Bible Verses About Rulers: Duties of

“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.

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 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.”

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.

But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.

When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.

Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.

The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.

If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.