35 Bible Verses about Lawsuits

Most Relevant Verses

Exodus 23:6

Let no wrong decisions be given in the poor man's cause.

Exodus 23:3

But, on the other hand, do not be turned from what is right in order to give support to a poor man's cause.

Leviticus 19:15

Do no wrong in your judging: do not give thought to the position of the poor, or honour to the position of the great; but be a judge to your neighbour in righteousness.

Deuteronomy 1:17

In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

Proverbs 22:22-23

Do not take away the property of the poor man because he is poor, or be cruel to the crushed ones when they come before the judge: For the Lord will give support to their cause, and take the life of those who take their goods.

Exodus 23:1-2

Do not let a false statement go further; do not make an agreement with evil-doers to be a false witness. Do not be moved to do wrong by the general opinion, or give the support of your words to a wrong decision:

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

One witness may not make a statement against a man in relation to any sin or wrongdoing which he has done: on the word of two or three witnesses a question is to be judged. If a false witness makes a statement against a man, saying that he has done wrong, Then the two men, between whom the argument has taken place, are to come before the Lord, before the priests and judges who are then in power;read more.
And the judges will have the question looked into with care: and if the witness is seen to be false and to have made a false statement against his brother, Then do to him what it was his purpose to do to his brother: and so put away the evil from among you. And the rest of the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and never again do such evil among you. Have no pity; let life be given for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Zechariah 8:16

These are the things which you are to do: Let every man say what is true to his neighbour; and let your judging give peace in your towns.

Deuteronomy 17:8-13

If you are not able to give a decision as to who is responsible for a death, or who is right in a cause, or who gave the first blow in a fight, and there is a division of opinion about it in your town: then go to the place marked out by the Lord your God; And come before the priests, the Levites, or before him who is judge at the time: and they will go into the question and give you a decision: And you are to be guided by the decision they give in the place named by the Lord, and do whatever they say:read more.
Acting in agreement with their teaching and the decision they give: not turning to one side or the other from the word they have given you. And any man who, in his pride, will not give ear to the priest whose place is there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, is to be put to death: you are to put away the evil from Israel. And all the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear and put away their pride.

Deuteronomy 1:15-18

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes. And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him. In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.read more.
And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.

Deuteronomy 25:1

If there is an argument between men and they go to law with one another, let the judges give their decision for the upright, and against the wrongdoer.

Exodus 18:16

And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God.

Exodus 21:22

If men, while fighting, do damage to a woman with child, causing the loss of the child, but no other evil comes to her, the man will have to make payment up to the amount fixed by her husband, in agreement with the decision of the judges.

Job 9:32-35

For he is not a man as I am, that I might give him an answer, that we might come together before a judge. There is no one to give a decision between us, who might have control over us. Let him take away his rod from me and not send his fear on me:read more.
Then I would say what is in my mind without fear of him; for there is no cause of fear in myself.

Proverbs 25:7-10

For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler. Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame? Have a talk with your neighbour himself about your cause, but do not give away the secret of another:read more.
Or your hearer may say evil of you, and your shame will not be turned away.

Proverbs 29:9

If a wise man goes to law with a foolish man, he may be angry or laughing, but there will be no rest.

Matthew 5:25-26

Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison. Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing.

James 2:5-7

Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him? But you have put the poor man to shame. Are not the men of wealth rulers over you? do they not take you by force before their judges? Do they not say evil of the holy name which was given to you?

1 Corinthians 6:1-8

How is it, that if any one of you has a cause at law against another, he takes it before a Gentile judge and not before the saints? Is it not certain that the saints will be the judges of the world? if then the world will be judged by you, are you unable to give a decision about the smallest things? Is it not certain that we are to be the judges of angels? how much more then of the things of this life?read more.
If then there are questions to be judged in connection with the things of this life, why do you put them in the hands of those who have no position in the church? I say this to put you to shame. Is there not among you one wise man who may be able to give a decision between his brothers? But a brother who has a cause at law against another takes it before Gentile judges. More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss? So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers' property.

Amos 5:15

Be haters of evil and lovers of good, and let right be done in the public place: it may be that the Lord, the God of armies, will have mercy on the rest of Joseph.

Isaiah 29:20-21

For the cruel one has come to nothing; and those who make sport of the Lord are gone; and those who are watching to do evil are cut off: Who give help to a man in a wrong cause, and who put a net for the feet of him who gives decisions in the public place, taking away a man's right without cause.

Amos 2:7

Crushing the head of the poor, and turning the steps of the gentle out of the way: and a man and his father go in to the same young woman, putting shame on my holy name:

Amos 5:7-12

You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth; Go for help to him who makes Orion and the Pleiades, by whom the deep dark is turned into morning, who makes the day black with night; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, sending them out over the face of the earth: the Lord is his name; Who sends sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the walled town.read more.
They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them. So because the poor man is crushed under your feet, and you take taxes from him of grain: you have made for yourselves houses of cut stone, but you will not take your rest in them; the fair vine-gardens planted by your hands will not give you wine. For I have seen how your evil-doing is increased and how strong are your sins, you troublers of the upright, who take rewards and do wrong to the cause of the poor in the public place.

Hosea 10:4

Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.

