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Gifts blind the eyes

Posted by RRC on January 18, 2009 at 17:56

In Reply to: Gifts blind the eyes posted by Stephen on January 18, 2009 at 09:30:

: What does the saying - "Gifts blind the eyes" mean? And tell me the derivation, pls.

The Bible - Deuteronomy 16:19 (King James Version)
"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous."
Some versions translate the word as "bribe" rather than "gift". The meaning should be rather clear once you have the whole verse. Or here it is from the Contemporary English Version:
"Those of you that become judges must be completely fair when you make legal decisions, even if someone important is involved. Don't take bribes to give unfair decisions. Bribes keep people who are wise from seeing the truth and turn honest people into liars."

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