Proverbs 17:23
The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.
In context
20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice. 24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. 26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
Compare in other versions
- KJV King James Version
— Proverbs 17:23 in the KJV
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom To pervert the ways of judgment.
- NIV New International Version
— Proverbs 17:23 in the NIV
The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.