Keluaran 23:8

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ¹  and subverts the words of the righteous.

Ulangan 16:19

16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ²  the words of the righteous. ³ 

Ulangan 16:1

The Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival

16:1 Observe the month Abib ⁴  and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month ⁵  he ⁶  brought you out of Egypt by night.

1 Samuel 12:3

12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. ⁷  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, ⁸  and I will return it to you!”

Mazmur 15:5

15:5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money. ⁹ 

He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. ¹⁰ 

The one who lives like this ¹¹  will never be upended.

Amsal 17:23

17:23 A wicked person receives a bribe secretly ¹² 

to pervert ¹³  the ways of justice.

[23:8]  ¹ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[16:19]  ² tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ³ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[16:1]  ⁴ sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.

[16:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[12:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “anointed [one].”

[12:3]  ⁸ tn The words “tell me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁹ sn He does not charge interest. Such an individual is truly generous, and not simply concerned with making a profit.

[15:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a bribe against the innocent he does not take.” For other texts condemning the practice of a judge or witness taking a bribe, see Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19; 27:25; 1 Sam 8:3; Ezek 22:12; Prov 17:23.

[15:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “does these things.”

[17:23]  ¹² sn The fact that the “gift” is given secretly (Heb “from the bosom” [מֵחֵיק, mekheq]; so NASB) indicates that it was not proper. Cf. NRSV “a concealed bribe”; TEV, CEV, NLT “secret bribes.”

[17:23]  ¹³ tn The form לְהַטּוֹת (lÿhattot) is the Hiphil infinitive construct of נָטָה (natah), meaning “to thrust away,” i.e., to “pervert.” This purpose clause clarifies that the receiving of the “gift” is for evil intent.