Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 17:23 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. "
Proverbs 17:23
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
21 He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
24 Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare
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See here, first, how evil bribery is. A man is wicked if he takes a gift to give false evidence, a false verdict, or a wrong judgment. When he does it, he is ashamed of it. He takes the bribe as secretly as possible, out of the bosom where it has been hidden for him. It is carefully concealed, and so quietly that, if he could, he would hide it from his own conscience. Some read the verse this way: "A gift is taken out of the bosom of a wicked man." That is, the man who gives bribes is bad too, not only the one who takes them.
Second, see how powerful bribery is. It has such force that it twists the course of justice. Justice is not only blocked, it is turned into injustice. The greatest wrongs are often done under the appearance of doing right.
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From This Chapter
Proverbs 17:1
"Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife."
Proverbs 17:2
"A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren."
Proverbs 17:3
"The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts."
Proverbs 17:4
"A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue."
Proverbs 17:5
"Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished."
Proverbs 17:6
"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers."
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