Ecclesiastes 7:7

New English Translation

Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.

Cross References

Exodus 23:8

“You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.

Proverbs 17:23

A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.

Proverbs 17:8

A bribe works like a charm for the one who offers it; in whatever he does he succeeds.

Ecclesiastes 4:1

So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth. This is what I saw: The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.

Ecclesiastes 5:8

If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!

Ecclesiastes 8:9

While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

Isaiah 1:23

Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.

Isaiah 33:15

The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others –

Deuteronomy 16:19

You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 28:65

Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair.

1 Samuel 12:3

Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!”

1 Samuel 21:14

Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me?

1 Samuel 8:3

But his sons did not follow his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.