2 Samuel 15:1-4

Now after this, Absalom got for himself a carriage and horses, and fifty runners to go before him. And Absalom got up early, morning after morning, and took his place at the side of the public meeting-place: and when any man had a cause which had to come to the king to be judged, then Absalom, crying out to him, said, What is your town? and he would say, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom would say to him, See, your cause is true and right; but no man has been named by the king to give you a hearing.read more.
And more than this, Absalom said, If only I was made judge in the land, so that every man who has any cause or question might come to me, and I would give a right decision for him!

2 Samuel 14:1-20

Now it was clear to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, that the king's heart was turning to Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa and got from there a wise woman, and said to her, Now make yourself seem like one given up to grief, and put on the clothing of sorrow, not using any sweet oil for your body, but looking like one who for a long time has been weeping for the dead: And come to the king and say these words to him. So Joab gave her words to say.read more.
And the woman of Tekoa came to the king, and falling on her face, gave him honour and said, Give me help, O king. And the king said to her, What is your trouble? And her answer was, Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead. And I had two sons, and the two of them had a fight in the field, and there was no one to come between them, and one with a blow put the other to death. And now all the family is turned against me, your servant, saying, Give up him who was the cause of his brother's death, so that we may put him to death in payment for the life of his brother, whose life he took; and we will put an end to the one who will get the heritage: so they will put out my last burning coal, and my husband will have no name or offspring on the face of the earth. And the king said to the woman, Go to your house and I will give orders about this. And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, may the sin be on me and on my family, and may the king and the seat of his kingdom be clear of sin! And the king said, If anyone says anything to you, make him come to me, and he will do you no more damage. Then she said, Let the king keep in mind the Lord your God, so that he who gives punishment for blood may be kept back from further destruction and that no one may send death on my son. And he said, By the living Lord, not a hair of your son's head will come to the earth. Then the woman said, Will the king let his servant say one word more? And he said, Say on. And the woman said, Why have you had such a thought about the people of God? (for in saying these very words the king has put himself in the wrong because he has not taken back the one whom he sent far away.) For death comes to us all, and we are like water drained out on the earth, which it is not possible to take up again; and God will not take away the life of the man whose purpose is that he who has been sent away may not be completely cut off from him. And now it is my fear of the people which has made me come to say these words to my lord the king: and your servant said, I will put my cause before the king, and it may be that he will give effect to my request. For the king will give ear, and take his servant out of the power of the man whose purpose is the destruction of me and my son together from the heritage of God. Then your servant said, May the word of my lord the king give me peace! for my lord the king is as the angel of God in his hearing of good and bad: and may the Lord your God be with you! Then the king said to the woman, Now give me an answer to the question I am going to put to you; keep nothing back. And the woman said, Let my lord the king say on. And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman in answer said, By the life of your soul, my lord the king, it is not possible for anyone to go to the right hand or to the left from anything said by the king: your servant Joab gave me orders, and put all these words in my mouth: This he did, hoping that the face of this business might be changed: and my lord is wise, with the wisdom of the angel of God, having knowledge of everything on earth.

1 Kings 3:16-27

Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king; And one of them said, O my lord, I and this woman are living in the same house; and I gave birth to a child by her side in the house. And three days after the birth of my child, this woman had a child: we were together, no other-person was with us in the house but we two only.read more.
In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death. And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was sleeping; and she took it in her arms and put her dead child in my arms. And when I got up to give my child the breast, I saw that it was dead; but in the morning, looking at it with care, I saw that it was not my son. And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king. Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living. Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king. And the king said, Let the living child be cut in two and one half given to one woman and one to the other. Then the mother of the living child came forward, for her heart went out to her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the child; do not on any account put it to death. But the other woman said, It will not be mine or yours; let it be cut in two. Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.

2 Kings 6:26-29

And when the king of Israel was going by on the wall, a woman came crying out to him, and said, Help! my lord king. And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher? And the king said to her, What is troubling you? And she said in answer, This woman said to me, Give your son to be our food today, and we will have my son tomorrow.read more.
So, boiling my son, we had a meal of him; and on the day after I said to her, Now give your son for our food; but she has put her son in a secret place.

Acts 18:12-16

But when Gallio was ruler of Achaia, all the Jews together made an attack on Paul, and took him to the judge's seat, Saying, This man is teaching the people to give worship to God in a way which is against the law. But when Paul was about to say something, Gallio said to the Jews, If this was anything to do with wrongdoing or crime, there would be a reason for me to give you a hearing:read more.
But if it is a question of words or names or of your law, see to it yourselves; I will not be a judge of such things. And he sent them away from the judge's seat.

Acts 19:35-41

And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter? So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise. For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess.read more.
If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another. But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting. For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together. And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.

Matthew 5:25

Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison.

Proverbs 25:8

Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame?

From Thematic Bible


Lawsuits » To be avoided

Proverbs 25:8-10

Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame? Have a talk with your neighbour himself about your cause, but do not give away the secret of another: Or your hearer may say evil of you, and your shame will not be turned away.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8

How is it, that if any one of you has a cause at law against another, he takes it before a Gentile judge and not before the saints? Is it not certain that the saints will be the judges of the world? if then the world will be judged by you, are you unable to give a decision about the smallest things? Is it not certain that we are to be the judges of angels? how much more then of the things of this life? read more.
If then there are questions to be judged in connection with the things of this life, why do you put them in the hands of those who have no position in the church? I say this to put you to shame. Is there not among you one wise man who may be able to give a decision between his brothers? But a brother who has a cause at law against another takes it before Gentile judges. More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss? So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers' property.

Matthew 5:25-26

Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison. Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing.

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Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain