Proverbs 17:23

23 The ways of a man who unjustly receives gifts in bosom do not prosper; and an ungodly man perverts the ways of righteousness.

Proverbs 17:23 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 17:23

A wicked [man] taketh a gift out of the bosom
Of another, of a rich man, who takes it out from thence, and offers it to him as a bribe. This he takes in the most secret manner, that it might not be seen by others; though the Arabic version renders it, "he that receives a gift in his own bosom commits iniquity"; it is true of both the giver and the receiver; the one gives out of his bosom, and the other takes if from thence, and puts it into his own, and both are wicked. And the words are by some rendered, though it seems contrary to the accents, "a gift out of the bosom of the wicked he will take" ^F26; the unjust judge, who is bribed with it: to pervert the ways of judgment;
to turn the course of justice, and hinder it from taking place; favouring a bad cause, and pronouncing a wrong sentence, which is wresting judgment.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 (xqy evr qyxm dxv) "munus de sinu impii accipiet", Baynus.

Proverbs 17:23 In-Context

21 and the heart of a fool is grief to its possessor. A father rejoices not over an uninstructed son; but a wise son gladdens his mother.

22 A glad heart promotes health; but the bones of a sorrowful man dry up.

23 The ways of a man who unjustly receives gifts in bosom do not prosper; and an ungodly man perverts the ways of righteousness.

24 The countenance of a wise man is sensible; but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son anger to his father, and grief to her that bore him.