Ecclesiastes 7:7
Surely oppression maketh a chacham mad; 1 and a bribe corrupts the heart. 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
In The King James Version
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
In Context
Cross References
Deuteronomy 16:19Thou shalt not pervert mishpat; thou shalt not show partiality, neither take a shochad: for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the chachamim, and twist the devarim of the tzaddikim.
Deuteronomy 28:65And among these Goyim shalt thou find no mano'ach, + 28:65 See Ruth neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but Hashem shall give thee there a lev rogez (anxious heart), and failing of eyes, and da'avon nefesh (suffering of soul);
1 Samuel 12:3Hineni (here I am); testify against me before Hashem, and before His Moshiach. Whose shor (ox) have I taken? Or whose chamor (donkey) have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose yad have I accepted any kofer to blind mine eyes therewith? And I will restitution make to you.
Proverbs 17:8A shochad (gift, bribe) is like a charm in the eynayim of him that hath it: 1 wherever he turneth, he prospereth. 1
Ecclesiastes 4:1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the shemesh, and, hinei, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no menachem (comforter); and on the side of their oppressors there was ko'ach (power); but they had no menachem (comforter).
Isaiah 33:15He that walketh in tzedakot, and speaketh meisharim (right things), 1 he that despiseth the gain of extortions, 1 that guards his palms from accepting shochad (bribe[s]), 1 that stoppeth his ozen from hearing of dahm, 1 and shutteth his eynayim from seeing rah; 1
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:2-7
The Value of a Good Name. 1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of… Read the whole commentary →