Deuteronomy 16:19
You 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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What's easy to miss is that a bribe doesn't just influence the outcome; it actively blinds the wise, making them unable to see what's right. It's presented not just as a temptation, but as a powerful force that distorts even clear-thinking people, twisting their judgment from righteousness into injustice.
Just before this, God is giving instructions for setting up a just system of judges and officials throughout Israel's towns. This verse serves as a direct command to these appointed leaders, emphasizing the absolute necessity of fairness and integrity in their crucial role of dispensing justice and upholding God's law for the people.
God's commands for justice are crystal clear. But what happens when personal feelings or social status get in the way?
The verse lays out a foundational principle for any just society: impartiality. Judges and leaders are explicitly forbidden from showing favoritism. This means no special treatment for the rich, no overlooking offenses for friends, and no harsher judgment for the poor or outcast.
This isn't just about fairness; it's about upholding God's standard. Real justice doesn't bend to popular opinion or personal preference. It means looking at the facts and applying God's law without bias. Every person, regardless of their standing, deserves to be heard and judged rightly.
Bribes seem like a quick fix, a way to grease the wheels. But God's Word reveals a far more sinister effect.
The verse directly links accepting bribes to a distortion of truth. A bribe doesn't just influence a decision; it has a profound, almost mystical power to 'blind the eyes of the wise.'
This highlights how a bribe clouds judgment, making it impossible to see the truth clearly. Even the most intelligent or well-intentioned person can be led astray when their integrity is compromised by a gift. It twists their perception, causing them to misinterpret facts, ignore evidence, and ultimately 'subvert the cause of the righteous.' The bribe creates a warped reality where wrong appears right.
Understand the original words
natah · Hebrew Verb
To twist, corrupt, or divert the course of legal proceedings, usually for personal gain or biased motives, failing to uphold truth.
panim (lit: faces) · Hebrew Noun/Idiom
Favoring one person over another in legal or social matters based on external status, wealth, or relationship rather than merit or truth.
shochad · Hebrew Noun
A gift or payment given to influence a person in a position of authority to act in a way that violates justice or integrity.
tsaddiq · Hebrew Adjective
The state of being morally upright, innocent, or in right standing with God's law; acting according to God's standard of fairness.
This passage directly parallels the command against accepting bribes, highlighting how gifts can corrupt judges and distort justice, reinforcing the seriousness of the prohibition in Deuteronomy.
Proverbs 17:23This proverb echoes the idea that a bribe is taken secretly, emphasizing the hidden corruption it brings, much like Deuteronomy warns it 'blinds the eyes of the wise'.
Isaiah 5:20This prophetic condemnation targets those who call evil good and good evil, a direct consequence of perverting justice and accepting bribes, showing the spiritual danger of such actions.
Luke 18:2-5Jesus' parable of the persistent widow illustrates how a corrupt judge, motivated by self-interest rather than justice, eventually yields to persistent pleas, highlighting the moral bankruptcy of those who pervert justice.
1 Timothy 3:3When describing the qualifications for church leaders, Paul specifically forbids them from being 'quarrelsome, or lovers of money,' connecting the love of money to a potential perversion of just dealings, much like the judges in Deuteronomy.
gillDeuteronomy 16:19: "Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous."
Thou shall not wrest judgment,.... Or pervert it, pass a wrong sentence, or act contrary to justice; this is said to the judges as a direction to them, and so what follows: thou shalt not respect persons; so as to give the cause on account of outward circumstances and relations; as in favour of a rich man aga…
ellicottDeuteronomy 16:19: "Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous."
(19) See Exodus 23:6 ; Exodus 23:8 .
What's easy to miss is that a bribe doesn't just influence the outcome; it actively blinds the wise, making them unable to see what's right. It's presented not just as a temptation, but as a powerful force that distorts even clear-thinking people, twisting their judgment from righteousness into injustice.
Just before this, God is giving instructions for setting up a just system of judges and officials throughout Israel's towns. This verse serves as a direct command to these appointed leaders, emphasizing the absolute necessity of fairness and integrity in their crucial role of dispensing justice and upholding God's law for the people.
Just before this, God is giving instructions for setting up a just system of judges and officials throughout Israel's towns. This verse serves as a direct command to these appointed leaders, emphasizing the absolute necessity of fairness and integrity in their crucial role of dispensing justice and upholding God's law for the people.
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"You 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." — What's easy to miss is that a bribe doesn't just influence the outcome; it actively blinds the wise, making them unable to see what's right. It's presented not just as a temptation, but as a powerf…
