The wicked take secret bribes to pervert the course of justice.
Parallel translations
- WEB A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.
- KJV A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
- BSB A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
- NKJV A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice.
- NASB A wicked person accepts a bribe from an inside pocket To pervert the ways of justice.
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
Taking a secret bribe to twist justice is wicked. God condemns corrupt dealings that pervert what is fair and right.
Overview
Bribery 'in secret' perverts the very course of justice, and Scripture repeatedly forbids it (Exod. 23:8; Deut. 16:19). The hidden nature of the bribe shows the wicked man's awareness that his act cannot bear the light. God Himself is the perfectly just Judge who takes no bribe (Deut. 10:17), and the gospel both upholds His justice and provides righteousness through Christ to those who could never bribe their way to acquittal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 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.
- Prov 17:8A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.
- Exod 23:8“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Mic 7:3Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
- 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.
- Mic 3:11Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- 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.”
- Ezek 22:12In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Mark 14:10–11Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests, that he might deliver him to them.
- 1 Sam 8:3His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
- Prov 18:16A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.
- Prov 21:14A gift in secret pacifies anger; and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 17:23 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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