Proverbs 17:23
A bribe from the bosom the wicked taketh, To turn aside the paths of judgment.
Young's Literal Translation
In The King James Version
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
In Context
22A rejoicing heart doth good to the body, And a smitten spirit drieth the bone.
24The face of the intelligent [is] to wisdom, And the eyes of a fool — at the end of the earth.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 16:19Thou dost not turn aside judgment; thou dost not discern faces, nor take a bribe, for the bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
1 Samuel 12:3'Lo, here [am] I; testify against me, over-against Jehovah, and over-against His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose ass have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide mine eyes with it? — and I restore to you.'
Proverbs 18:16The gift of a man maketh room for him, And before the great it leadeth him.
Isaiah 1:23Thy princes [are] apostates, and companions of thieves, Every one loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, The fatherless they judge not, And the plea of the widow cometh not to them.
Ezekiel 22:12A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!
Micah 3:9Hear this, I pray you, heads of the house of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And all uprightness do pervert.
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 →