Thematic Bible: Courts of justice


Thematic Bible



This third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established.

At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.

And in your law too it is written that the testimony of two men is true:


then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.

And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer:


"Tell of it, you who ride on tawny asses, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.

But, as he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered to-day many things in a dream because of him.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening.



And when it was morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus so that they might put him to death.

And when they heard it, they entered very early into the temple and taught. And when the high priest was come, and they that were with him, they called together the council and all the elderhood of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

House of David, thus saith Jehovah: Judge with justice in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

And when it was day, the elderhood of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, were gathered together, and led him into their council, saying,


And they judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment: ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's; and the matter that is too hard for you shall ye bring to me, that I may hear it.

If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between cause and cause, and between stroke and stroke, matters of controversy within thy gates, then shalt thou arise, and go up to the place which Jehovah thy God will choose. And thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment;


And often punishing them in all the synagogues, I compelled them to blaspheme. And, being exceedingly furious against them, I persecuted them even to cities out of our own land.


And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those that believe on thee;

for if there come unto your synagogue a man with a gold ring in splendid apparel, and a poor man also come in in vile apparel,


And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up;

And Jehovah said to Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and their officers; and take them to the tent of meeting, and they shall stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, and thou shalt not bear it alone.

And Moses went out and told the people the words of Jehovah; and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tent. And Jehovah came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men, the elders; and it came to pass, that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not repeat it. And two men remained in the camp, the name of the one, Eldad, and the name of the other, Medad; and the Spirit rested upon them (and they were among them that were written, but they had not gone out to the tent); and they prophesied in the camp. read more.
And there ran a youth, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them! But Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, and that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them! And Moses withdrew into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.



But thou, why judgest thou thy brother? or again, thou, why dost thou make little of thy brother? for we shall all be placed before the judgment-seat of God.

Do ye not then know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy of the smallest judgments?


And it shall be if the wicked man have deserved to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and be beaten before his face, according to the measure of his wickedness with a certain number of stripes.

And Joshua said, How hast thou troubled us! Jehovah will trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.

And Pilate, desirous of contenting the crowd, released to them Barabbas, and delivered up Jesus, when he had scourged him, that he might be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the court which is called the praetorium, and they call together the whole band. And they clothe him with purple, and bind round on him a crown of thorns which they had plaited. read more.
And they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and, bending the knee, did him homage. And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own clothes on him; and they lead him out that they may crucify him.


But a certain man, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honour of all the people, rose up in the council, and commanded to put the men out for a short while, and said to them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves as regards these men what ye are going to do; for before these days Theudas rose up, alleging himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, were joined; who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed and came to nothing. read more.
After him rose Judas the Galilean in the days of the census, and drew away a number of people after him; and he perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. And now I say to you, Withdraw from these men and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work have its origin from men, it will be destroyed; but if it be from God, ye will not be able to put them down, lest ye be found also fighters against God. And they listened to his advice; and having called the apostles, they beat them, and enjoined them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.

Then Festus, having conferred with the council, answered, Thou hast appealed to Caesar. To Caesar shalt thou go.

And the king stood up, and the governor and Bernice, and those who sat with them, and having gone apart, they spoke to one another saying, This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.


And he charged them saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of Jehovah faithfully and with a perfect heart.

And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment. And now, let the terror of Jehovah be upon you; be careful what ye do, for there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons, nor taking of presents.


Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.

And he set judges in the land throughout the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment. And now, let the terror of Jehovah be upon you; be careful what ye do, for there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons, nor taking of presents.


And Agrippa said to Paul, It is permitted thee to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretching out his hand answered in his defence:

And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

But Paul, the governor having beckoned to him to speak, answered, Knowing that for many years thou hast been judge to this nation, I answer readily as to the things which concern myself.


And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been let go if he had not appealed to Caesar.

But the Jews speaking against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not as having anything to accuse my nation of.

If then I have done any wrong and committed anything worthy of death, I do not deprecate dying; but if there is nothing of those things of which they accuse me, no man can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.




His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer:


The chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many signs.

And when it was day, the elderhood of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, were gathered together, and led him into their council, saying,

And they bring them and set them in the council. And the high priest asked them,


Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the lowly, nor honour the person of the great; in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Jehovah our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have stayed long enough in this mountain.



Woe unto them that decree iniquitous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression,

that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat.


And the man that shall act presumptuously, and not hearken unto the priest that standeth to serve there before Jehovah thy God, or unto the judge, that man shall die; and thou shalt put away evil from Israel.

Now Deb'orah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapp'idoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deb'orah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of E'phraim; and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.


Make friends with thine adverse party quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest some time the adverse party deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.


And Samuel did what Jehovah said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably?

But if the man like not to take his brother's wife, his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel: he will not perform for me the duty of a husband's brother.


And the first woman said, Ah, my lord! I and this woman abode in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two were in the house. And this woman's child died in the night; because she had lain upon it. read more.
And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.

And her masters, seeing that the hope of their gains was gone, having seized Paul and Silas, dragged them into the market before the magistrates; and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews, and announce customs which it is not lawful for us to receive nor practise, being Romans.



Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe; for the bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.



And thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment;


Now they that had seized Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

And the chief priests and the elders and the whole sanhedrim sought false witness against Jesus, so that they might put him to death.



But as he said these things, one of the officers who stood by gave a blow on the face to Jesus, saying, Answerest thou the high priest thus? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?


And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment.

But Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor questioned him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, Thou sayest.


And if any one sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness whether he hath seen or known it, if he do not give information, then he shall bear his iniquity.

But Jesus was silent. And the high priest answering said to him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us if thou art the Christ the Son of God.


And Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there. And behold, he that had the right of redemption, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. And he said, Thou, such a one, turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

So the field of Ephron, which was at Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its borders round about, were assured to Abraham for a possession before the eyes of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah, opposite to Mamre: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. read more.
And the field and the cave that was in it were assured to Abraham for a possession of a sepulchre by the sons of Heth.


to whom I answered, It is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man before that the accused have the accusers face to face, and he have got opportunity of defence touching the charge.

If there be a controversy between men, and they resort to judgment, and they judge their case; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.


But Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor questioned him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, Thou sayest.

And having bound him they led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.


and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul.

The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.


And Absalom said, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any controversy and cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!

And they judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.


But do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place them over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens,

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens.


Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.

Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause.


the chiliarch commanded him to be brought into the fortress, saying that he should be examined by scourging, that he might ascertain for what cause they cried thus against him.

Immediately therefore those who were going to examine him left him, and the chiliarch also was afraid when he ascertained that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.


They lead therefore Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium; and it was early morn. And they entered not into the praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but eat the passover.

and went into the praetorium again and says to Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.


and thou shalt do according to the tenor of the word, which they of that place which Jehovah will choose shall declare unto thee; and thou shalt take heed to do according to all that they instruct thee: according to the sentence of the law which they shall declare unto thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the word which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, or the left.


And he set judges in the land throughout the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment. And now, let the terror of Jehovah be upon you; be careful what ye do, for there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons, nor taking of presents. read more.
And moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set some of the Levites And priests, And of the chief fathers of Israel, for the judgment of Jehovah And for causes. And they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of Jehovah faithfully and with a perfect heart. And what cause soever comes to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against Jehovah, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do and ye shall not trespass.


Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.


and the judges shall make thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother,


then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.


And the high priest standing up said to him, Answerest thou nothing? What do these witness against thee? But Jesus was silent. And the high priest answering said to him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us if thou art the Christ the Son of God. Jesus says to him, Thou hast said. Moreover, I say to you, From henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. read more.
Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He has blasphemed: what need have we any more of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? And they answering said, He is liable to the penalty of death.


Now they that had seized Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. And Peter followed him at a distance, even to the palace of the high priest, and entering in sat with the officers to see the end.


If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between cause and cause, and between stroke and stroke, matters of controversy within thy gates, then shalt thou arise, and go up to the place which Jehovah thy God will choose.


Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He has blasphemed: what need have we any more of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? And they answering said, He is liable to the penalty of death.


And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening. And Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening? And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God. read more.
When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known to them the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good. Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee: thou canst not perform it alone. Hearken now to my voice: I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with God, and bring the matters before God; and teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.


Lead the reviler outside the camp; and all that heard him shall lay their hands upon his head, and the whole assembly shall stone him.


Open thy mouth for the dumb, for the cause of all those that are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister justice to the afflicted and needy.


These are the things that ye shall do: Speak truth every one with his neighbour; execute truth and the judgment of peace in your gates;


But as Paul was going to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If indeed it was some wrong or wicked criminality, O Jews, of reason I should have borne with you; but if it be questions about words, and names, and the law that ye have, see to it yourselves; for I do not intend to be judge of these things.


But as they stretched him forward with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? And the centurion, having heard it, went and reported it to the chiliarch, saying, What art thou going to do? for this man is a Roman. And the chiliarch coming up said to him, Tell me, Art thou a Roman? And he said, Yes. read more.
And the chiliarch answered, I, for a great sum, bought this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was also free born. Immediately therefore those who were going to examine him left him, and the chiliarch also was afraid when he ascertained that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.


And his lord being angry delivered him to the tormentors till he paid all that was owing to him.


And in controversy they shall stand to judge: they shall judge it according to my judgments; and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my solemnities; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.


Let every soul be subject to the authorities that are above him. For there is no authority except from God; and those that exist are set up by God. So that he that sets himself in opposition to the authority resists the ordinance of God; and they who thus resist shall bring sentence of guilt on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to a good work, but to an evil one. Dost thou desire then not to be afraid of the authority? practise what is good, and thou shalt have praise from it; read more.
for it is God's minister to thee for good. But if thou practisest evil, fear; for it bears not the sword in vain; for it is God's minister, an avenger for wrath to him that does evil. Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of conscience.


Woe unto them that decree iniquitous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression,


And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to Jehovah the God of Israel, and make confession to him: tell me now what thou hast done, keep it not back from me.


"Tell of it, you who ride on tawny asses, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.


Pilate therefore said to them, Take him, ye, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him, It is not permitted to us to put any one to death;


For as thou goest with thine adverse party before a magistrate, strive in the way to be reconciled with him, lest he drag thee away to the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.


And after five days came down the high priest Ananias, with the elders, and a certain orator called Tertullus, and laid their informations against Paul before the governor.


Does our law judge a man before it have first heard from himself, and know what he does?


having commanded his accusers to come to thee; of whom thou canst thyself, in examining him, know the certainty of all these things of which we accuse him.


And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, which is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knows them not.