8 Bible Verses about Courts

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

Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

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

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

But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

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

And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, says the LORD of hosts.

Or has found that which was lost, and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any of all these that a man does, sinning therein:

And you shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

I will bring it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with its timber and its stones.

For fornicators, for homosexuals, for slave traders, for liars, for perjurers, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

Go not forth hastily to court, lest you know not what to do in the end, when your neighbor has put you to shame.

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all times: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto you, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for yourself, and they shall bear the burden with you.

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

And you shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment:

And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

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;

And if the man desires not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.

That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a bribe; and the great man, he utters his evil desire: so they weave it together.

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write misfortune which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from justice, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave not a bone till the morning.

You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Judges and officers shall you make in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, throughout your tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert judgment; you shall not show partiality, neither take a bribe: for a bribe does blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Then spoke the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. Then spoke Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will relent concerning the evil that he has pronounced against you. read more.
As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seems good and right unto you. But know you for certain, that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon its inhabitants: for of a truth the LORD has sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Say you this thing of yourself, or did others tell it to you of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you unto me: what have you done? read more.
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from here. Pilate therefore said unto him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, You say so.

And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.

And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Are you the King of the Jews?

And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answer you the high priest so?

The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the barracks, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know why they cried so against him.

If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment, between bloodsheds, between legal rights, and between assaults, being matters of controversy within your gates: then shall you arise, and get you up into the place which the LORD your God shall choose; And you shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment: And you shall do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall show you; and you shall observe to do according to all that they inform you: read more.
According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do: you shall not decline from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

And the man that will act presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.

And it came to pass on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that you do to the people? why sit you yourself alone, and all the people stand by you from morning unto evening? And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: read more.
When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that you do is not good. You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you: for this thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give you counsel, and God shall be with you: Represent the people before God, that you may bring the causes unto God: And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all times: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto you, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for yourself, and they shall bear the burden with you. If you shall do this thing, and God command you so, then you shall be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all times: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things of which these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.