Bible Verses About Rulers

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.

May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”

But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”

Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”

Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do.

Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.

And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.

Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”

“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation

who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.

Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you.