Thematic Bible: Corrupt


Thematic Bible







Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].


Who justify the wicked and acquit the guilty for a bribe,
And take away the rights of those who are in the right!


Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly;
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul.
So they twist the course of justice between them.


Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
Her priests teach for a fee,
And her prophets foretell for money;
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No tragedy or distress will come on us.”



Many seek the ruler’s favor,
But justice for man comes from the Lord.

Woe to those [judges] who issue unrighteous decrees, and to the magistrates who keep causing unjust and oppressive decisions to be recorded, To turn aside the needy from justice and to make plunder of the rightful claims of the poor of My people, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!


Her officials within her are roaring lions;
Her judges are [as hungry as] the wolves at evening,
They leave nothing for the morning.

Now the chief priests and the whole council (the Sanhedrin) sought to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death; But they found none, though many witnesses came forward [to testify]. At last two men came forward And testified, This Fellow said, I am able to tear down the sanctuary of the temple of God and to build it up again in three days. read more.
And the high priest stood up and said, Have You no answer to make? What about this that these men testify against You?

For he knew that it was because of envy that they had handed Him over to him. Also, while he was seated on the judgment bench, his wife sent him a message, saying, Have nothing to do with that just and upright Man, for I have had a painful experience today in a dream because of Him. But the chief priests and the elders prevailed on the people to ask for Barabbas, and put Jesus to death. read more.
Again the governor said to them, Which of the two do you wish me to release for you? And they said, Barabbas! Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with Jesus Who is called Christ? They all replied, Let Him be crucified! And he said, Why? What has He done that is evil? But they shouted all the louder, Let Him be crucified! So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was about to break out, he took water and washed his hands in the presence of the crowd, saying, I am not guilty of nor responsible for this righteous Man's blood; see to it yourselves. And all the people answered, Let His blood be on us and on our children! So he set free for them Barabbas; and he [had] Jesus whipped, and delivered Him up to be crucified.

They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) gathered together.

Now the chief priests and the entire council (the Sanhedrin) were constantly seeking [to get] testimony against Jesus with a view to condemning Him and putting Him to death, but they did not find any. For many were repeatedly bearing false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. And some stood up and were bearing false witness against Him, saying, read more.
We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) which is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands. Still not even [in this] did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have You not even one answer to make? What [about this which] these [men] are testifying against You? But He kept still and did not answer at all. Again the high priest asked Him, Are You the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I Am; and you will [all] see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power ( the Almighty) and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his garments and said, What need have we for more witnesses? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned Him as being guilty and deserving of death. And some of them began to spit on Him and to blindfold Him and to strike Him with their fists, saying to Him, Prophesy! And the guards received Him with blows and by slapping Him.

For he was aware that the chief priests had turned Jesus over to him because of envy and resentment.

But having ordered [the prisoners] to go aside out of the council [chamber], they conferred (debated) among themselves, Saying, What are we to do with these men? For that an extraordinary miracle has been performed by (through) them is plain to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may not spread further among the people and the nation, let us warn and forbid them with a stern threat to speak any more to anyone in this name [or about this Person]. read more.
[So] they summoned them and imperatively instructed them not to converse in any way or teach at all in or about the name of Jesus.

So they [secretly] instigated and instructed men to say, We have heard this man speak, using slanderous and abusive and blasphemous language against Moses and God. [Thus] they incited the people as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came upon Stephen and arrested him and took him before the council (Sanhedrin). And they brought forward false witnesses who asserted, This man never stops making statements against this sacred place and the Law [of Moses]; read more.
For we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will tear down and destroy this place, and will alter the institutions and usages which Moses transmitted to us.

At the same time he hoped to get money from Paul, for which reason he continued to send for him and was in his company and conversed with him often. But when two years had gone by, Felix was succeeded in office by Porcius Festus; and wishing to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul still a prisoner in chains.


Then one of the Twelve [apostles], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests And said, What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? And they weighed out for and paid to him thirty pieces of silver [about twenty-one dollars and sixty cents].

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent them to the elders and nobles who dwelt with Naboth in his city. And in the letters she said, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth up high among the people. And set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, You cursed and renounced God and the king. Then carry him out and stone him to death. read more.
And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who dwelt there, did as Jezebel had directed in the letters sent them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. Two base fellows came in and sat opposite him and they charged Naboth before the people, saying, Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king. Then he was carried out of the city and stoned to death. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

And there stood before these [pictures] seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense was going up [in prayer to these their gods]. Then said He to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his [secret] chambers of [idol] pictures? For they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.

When Judas, His betrayer, saw that [Jesus] was condemned, [Judas was afflicted in mind and troubled for his former folly; and] with remorse [with little more than a selfish dread of the consequences] he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, Saying, I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. They replied, What is that to us? See to that yourself.


Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy (sacred) and the profane (secular), they have not taught [people] the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

For both [false] prophet and priest are ungodly and profane; even in My house have I found their wickedness, says the Lord. Therefore their way will be to them like slippery paths in the dark; they will be driven on and fall into them. For I will bring evil upon them in the year of their punishment, says the Lord.

Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.


When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify [Him]! Crucify [Him]!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].”

In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying,


Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
Her priests teach for a fee,
And her prophets foretell for money;
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No tragedy or distress will come on us.”


Her prophets are reckless and treacherous men;
Her priests have profaned the sanctuary;
They have done violence to the law [by pretending their word is God’s word].

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead.


The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love [to have] it so!
But what will you do when the end comes?

Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy (sacred) and the profane (secular), they have not taught [people] the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Hear this and pay close attention, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear,
Because you have been a snare at Mizpah
And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).


And as bands of robbers [lie in] wait for a man,
So a band of priests murder on the road toward Shechem [covering their crimes in that city of refuge];
Certainly they have committed crimes and outrages.

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.











Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring
Is a righteous man who yields and compromises his integrity before the wicked.

Does a spring send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?