63 Bible Verses about Judges

Samuel judged Israel as long as he lived.

Nevertheless Jehovah established judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but prostituted themselves to other gods. They worshiped them. They turned quickly, out of the way in which their fathers walked obeying the commandments of Jehovah. When Jehovah established judges he supported each judge. He delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days the judge lived. He had compassion for them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.read more.
When the judge was dead they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers. They followed other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They did not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

The Israelites cried out to Jehovah, and he sent someone to free them. This was Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz. The Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he became Israel's leader (judge). Othniel went to war, and Jehovah gave him the victory over the king of Mesopotamia. There was peace in the land for forty years until Othniel died.

Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. 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. She sent for Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him: Has Jehovah the God of Israel commanded, saying: 'Go and deploy troops at mount Tabor. Take ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?read more.
And I will lure Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.' Barak said to her: If you will go with me, then I will go. If you will not go with me I will not go. She said: I will surely go with you. Never the less there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking. For Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men under his command. Deborah went with him.

There was a famine in the land in the days when the judges ruled. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

Truly, such a Passover had not been kept in all the days of the judges of Israel or of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah.

When there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case. They justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. If the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge will then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence. The number of lashes is according to his guilt.

Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. Please, my brothers, he begged, do not do such a wicked thing. I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection.read more.
Stand back! they shouted. Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We will treat you far worse than those other men! They pushed Lot and began breaking down the door.

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.

Someone gives his neighbor silver or other valuables to keep for him. They are stolen from that person's house. If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount. If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor's valuables. There is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, and any other lost property which two people claim as their own. Both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor's loss with double the amount.

Moses said to the judges of Israel: Each of you put to death those men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.

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.

This is what you must do whenever a witness takes the stand to accuse a person falsely of a crime. The two people involved must stand in Jehovah's presence, in front of the priests and judges who are serving at that time. The judges must make a thorough investigation. If it is found that the witness lied when he testified against the other Israelite,read more.
do to him what he planned to do to the other person. Get rid of this evil. When other people hear about this, they will be afraid. Never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Have no pity on him: Take a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.

This is what you must do if you find a murder victim lying in a field in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. If no one knows who committed the murder, your elders and judges must go and measure the distance from the body to each of the neighboring cities.

He appointed judges in the country, in each fortified city of Judah. He told the judges: Be careful when you make your decisions in court. Remember these are Jehovah's people. He will know the judgements you decide. Do your work in honor of him and know that he will not allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.

In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my Laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me.

Then he said: Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? And if you will judge the world, are you unworthy to judge these small matters? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters that pertain to this life? If you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, would you appoint as judges those who mean nothing to the congregation?read more.
I speak to shame you. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? Not one who would be able to judge between his brothers?

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I also saw the people who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image. They had not received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

When you buy a Hebrew slave he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man without paying for his freedom. If he was single at the time you bought him he alone must be set free. If he was married at that time, both he and his wife must be given their freedom. If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He shall go out alone.read more.
What if the slave loves his wife and children so much that he will not leave without them? He must stand beside either the door or the doorpost at the place of worship. His owner will punch a small hole through one of his ears with a sharp metal rod. This makes him a slave for life.

So now let our rulers be representatives for all the people. Let all those in our towns who are married to strange women come at fixed times, and with them the responsible men and the judges of every town, till the burning wrath of our God is turned away from us, and this has been done.

The governor motioned for Paul to speak. He said, I know that you have been a judge for this nation for many years. For this reason I cheerfully make my defense.

All Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on both sides of the Ark before the priests. The Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; Half of the people stood on Mount Gerizim. And half of them stood on Mount Ebal. As Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

Later Jehovah gave Israel security from their enemies all around. By that time Joshua was very old. He called all Israel, the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of the people, and said: I am very old now. You have seen everything Jehovah your God has done to all these nations because of you. Jehovah your God fights for you.read more.
I have assigned as the possession of your tribes the land of the nations that are still left, as well as of all the nations that I have already conquered, from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Jehovah your God will make them retreat from you. He will drive them away as you advance. You will possess their land, as Jehovah your God promised you. Be careful to obey and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Do not neglect any of it. You will not associate with these peoples left among you or speak the names of their gods or use those names in taking vows or worship those gods or bow down to them. Remain faithful to Jehovah, as you have been until now. Jehovah has driven great and powerful nations from before you. No one has ever been able to stand against you. One of you can make a thousand men run away, because Jehovah your God is fighting for you, as he promised. Take heed of yourselves to love Jehovah your God. If you are disloyal and join with the nations that are still left among you and intermarry with them, Jehovah your God will no longer drive these nations out as you advance. Rather, they will be as dangerous for you as a trap or a pit and as painful as a whip on your back or thorns in your eyes. This will last until none of you are left in this good land that Jehovah your God gave you. It is time for me to die. Every one of you knows in his heart and very being that Jehovah your God has given you all the good things he promised. Every promise he made has been kept; not one has failed. Just as he kept every promise that he made to you, so he will carry out every threat. If you do not obey the covenant Jehovah your God commanded you to obey and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you. Soon none of you will be left in this good land that he gave you. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came to the presence of God. Joshua said to all the people: This is what Jehovah, the God of Israel says: 'Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Later I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought great trouble on Egypt. I led you out. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and cavalry. When your ancestors got to the Red Sea they cried out to me for help. I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt. You lived in the desert a long time. I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought you, but I gave you victory over them. You took their land. I destroyed them as you advanced.

Solomon spoke to all Israel. He spoke to the commanders of regiments and battalions, judges, every prince, and to the heads of Israel's families. Then Solomon and the entire assembly went to the place of worship in Gibeon because God's Tent of Meeting was there. Jehovah's servant Moses pitched the tent in the desert.

Appoint judges and officers for your tribes in every city Jehovah your God gives you. They are to judge the people fairly.

He appointed judges in the country, in each fortified city of Judah.

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. Then he returned home to Ramah where he judged Israel. And in Ramah he built an altar to Jehovah.

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.

He added: How I wish I were a judge! Then anyone who had a dispute or a claim could come to me. I would give him justice.

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.

If the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge will then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence. The number of lashes is according to his guilt. He must not beat him more than forty lashes. If he beats more than that your brother will be degraded in your eyes.

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.

There was a judge in a city that did not fear God and had no respect for man. There was a widow in that same city. She went to him asking for legal protection from her adversary. At first he refused. Then he thought about it and he said to himself, I do not fear God and have little respect for man.read more.
However this widow bothers me. For this reason I will avenge her. If she keeps coming to me she will wear me out. The Lord continued: Pay attention to what the unrighteous judge said. Should God avenge his chosen that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them? I say to you, that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, will the Son of man find faith on the earth when he comes?

The Levites thirty years old or older were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said: Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of Jehovah's Temple and six thousand are to be officials and judges.

From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were assigned duties away from the temple, as officials and judges over Israel.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king gathered the satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces. They came to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. The satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together at the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. They stood before the image.

And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them.

The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites (people of Susa), the Dehaites, the Elamites,

While he was seated in judgment his wife sent a message to him. She said, Do not judge that righteous man. I have had much trouble this day in a dream because of him.

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.

For example when an opponent brings you to court, try to settle before you get there. Otherwise, he will drag you in front of a judge and the judge will hand you over to an officer who will throw you into prison.

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment-seat. They were at a place called The Stone Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

Jehovah is our Judge. Jehovah is our Lawgiver. Jehovah is our King! He will save us.

I have not done you any wrong. You are doing wrong to me by making war on me. Jehovah is the judge. He will decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.'

I will let Jehovah decide which one of us has done right. I pray that Jehovah will punish you for what you are doing to me. However, I will not do anything to you.

When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent, O Jehovah, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one, as he deserves. Justify the one who is innocent.

Then the trees in the forest will sing with joy in the presence of Jehovah when he comes to judge the earth.

Though I was righteous, I could not answer him! I would beg mercy of my Judge.

Men will say: Truly there is a reward for the righteous. Truly there is a God who judges the earth.

Rise up, O Judge of the earth, Render recompense to the proud.

I do not seek my own glory. There is one that seeks and judges.

He that rejects me and does not accept my message has one that judges him. The word (divine expression) (God's Word) that I spoke shall judge him now and in the last day. (Deuteronomy 18:19)

to the general assembly and congregation of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just (righteous) (holy) men made perfect (mature) (having all needed qualities).

Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

God is a righteous judge and a God who has indignation every day.

The heavens declare his righteousness because God is the judge.

He commanded us to preach to the people. We testify that he was ordained by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

The Father does not judge any man for he has given all judgment to the Son.

He has established a day (time) in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man [Jesus] whom he has ordained. Of that he gives proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (John 5:22) (Isaiah 2:4) (Acts 10:42)

We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it is good or bad.

I solemnly charge you in the sight (presence) of God, and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: