Exodus 23:8
in Exodus 23Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
KJV
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
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This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThey must not only not be swayed by a gift to give an unjust judgment, to condemn the innocent, or acquit the guilty, or adjudge a man's right from him, but they must not so much as take a gift, lest it should have a bad influence upon them, and overrule them, contrary to their intentions; for it has a strange tendency to blind those that otherwise would do well.
This site's exposition
Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor
on Exodus 23:6-8
These three verses govern the men who sit in judgment, forbidding them to bend a poor man's case, to take any part in a false matter, and to receive a gift. The reason given for the last is that the gift blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous, so the warning is aimed at the honest judge as much as at the corrupt one. Deuteronomy 16:19 repeats the sentence almost word for word, and 1 Samuel 8:3 records Samuel's own sons taking bribes and perverting judgment.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And thou shalt take no gift,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou shalt take no gift - A strong ordinance against selling justice, which has been the disgrace and ruin of every state where it has been practiced.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשֹׁ֖חַד | veshochad | and a bribe | H7810 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִקָּ֑ח | tikach | you must take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַשֹּׁ֙חַד֙ | hashochad | <the> bribe | H7810 → | |
| יְעַוֵּ֣ר | yeaver | it makes blind | H5786 → | |
| פִּקְחִ֔ים | pikchim | clear-sighted [people] | H6493 → | |
| וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף | visalef | so it may pervert | H5557 → | |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| צַדִּיקִֽים׃ | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
וְשֹׁ֖חַדand a bribe
veshochadH7810 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִקָּ֑חyou must take
tikachH3947 →966 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַשֹּׁ֙חַד֙<the> bribe
hashochadH7810 →
יְעַוֵּ֣רit makes blind
yeaverH5786 →
פִּקְחִ֔יםclear-sighted [people]
pikchimH6493 →
וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ףso it may pervert
visalefH5557 →
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
צַדִּיקִֽים׃righteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 8:3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do 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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 15:5
who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
- 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Deuteronomy 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.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
- Exodus 23:2
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- Leviticus 19:15
Through
Proverbs 15:27He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:19
Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
- Jeremiah 17:11
Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will…
- Proverbs 1:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.