Exodus 23:7-8

23:7 Keep your distance ¹  from a false charge ²  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ³  for I will not justify the wicked. ⁴ 

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ⁵  and subverts the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 16:19

16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ⁶  the words of the righteous. ⁷ 

Isaiah 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ⁸  uprightly ⁹ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ¹⁰ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ¹¹ 

and does not seek to harm others ¹²  –

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹³ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ¹⁴ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 26:15

26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” ¹⁶  So they set out thirty silver coins for him.

Matthew 27:3-5

Judas’ Suicide

27:3 Now when ¹⁷  Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus ¹⁸  had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, 27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” 27:5 So ¹⁹  Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.

[23:7]  ¹ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ³ tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ⁴ sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[23:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[16:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ⁷ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ¹² tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[7:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ¹⁵ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[26:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “What will you give to me, and I will betray him to you?”

[27:3]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Then when.” Here τότε (tote) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical interlude in the sequence of events.

[27:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:5]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.