8 Bible Verses about Courts

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

“If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness.

The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.

“One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established.

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.

They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, dragged him off, and took him to the Sanhedrin.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs?

In obedience to this, they entered the temple complex at daybreak and began to teach.

When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full Senate of the sons of Israel—and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do—

You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

I will send it out,”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”

for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching

As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

Don’t take a matter to court hastily.
Otherwise, what will you do afterward
if your opponent humiliates you?

If any of you has a legal dispute against another, do you dare go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place [them] over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every important case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear [it] with you.

"So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: officials for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes. I commanded your judges at that time: Hear [the cases] between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.

You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.

his father and mother must take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown.

But if the man doesn’t want to marry his sister-in-law, she must go to the elders at the city gate and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He isn’t willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.’

Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.

Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless.

The princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are wolves of the night,
which leave nothing for the morning.

“You must not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.

"Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. Do not deny justice or show partiality [to anyone]. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears." Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people, "The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this temple and city. So now, correct your ways and deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God so that He might relent concerning the disaster that He warned about. read more.
As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the Lord has sent me to speak all these things directly to you."

Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?" "I'm not a Jew, am I?" Pilate replied. "Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?" read more.
"My kingdom is not of this world," said Jesus. "If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here." "You are a king then?" Pilate asked. "You say that I'm a king," Jesus replied. "I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice."

Now Jesus stood before the governor. “Are You the King of the Jews?” the governor asked Him.

Jesus answered, “You have said it.”

When he had spent not more than eight or 10 days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the judge’s bench, he commanded Paul to be brought in.

He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the 77 princes and elders of Succoth.

Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

When He had said these things, one of the temple police standing by slapped Jesus, saying, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be examined with the scourge, so he could discover the reason they were shouting against him like this.

"If a case is too difficult for you-concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults-cases disputed at your gates, you must go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. read more.
You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you.

The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Samuel judged Israel throughout his life. Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.

The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you're doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?" Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. read more.
Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach [them] God's statutes and laws." "What you're doing is not good," Moses' father-in-law said to him. "You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can't do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to Him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place [them] over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every important case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear [it] with you. If you do this, and God [so] directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people [as] officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They judged the people at all times; the hard cases they would bring to Moses, but every minor case they would judge themselves.

If then I am doing wrong, or have done anything deserving of death, I do not refuse to die, but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

After five days Ananias the high priest came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. These men presented their case against Paul to the governor.