You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.
Ecclesiastes 7:7 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Surely oppression and extortion make a wise man foolish, and a bribe destroys the understanding and judgment. American Standard Version (1901) Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding. Common English Bible Oppression turns the wise into fools; a bribe corrupts the heart. Catholic Public Domain Version For, like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version For as the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool: now this also is vanity. |
You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.
A wicked person secretly takes a bribe to subvert the course of justice.
A bribe seems like a magic stone to its owner; wherever he turns, he succeeds.
Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.
If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.
All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one person has authority over another to his harm.
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love graft and chase after bribes. They do not defend the rights of the fatherless, and the widow’s case never comes before them.
The one who lives righteously and speaks rightly, who refuses profit from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots and shuts his eyes against evil schemes –
Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.
Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? , I will return it to you.’
‘Look! You can see the man is crazy,’ Achish said to his servants. ‘Why did you bring him to me?
However, his sons did not walk in his ways #– #they turned towards dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.