Isaiah 1:23

1:23 Your officials are rebels,

they associate with thieves.

All of them love bribery,

and look for payoffs.

They do not take up the cause of the orphan,

or defend the rights of the widow.

Isaiah 5:23

5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,

they ignore the just cause of the innocent.

Jeremiah 5:26-28

5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.

They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush.

They set deadly traps to catch people.

5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught,

their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit.

That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.

5:28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek.

There is no limit to the evil things they do.

They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.

They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Micah 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say,

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’

he would be just the right preacher for these people!

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;

government officials and judges take bribes,

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.

Matthew 26:14-16

The Plan to Betray Jesus

26:14 Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him. 26:16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 26:59-60

26:59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 26:60 But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward