‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- KJV Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- NKJV ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
- NASB ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to attack an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- NLT ‘Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A curse falls on accepting a bribe to kill an innocent person, corrupting justice for gain.
Overview
This condemns the hired taking of innocent life, joining greed to murder. God abhors the perversion of justice for money. Tragically, this very sin would later appear in the betrayal of the innocent Christ for thirty pieces of silver.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 15:5who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
- Deut 10:17For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Exod 23:7–8Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
- Deut 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Mic 7:2–3The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
- Acts 1:18(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Matt 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- Matt 27:3–4When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.
- Prov 1:11–29If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Ezek 22:12–13In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
- Mic 3:10–11who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 27:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.