Proverbs 17:23
A rasha accepts a shochad (bribe) out of the kheyk (bosom), + 17:23 i.e., secretly 1 to pervert the orkhot mishpat (paths of justice). 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
In The King James Version
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
In Context
22A lev same'ach doeth tov like a medicine, 1 but a downcast ruach drieth up the bones. 1
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.
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 18:16The mattan adam (gift of a man) openeth the way for him, 1 and bringeth him before gedolim. 1
Isaiah 1:23Thy sarim (princes) are rebellious, 1 and companions of ganavim: 1 every one loveth bribes, 1 and followeth after rewards: 1 they give no justice to the fatherless, 1 neither doth the cause of the almanah come unto them. 1
Ezekiel 22:12In thee have they taken shochad (bribe) for shefach dahm; thou hast taken neshekh (usury) and tarbit (interest), and thou hast unjustly profited from thy neighbors by oshek (oppression, extortion), and hast forgotten Me, saith Adonoi Hashem.
Micah 3:9Hear this, I pray you, ye Rashei Bais Ya'akov, 1 and Ketzinim of Bais Yisroel, 1 that abhor mishpat, 1 and twist kol haYesharah (all the right, the straight). 1
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:23
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Note, 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that the best medicine is a merry heart, not a heart addicted to vain, carnal, sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison; what doth it? But he means a heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with gladness, and then taking the… Read the whole commentary →