Isaiah 1:23

Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. They demand bribes and accept money for doing wrong. They take money to cheat people, and they don’t speak up for widows and orphans. They will not even listen to their cries for help.

Cross References

Micah 7:3

People are good at doing bad things with both hands. Officials ask for bribes. Judges take money to change their decisions in court. “Important leaders” do whatever they want to do.

Zechariah 7:10

Don’t hurt widows and orphans, strangers, or poor people. Don’t even think of doing bad things to each other!’”

Exodus 23:8

“If someone tries to pay you to agree with them when they are wrong, don’t accept that payment. A payment like that can blind judges so that they cannot see the truth. It can make good people tell lies.

Luke 19:46

He said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer.’ But you have changed it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

Malachi 3:5

Then I will bring you to justice. I will be an expert witness and testify about the evil things people do. I will speak out against those who do evil magic or commit adultery. I will speak out against those who make false promises and cheat their workers and don’t pay them the money they promised. I will testify against those who don’t help strangers, or widows and orphans. And I will testify against those who don’t respect me.” This is what the Lord All-Powerful said.

Isaiah 3:14

The Lord is ready to present his case against the elders and leaders of his people. He says, “You people have burned the vineyard, and what you stole from the poor is still in your houses.

Mark 11:17

Then Jesus began teaching the people and said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ But you have changed it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

Matthew 21:13

Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

Micah 3:11

The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes to help them decide who wins in court. The priests in Jerusalem must be paid before they will teach the people. People must pay the prophets before they will look into the future. Then those leaders expect the Lord to help them. They say, “The Lord lives here with us, so nothing bad will happen to us.”

Hosea 9:15

All their evil is in Gilgal; I began hating them there. I will force them to leave my house because of the evil things they do. I will not love them anymore. Their leaders are rebels who turned against me.

Hosea 4:18

Ephraim has joined their drunkenness. Let them continue to be prostitutes. Let them be with their lovers.

Jeremiah 22:17

“Jehoiakim, your eyes look only for what benefits yourself. You are always thinking about getting more for yourself. You are willing to kill innocent people. You are willing to steal things from other people.”

Jeremiah 5:5

So I will go to the leaders of Judah. I will talk to them. Surely the leaders know the way of the Lord. Surely they know the law of their God.” But the leaders had all joined together to break away from serving God.

Isaiah 33:15

Good, honest people who refuse to hurt others for money will live through that fire. They refuse to take bribes or listen to plans to murder other people. They refuse to look at plans for doing bad things.

Proverbs 29:24

You are your own worst enemy if you take part in a crime. You will not be able to tell the truth even when people threaten you.

Proverbs 17:23

A wicked judge will accept a bribe, and that keeps justice from being done.

2 Chronicles 36:14

Also, all the leaders of the priests and the leaders of the people of Judah sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord. They followed the evil example of the other nations. They ruined the Temple that the Lord had made holy in Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 16:19

You must always be fair. You must not favor some people over other people. You must not take money to change your mind in judgment. Money blinds the eyes of wise people and changes what a good person will say.

Luke 24:27

Then he began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with the books of Moses and then he talked about what the prophets had said about him.

James 1:27

The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.

Isaiah 1:22

Once you were like pure silver, but now you are like the impurities that people throw away when the silver is purified. You are like good wine that has been weakened with water.

Isaiah 5:23

And if you pay them enough money, they will forgive a criminal. But they will not let good people be judged fairly.

Isaiah 30:1

The Lord said, “Look at these children. They don’t obey me. They make plans, but they don’t ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations, but my Spirit does not want those agreements. These people are adding more and more sins to the ones they have already done.

Isaiah 65:2

“All day long I stood ready to accept those who turned against me. But they kept doing whatever they wanted to do, and all they did was wrong.

Jeremiah 4:17

The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem like men guarding a field. Judah, you turned against me, so the enemy is coming against you.” This message is from the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:32

I will destroy Jerusalem because of all the evil things the people of Israel and Judah have done. The people, their kings, leaders, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem have all made me angry.

Ezekiel 12:2

“Son of man, you live among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes to see what I have done for them, but they don’t see those things. They have ears to hear what I told them to do, but they don’t hear my commands, because they are a rebellious people.

Hosea 5:10

The leaders of Judah are like thieves trying to steal someone’s property, so I will pour out my anger on them like water.

Amos 5:12

This is because I know about your many sins. You have done some very bad things: You hurt people who do right, you accept money to do wrong, and you keep the poor from receiving justice in court.

Micah 3:9

Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me! You hate the right way of living! If something is straight, then you make it crooked!

Micah 6:12

The rich in that city are still cruel. The people there still tell lies. Yes, they tell their lies.

Numbers 22:7

The leaders of Moab and Midian left. They went to talk to Balaam. They carried with them money to pay him for his service. Then they told him what Balak had said.

1 Samuel 8:3

But Samuel’s sons did not live the same way he did. Joel and Abijah accepted bribes. They took money secretly and changed their decisions in court. They cheated people in court.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.

Isaiah 1:18

“I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.

Isaiah 28:14

You leaders in Jerusalem should listen to the Lord’s message, but now you refuse to listen to him.

Jeremiah 5:6

So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will kill them. A leopard is hiding near their cities, to tear to pieces anyone who comes out. That’s because the people have sinned again and again. Many times they have wandered away from God.

Ezekiel 22:27

“The leaders in Jerusalem are like a wolf eating the animal it has caught. They attack people and kill them just to get rich.