Isaiah 5:23
New Living Translation
23 They take bribes to let the wicked go free,
and they punish the innocent.
Isaiah 10:2
New Living Translation
2 They deprive the poor of justice
and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
and take advantage of orphans.
James 5:6
New Living Translation
6 You have condemned and killed innocent people,[a] who do not resist you.[b]
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Proverbs 17:15
New Living Translation
15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
both are detestable to the Lord.
Psalm 94:21
New Living Translation
21 They gang up against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
Micah 7:3
New Living Translation
3 Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil!
Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
and together they scheme to twist justice.
Micah 3:11
New Living Translation
11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes;
you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;
you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.
Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.
“No harm can come to us,” you say,
“for the Lord is here among us.”
Isaiah 1:23
New Living Translation
23 Your leaders are rebels,
the companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
and demand payoffs,
but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans
or fight for the rights of widows.
Proverbs 31:4-5
New Living Translation
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine.
Rulers should not crave alcohol.
5 For if they drink, they may forget the law
and not give justice to the oppressed.
Matthew 27:24-25
New Living Translation
24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
25 And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”[a]
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- 27:25 Greek “His blood be on us and on our children.”
Proverbs 24:24
New Living Translation
24 A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.
Proverbs 17:23
New Living Translation
23 The wicked take secret bribes
to pervert the course of justice.
2 Chronicles 19:7
New Living Translation
7 Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes.”
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Deuteronomy 16:19
New Living Translation
19 You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly.
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Matthew 23:35
New Living Translation
35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.
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1 Kings 21:13
New Living Translation
13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death.
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Exodus 23:6-9
New Living Translation
6 “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.
7 “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.
8 “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.
9 “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Read full chapterHoly Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.