Deuteronomy 16:19

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

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.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Exod 23:2 : 2 “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,
  • Lev 19:15 : 15 Justice, Love, and Propriety“‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.
  • Eccl 7:7 : 7 Human Wisdom Overturned by Adversity Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.
  • Exod 23:6-8 : 6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Keep your distance from a false charge– do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked. 8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.
  • Deut 10:17 : 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,
  • Deut 24:17 : 17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.
  • Deut 27:19 : 19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say,‘Amen!’
  • Prov 17:23 : 23 A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.
  • Prov 24:23 : 23 Further Sayings of the Wise These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
  • Prov 24:28 : 28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words.
  • 1 Sam 8:3 : 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.
  • 1 Sam 12:3 : 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!”
  • Job 31:21-22 : 21 if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court, 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let my arm be broken off at the socket.
  • Deut 1:16-17 : 16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one person and a native Israelite or a resident foreigner. 17 They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
  • Isa 1:17 : 17 Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!
  • Isa 1:23 : 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.
  • Isa 33:15 : 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–
  • Jer 5:28 : 28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.
  • Ezek 22:12 : 12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
  • Mic 7:3 : 3 They are experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men announce what they wish and then they plan it out.
  • Hab 1:4 : 4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.
  • Zeph 3:3-5 : 3 Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning. 4 Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests have defiled what is holy; they have broken God’s laws. 5 The just LORD resides within her; he commits no unjust acts. Every morning he reveals his justice. At dawn he appears without fail. Yet the unjust know no shame.
  • Acts 10:34 : 34 Then Peter started speaking:“I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,
  • Acts 16:37 : 37 But Paul said to the police officers,“They had us beaten in public without a proper trial– even though we are Roman citizens– and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!”
  • Acts 23:3 : 3 Then Paul said to him,“God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Exod 23:6-8
    3 verses
    86%

    6“You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

    7Keep your distance from a false charge– do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.

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

  • Lev 19:14-16
    3 verses
    85%

    14You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the LORD.

    15Justice, Love, and Propriety“‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.

    16You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the LORD.

  • Deut 16:20
    82%

    20You must pursue justice alone so that you may live and inherit the land the LORD your God is giving you.

  • Deut 16:18
    81%

    18Provision for Justice You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the LORD your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.

  • Deut 1:16-17
    2 verses
    81%

    16I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one person and a native Israelite or a resident foreigner.

    17They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

  • 2 Chr 19:6-7
    2 verses
    81%

    6He told the judges,“Be careful what you do, for you are not judging for men, but for the LORD, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions.

    7Respect the LORD and make careful decisions, for the LORD our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.”

  • Deut 24:17
    80%

    17You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.

  • Prov 24:23
    78%

    23Further Sayings of the Wise These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:

  • Prov 18:5
    78%

    5It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked, by depriving a righteous man of justice.

  • Exod 23:1-3
    3 verses
    76%

    1Justice“You must not give a false report. Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

    2“You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,

    3and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.

  • Lev 19:35
    75%

    35You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume.

  • Prov 28:21
    75%

    21To show partiality is terrible, for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread.

  • Prov 17:23
    75%

    23A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.

  • Deut 17:9-11
    3 verses
    72%

    9You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

    10You must then do as they have determined at that place the LORD chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught.

    11You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you.

  • Deut 19:14
    72%

    14Laws Concerning Witnesses You must not encroach on your neighbor’s property, which will have been defined in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

  • John 7:24
    72%

    24Do not judge according to external appearance, but judge with proper judgment.”

  • Deut 27:19
    72%

    19‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say,‘Amen!’

  • Isa 1:23
    71%

    23Your 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.

  • Prov 29:4
    71%

    4A king brings stability to a land by justice, but one who exacts tribute tears it down.

  • Ps 82:2
    70%

    2He says,“How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked?(Selah)

  • Job 34:19
    70%

    19who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of the rich more than the poor, because all of them are the work of his hands?

  • Deut 25:1
    70%

    1If controversy arises between people, they should go to court for judgment. When the judges hear the case, they shall exonerate the innocent but condemn the guilty.

  • Lev 19:11
    70%

    11Dealing Honestly“‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen.

  • Lev 25:17
    70%

    17No one is to oppress his fellow citizen, but you must fear your God, because I am the LORD your God.

  • Deut 19:18
    70%

    18The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused,

  • Jas 2:9
    70%

    9But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators.

  • Deut 25:13-16
    4 verses
    70%

    13You must not have in your bag different stone weights, a heavy and a light one.

    14You must not have in your house different measuring containers, a large and a small one.

    15You must have an accurate and correct stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the LORD your God is about to give you.

    16For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent to the LORD your God.

  • Prov 22:22
    70%

    22Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,

  • Matt 7:1
    70%

    1Do Not Judge“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

  • Lev 25:14
    70%

    14If you make a sale to your fellow citizen or buy from your fellow citizen, no one is to wrong his brother.

  • Exod 21:1
    70%

    1The Decisions“These are the decisions that you will set before them:

  • Jas 2:4
    70%

    4If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

  • Prov 31:5
    70%

    5lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and remove from all the poor their legal rights.

  • Isa 33:15
    69%

    15The 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–

  • Deut 24:14
    69%

    14You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages.

  • Jer 22:3
    69%

    3The LORD says,“Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.