Quotes About Corruption

A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.

A corrupt witness mocks justice, and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.

Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:

See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,

who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

For all their tables are covered with vomit; there is not a place without filth.

Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.

Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich.

“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.

Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

For the land is full of adulterers—because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up—their course is evil and their power is misused.

“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.