Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Parallel translations
- KJV Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- BSB Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
- NKJV Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart.
- NASB For oppression makes a wise person look foolish, And a bribe corrupts the heart.
- NLT Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.
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
Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. It matters because even the wise can be ruined by greed and injustice.
Overview
The Preacher warns that oppression and bribery corrupt sound judgment, a danger Scripture repeatedly condemns (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19). No one is immune to the deforming power of greed. This sober realism about sin's grip on the heart underscores humanity's need for the cleansing and renewal that come through Christ, who alone can make and keep the heart upright.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 16:19You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Exod 23:8“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Prov 17:23A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.
- 1 Sam 8:3His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
- Deut 28:33–34A nation which you don’t know eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always;
- Eccl 4:1Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Deut 28:65Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul.
- Isa 1:23Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don’t judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
- Prov 17:8A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.
- Isa 33:15He who walks righteously, and speaks blamelessly; He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil —
- 1 Sam 12:3Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a ransom to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 7:7 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.