Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
BSB
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.
A 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.
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.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Exodus 23:8Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
leads to
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 independent paths from here.
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
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.
leads to
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 independent paths from here.
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
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.
leads to
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 independent paths from here.
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.
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
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.
leads to
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…
