Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
- KJV He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
- NKJV He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
- NASB One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
- NLT Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— both are detestable to the Lord.
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
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent are both detestable to God. It matters because perverting justice in either direction is an abomination to the Lord.
Overview
This proverb declares that both justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous are alike abominations to Yahweh. God is deeply committed to true justice and hates its perversion. Strikingly, the gospel shows God justifying the ungodly not by ignoring justice but by satisfying it through Christ, so He remains just (Romans 3:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Exod 23:7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
- Prov 18:5Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.
- Isa 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Prov 24:23–24These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Amos 6:12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Isa 55:8–9“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- Amos 5:12For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- 1 Kgs 21:13And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- Jas 5:6You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
- Prov 6:16There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
- Rom 4:5However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
- Luke 23:18–25But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
- Ezek 22:27–29Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Prov 11:1Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 17:15 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.