Read
Psalm 26:10
in whose hands is wickedness; their right hand is full of bribes.
8LORD, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
9Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men
10in whose hands is wickedness; their right hand is full of bribes.
11But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful to me.
12My foot stands in an even place. In the congregations I will bless the LORD.
Notice
A right hand full of bribes makes wickedness concrete: the psalm names corruption within a plea to God for deliverance from the fate of violent people.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the detail of a right hand full of bribes add to the word wickedness?
Write on thisWhere, if anywhere, do you face pressure to let gifts or favors shape your judgment?
Write on thisWhat do you notice about the plea for mercy that follows this description of corrupt hands?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 23:8“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.Both texts name bribes as evil; Exodus explains how taking them corrupts sight and the words of the righteous.
Deuteronomy 16:19You 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 …The bribes filling the right hand in Psalm 26 are forbidden in Deuteronomy, where they distort justice and wise judgment.
1 Samuel 8:3His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned away after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.Samuel’s sons take the bribes Psalm 26 associates with wicked hands, turning toward dishonest gain and perverting justice.
Psalm 52:2Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.Both psalms describe evil through parts of the body: hands carrying wickedness and a tongue plotting destruction.
Micah 7:3Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe. The powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus …Both passages link hands engaged in evil with bribes; Micah names rulers and judges among those involved.
Isaiah 33:15He who walks righteously and speaks blamelessly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his …Hands and bribes appear in both passages, with Isaiah describing the refusal of what fills the corrupt hands in Psalm 26.
Ezekiel 22:12–13In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have …Psalm 26 describes bloodthirsty people whose hands hold bribes; Ezekiel names bribes taken to shed blood.
Acts 23:12When it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.Psalm 26’s surrounding prayer names bloodthirsty men; Acts describes a group binding themselves to kill Paul.
Matthew 26:3–4Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.Both passages refer to groups of people, though Matthew’s gathering of leaders contains no mention of bribes in this verse.
Micah 2:1–3Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.Both passages associate hands with wrongdoing; Micah describes people carrying out evil because they have the power to do it.
Proverbs 4:16For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.Both passages describe people engaged in evil, though Proverbs emphasizes their refusal to sleep before causing harm.
Psalm 36:4He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.Both psalms describe people engaged in wickedness; Psalm 36 adds the planning of evil and the absence of revulsion toward it.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. work conflict. temptation.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Corruption belongs among the things you can bring before God in prayer. The speaker names bribes without softening their evil, then asks God for redemption and mercy.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).