who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
Parallel Translations
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who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
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Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
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That justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Isaiah 5:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 10:2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their plunder, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
- Psalms 94:21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
- Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
- James 5:6 You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
- Proverbs 31:4-5 It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
- Isaiah 1:23 Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They don’t defend the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- Micah 7:3 Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
- Deuteronomy 16:19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
- 2 Chronicles 19:7 Now therefore let the fear of Yahweh be on you. Take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.”
- Proverbs 17:23 A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.
- Proverbs 24:24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
- Matthew 27:24-25 So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.” All the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
- Exodus 23:6-9 “You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. “You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous. “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- 1 Kings 21:13 The two men, the wicked fellows, came in and sat before him. The wicked fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones.
- Matthew 23:35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and…
Isa 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Ver. 23. Which justify the wicked for reward,] q.d., Woe to such also, for even they both are abomination to the Lord {Pro 17:15 Isa 1:23} {See Trapp on "Pro 17:15"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Justify the wicked for reward; not by mistake or…
Justify the wicked for reward; not by mistake or incogitancy, but wilfully for bribes.
Take away the righteousness of the righteous from him, to wit, juridically; they pronounce sentence against him, as if he and his cause were unjust.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Which justify the wicked for reward,.... This is either…
Which justify the wicked for reward,.... This is either spoken of judges, and civil magistrates, who gave the cause in favour of the wicked, that bribed them, contrary to law, Deu 16:19 or rather of the Scribes and Pharisees, who pronounced the wicked righteous men, provided they kept the traditions of the elders, and paid tithes of all they possessed, and gave them money for their long prayers, Mat 23:14,
and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him; by condemning them as unrighteous persons: so the Jews did Christ and his apostles; they pronounced them wicked, and condemned them to death; and as much as in them lay took away their righteousness from them, by taking away their character from them as righteous persons among men; though their righteousness itself could not be taken away, it being an everlasting one.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Take away - Pronounce sentence against him.
Take away - Pronounce sentence against him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. The righteous] צדיק tsaddik, singular, Sept. Vulg.,…
Verse 23. The righteous] צדיק tsaddik, singular, Sept. Vulg., and two editions.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Which justify - This refers, doubtless, to magistrates. They…
Which justify - This refers, doubtless, to magistrates. They gave unjust decisions.
For reward - For bribes.
Read full note →
And take away the righteousness - That is, they do not decide the cause in favor of those who have just claims, but are determined by a bribe; see the note at Isa 1:23. It is remarkable, that this is introduced in immediate connection with their being mighty to mingle strong drink. One effect of intemperance is to make a man ready to be “bribed.” Its effect is seen as clearly in courts of justice, and in the decisions of such courts, as any where. A man that is intemperate, or that indulges in strong drink, is not qualified to be a judge.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Justice. Declaring the righteous guilty, ver. 20. (Haydock)
Justice. Declaring the righteous guilty, ver. 20. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. These valiant drinkers are weak enough in their…
23. These valiant drinkers are weak enough in their official capacity; they acquit the guilty and condemn the innocent. justify the wicked] “wicked” and “righteous” are here used in their forensic sense: “he who is in the wrong” and “he who is in the right” (cf. Exo_9:27). So “take away the righteousness” means “declare guilty”—the opposite of “justify.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Justify the wicked; i.e. "decide his cause in his…
Justify the wicked; i.e. "decide his cause in his favor," declare him to be right, and his adversary wrong. For reward; or, for a bribe. Take away the righteousness of the righteous; i.e. "declare him to be in the wrong by deciding his cause against him."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.