John Calvin Commentary Exodus 23:8

"And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous." — Exodus 23:8 (ASV)

And thou shalt take no gift. This kind of theft is the worst of all, when judges are corrupted either by bribes or by affection, and thus ruin the fortunes they ought to protect. For, since their tribunal is like a sacred asylum to which those who are unjustly oppressed may flee, nothing can be more unseemly than that they should fall among robbers there.¹²⁹

Judges are appointed to repress all wrongs and offenses. Therefore, if they show favor to the wicked, they are harborers of thieves, and there is no more deadly pest than this. And besides, since their authority excludes every other remedy, they are themselves like robbers with arms in their hands. Therefore, the greater their power to injure is, and the greater the damage committed by their unjust sentences, the more diligently they are to be warned to beware of iniquity. Thus it was necessary to keep them in the path of duty by special instructions, lest they conceal and encourage thievery by their patronage.

Now, as avarice is the root of all evils, when it thus takes hold of the minds of judges, no integrity can continue to exist. But, since all utterly condemn this vice, even though they may be entirely under its influence, God speaks of it the more plainly and popularly, enjoining that judges should withhold their hands from every gift. For there is no more fatal poison for the extinction of all uprightness than when a judge allows himself to be cajoled by gifts. Let those who accept gifts allege as much as they please that they still maintain their integrity; the fact itself clearly shows that they are venal and seek their own pecuniary advantage when they are thus attracted by gain. Formerly, it was enough to make judges infamous that they were called nummarii (moneyers).¹³⁰

But it is superfluous to discuss this matter further, since God cuts off all handles for subterfuge in a single sentence: for gifts (He says) blind the eyes of him that seeth, and pervert the judgment of the righteous. If, then, we acquiesce in His decision, there is no light of intelligence so bright that gifts do not extinguish it, nor any probity so great that they do not undermine it. In fact, gifts infect a sound mind before they soil the hand—I mean those gifts which a person receives in reference to the judgment of a case, for there is no question here of those gifts of mutual kindness that people exchange with each other.

Thus, in the passage from Deuteronomy 16, before God speaks of gifts, He forbids that justice should be wrested, or that persons should be respected. From this we gather that only those snares are condemned which are set to curry favor. It must be observed concerning the passage from Leviticus, that to judge in righteousness is contrasted with respecting the person. Consequently, as soon as the judge turns away his eyes even a little from the cause itself, he forgets equity. Moreover, to wrest judgment is equivalent to committing iniquity in judgment. But since injustice is not always openly manifested, but rather disguised by various artifices, after God in Leviticus has condemned corrupt and unjust judgments, He uses this word "to wrest" (inclinandi) in Deuteronomy, in order to dissipate all vain pretexts.

¹²⁹ “Il n’y a rien plus enorme, que d’en faire une caverne de brigans;” there is nothing more enormous than to make a den of robbers of it. — Fr..

¹³⁰ Fr. “Et de faict, ce titre la suffit entre les payens pour diffamer les juges, de les appeler . “Et de faict, ce titre la suffit entre les payens pour diffamer les juges, de les appeler argentiers;” and, in fact, this title sufficed among the heathen to bring their judges into disrepute, to call them ;” and, in fact, this title sufficed among the heathen to bring their judges into disrepute, to call them argentiers. See Cic. Ep. in Att. 1:16, “Insectandis vero, exagitandisque . See Cic. Ep. in Att. 1:16, “Insectandis vero, exagitandisque nummariis judicibus.” judicibus.” Item, Verr. 5:57, et pro Cluent., 36., Verr. 5:57, et pro Cluent., 36.