English Standard Version
Proverbs 17:23
23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.
Proverbs 17:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
- New International Version (NIV)The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The wicked take secret bribes to pervert the course of justice.
Context of Proverbs 17:23
21He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice. 24The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
Read all of Proverbs 17Proverbs 17:23 word by word
שֹׁ֣חַד מֵ֭חֵיק רָשָׁ֣ע יִקָּ֑ח לְ֝הַטּ֗וֹת אָרְח֥וֹת מִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 17:23
- Proverbs 17:8A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
- Proverbs 18:16A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.
- Proverbs 21:14A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.
- Exodus 23:8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
- Deuteronomy 16:19You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.
- 1 Samuel 8:3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
- 1 Samuel 12:3Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you."
- Isaiah 1:23Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.
- Ezekiel 22:12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.
- Micah 7:3Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
- Mark 14:10Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.
Commentaries on Proverbs 17:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23A 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The 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.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23Verse 23 The wicked are ready to part with their money, though loved, that they may not suffer for their crimes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. a gift ... bosom--Money and other valuables were borne in a fold of the garment, called the bosom. to pervert--that is, by bribery.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 17:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries