And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
- BSB Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- NKJV And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
- NASB “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.
- NLT “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.
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
You shall take no bribe, for it blinds the clear-sighted and twists the words of the righteous. Corruption destroys justice at its root.
Overview
Bribery corrupts even good judges, perverting truth and oppressing the innocent. The command guards the impartiality essential to righteous rule. God Himself takes no bribe and shows no partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17), and His justice is finally satisfied not by payment but by the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Deut 16:19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
- Prov 17:23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
- Isa 5:23Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
- Prov 15:27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
- 1 Sam 8:3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
- Ps 26:10In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
- Eccl 7:7Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
- Deut 10:17For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
- 1 Sam 12:3Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
- Amos 5:12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
- Prov 17:8A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
- Prov 19:4Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
- Ezek 22:12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
- Mic 7:3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- Hos 4:18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
- Isa 1:13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:8 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
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