8 Bible Verses about Courts

This is now the third time that I am coming to visit you. The testimony of two or three witnesses must uphold an accusation. (Deuteronomy 19:15)

Those accused of murder may be found guilty and put to death only on the evidence of two or more witnesses. The evidence of one witness is not sufficient to support an accusation of murder.

On the evidence and testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.

One witness is not enough to convict someone of a crime, offense, or sin he may have committed. Cases must be settled based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

If he does not listen to you, take one or two more people with you. Two or three witnesses may prove every case.

Now I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother [without cause] shall be guilty before the court. Whoever speaks to his brother with words of contempt shall receive condemnation before the Sanhedrin [Supreme Court]. Curse your brother and you will be guilty enough to be destroyed by fire, with the burning trash, at the Valley of Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem (Greek: Gehenna).

They stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and pursued him. They caught him and brought him to the council.

The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council. They asked what they should do. This man does many signs and miracles.

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

He called together all the chief priests and teachers of the Law and asked where will the Messiah be born?

I will approach you people for judgment! I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers and those acting fraudulently with the wages of the worker, the widow and the fatherless. I will be a speedy witness against those who swear falsely and take advantage of the stranger, and do not show me reverence, said Jehovah of Hosts.

If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this,

Do not swear falsely by my name, so as to profane the name of your God. I am Jehovah.

I will cause it to happen, said Jehovah of Hosts, and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of he who swears falsely by my name. The curse will abide in the midst of his house and will consume it with the timber and the stones of the house.

It is for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and everything else that is contrary to the sound teaching.

If someone takes you to court to sue you and takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

Come to an agreement quickly with the one who has a legal case against you. Do it before he turns the case over to the judge and you are thrown into jail.

Do not run quickly to court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame.

If you have a dispute with another [Christian] do you dare to go to a law court before judges who are ungodly? Why not let the holy ones decide who is right?

You should choose capable men from all the people. Find men who respect God. These must be men you can trust who hate corruption. Put them in charge of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They must be the ones who usually settle disagreements among the people. They should bring all-important cases to you. But they should settle all minor cases themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them help you.

So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them rulers over you. I made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. I charged your judges to hear the cases between your countrymen and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger with him.

Approach the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days. Inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case.

She held court under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. The children of Israel came to her for judgment.

His father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown.

If the man does not desire to take his brother's wife, his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say: My husband's brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.

They diligently seek to do evil with their hands. The prince asks and the judge is ready for a bribe. The great man utters his own evil desire. They weave it together.

How horrible it will be for those who enact unjust laws and who decree oppressive regulations. They deprive the poor of justice. They take away the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and rob orphans.

Her princes (rulers) within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing till the morning.

Do no injustice in judgment. Do not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great. Judge your neighbor fairly.

Appoint judges and officers for your tribes in every city Jehovah your God gives you. They are to judge the people fairly. Never pervert justice. Always be impartial. Never take a bribe, because bribes blind wise people and deny justice to those who are in the right.

The priests and the prophets said to the leaders and to the people: This man deserves to be sentenced to death because he has spoken against our city. You heard him with your own ears. Then I Jeremiah said: Jehovah sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this Temple and against this city. You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing. You must obey Jehovah your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you. read more.
I am in your hand (power)! Do with me whatever you think is fair and right. But if you put me to death, you and everyone else in Jerusalem will be guilty of murdering an innocent man. This is because everything I spoke came from Jehovah.

Pilate entered again into the Praetorium. He called Jesus and asked him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered: You say this about me. Or did others tell you it concerning me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me! What have you done? read more.
Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world! If my kingdom were of this world my servants would fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. My kingdom is not from this domain. Pilate said: Are you a king then? Jesus answered: As you say I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this purpose, that I should bear witness to the truth! Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.

Jesus stood before the governor. He asked him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus said to him: It is as you say.

After he stayed there more than ten days, he went to Caesarea. The next day he sat in judgment. He commanded Paul be brought before him.

He captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him. He described the princes of Succoth, and the elders and even seventy-seven men.

Pilate entered again into the Praetorium. He called Jesus and asked him: Are you the King of the Jews?

When he said this one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus with his hand, saying: You answer the high priest!

The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the barracks. He told them to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him.

If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your courts, then you should go to the place Jehovah your God chooses. Approach the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days. Inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case. Act according to the terms of the verdict they declare to you from that place Jehovah chooses. Be careful to abide by all that they teach you. read more.
Act according to the verdict and the terms they tell you. Do not turn away from the word they declare to you.

The man who acts presumptuously and does not listen to the priest or the judge will die. This way you will purge the evil from Israel. The priests and judges are there to serve Jehovah your God.

Samuel judged Israel as long as he lived. Every year he went around to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah in order to judge Israel in all those places.

The next day Moses settled disputes among the people. He was busy from morning till night. Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do. He asked: What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone? There are people standing here from morning till night to consult you? Moses answered: They come here to find out what God wants them to do. read more.
They bring their complaints to me. I make decisions on the basis of God's laws. Jethro replied: That is not a good way to do it. You and your people will wear yourselves out. This is too much work for you. You cannot do it alone! Listen to the advice I give you. May God be with you! You must be the people's representative to God and bring their disagreements to him. You must instruct them in the laws and the teachings. Show them how to live and tell them what to do. You should choose capable men from all the people. Find men who respect God. These must be men you can trust who hate corruption. Put them in charge of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They must be the ones who usually settle disagreements among the people. They should bring all-important cases to you. But they should settle all minor cases themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them help you. If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out. All these people can go home with their disputes settled. Moses took Jethro's advice and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They judged the people on a permanent basis. The difficult cases were taken to Moses but they decided the smaller disputes themselves.

If I am a wrongdoer, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if charges brought against me by the Jews are not true no man has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.

After five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders. They brought an orator, Tertullus, who made a statement to the governor against Paul.