 24:23

These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:

Deuteronomy 1:16-17

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner.

1 Samuel 8:3

But his sons did not follow his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.

1 Samuel 12:3

Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!"

Job 31:21-22

if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court,

Proverbs 24:28

Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!

Isaiah 1:23

Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.

Isaiah 33:15

The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others --

Jeremiah 5:28

That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Ezekiel 22:12

They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares the sovereign Lord.

Micah 7:3

They are determined to be experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.

Habakkuk 1:4

For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.

Zephaniah 3:3-5

Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning.

Acts 10:34

Then Peter started speaking: "I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,

Acts 16:37

But Paul said to the police officers, "They had us beaten in public without a proper trial -- even though we are Roman citizens -- and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!"

Acts 23:3

Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?"