Proverbs 17:23
in Proverbs 17A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A wicked man receiveth a bribe out of the bosom, To pervert the ways of justice.
KJV
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom,.... Of another, of a rich man, who takes it out from thence, and offers it to him as a bribe. This he takes in the most secret manner, that it might not be seen by others; though the Arabic version renders it, "he that receives a gift in his own bosom commits iniquity"; it is true of both the giver and the receiver; the one gives out of his bosom, and the other takes if from thence, and puts it into his own, and both are wicked.
This site's exposition
The one with a perverse heart
on Proverbs 17:20-23
A perverse heart finds no good and a deceitful tongue falls into trouble, the inward condition producing the outward ruin the chapter keeps returning to. "A joyful heart is good medicine," while "a broken spirit dries up the bones," a physical image for what the heart does to the body.
This site's exposition
takes a covert bribe
A wicked man takes the covert bribe from the fold of a garment, Barnes notes, a sign of how quietly it passed to the judge. John Gill calls both giver and taker wicked. Justice is subverted, as verse 15 warned.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The words “out of the bosom,” from the fold of the garment, rather than from the bag or girdle in which money was usually carried, possibly point to the stealthiness with which the “gift” (or, bribe) is offered to the judge.
A gift out of the bosom - Out of his purse; as in their bosoms, above their girdles, the Asiatics carry their purses. I have often observed this.
Modern Voices1 voice
A man has not got a right to "nurse" a constituency with aggressive charities, to buy it with great presents of parks and libraries, to open vague vistas of future benevolence; all this, which goes on unrebuked, is bribery and nothing else. But a man …
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שֹׁ֣חַד | shochad | a bribe | H7810 → | 23 times |
| מֵ֭חֵיק | mecheik | from [the] bosom | H2436 → | 38 times |
| רָשָׁ֣ע | rasha' | a wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יִקָּ֑ח | yikach | he accepts | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לְ֝הַטּ֗וֹת | lehatot | to turn aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| אָרְח֥וֹת | ʾarechot | [the] paths of | H734 → | 58 times |
| מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
שֹׁ֣חַדa bribe
shochadH7810 →23 times
מֵ֭חֵיקfrom [the] bosom
mecheikH2436 →38 times
רָשָׁ֣עa wicked [person]
rasha'H7563 →263 times
יִקָּ֑חhe accepts
yikachH3947 →966 times
לְ֝הַטּ֗וֹתto turn aside
lehatotH5186 →214 times
אָרְח֥וֹת[the] paths of
ʾarechotH734 →58 times
מִשְׁפָּֽט׃justice
mishpatH4941 →422 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
Exodus 23:8Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
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 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 5:23
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
it leads to
- Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 7:3
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
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 10:17
Through
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Micah 3:11
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); GK Chesterton, All Things Considered, The Vote and the House (1908); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.