Proverbs 17:23

23 A bribe from the bosom the wicked taketh, To turn aside the paths of judgment.

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 Whoso is begetting a fool hath affliction for it, Yea, the father of a fool rejoiceth not.

22 A rejoicing heart doth good to the body, And a smitten spirit drieth the bone.

23 A bribe from the bosom the wicked taketh, To turn aside the paths of judgment.

24 The face of the intelligent [is] to wisdom, And the eyes of a fool -- at the end of the earth.

25 A provocation to his father [is] a foolish son, And bitterness to her that bare him.