Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” ¹ 

Your officials are rebels, ¹  they associate with ²  thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for ³  payoffs. ⁴  They do not take up the cause of the orphan, ⁵  or defend the rights of the widow. ⁶ 

They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ¹  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ²  declares the sovereign Lord. ³ 

For the company of the godless is barren, ¹  and fire ²  consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ³ 

Her ¹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²  her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust ³  the Lord and say, “The Lord is among us. ⁴  Disaster will not overtake ⁵  us!”

Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. ¹  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, ²  and I will return it to you!”

Be careful that ¹  no one entices you with riches; do not let a large bribe ²  turn you aside.

They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, ¹  and for this reason he sent for Paul ²  as often as possible ³  and talked ⁴  with him.

But you choose ¹  from the people capable men, ²  God-fearing, ³  men of truth, ⁴  those who hate bribes, ⁵  and put them over the people ⁶  as rulers ⁷  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; ¹  they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold. ² 

So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day. ¹ 

After ¹  they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

You have no share or part ¹  in this matter ²  because your heart is not right before God!

It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ¹  I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe,” says the Lord who commands armies.

Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.

And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ¹ 

They replied, “You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.”

Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were ¹  in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute ²  to the king of Assyria.

The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom, ¹  but the one who hates ²  unjust gain will prolong his days.