What does the Bible say about the laws of the land?

Top passages, ranked by readers

Rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY) · Scripture: World English Bible

• Romans 13:1-7

  [1] Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. [2] Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. [3] For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, [4] for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn't bear the sword in vain; for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. [5] Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake. [6] For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are ministers of God's service, attending continually on this very thing. [7] Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

• 1 Peter 2:13-17

  [13] Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; [14] or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to those who do well. [15] For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: [16] as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. [17] Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

• Acts 5:29

  But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

• Romans 13:2

  Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.

• Romans 13:1

  Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.

• James 2:12

  So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.

• 1 Timothy 5:8

  But if anyone doesn't provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

• Deuteronomy 28:1-68

  [1] It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, who Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth: [2] and all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. [3] Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. [4] Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your animals, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock. [5] Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. [6] Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. [7] Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you: they shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways. [8] Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to; and he will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. [9] Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. [10] All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Yahweh; and they shall be afraid of you. [11] Yahweh will make you plenteous for good, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you. [12] Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow. [13] Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do [them], [14] and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. [15] But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you. [16] Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. [17] Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. [18] Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock. [19] Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. [20] Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. [21] Yahweh will make the pestilence cleave to you, until he have consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it. [22] Yahweh will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish. [23] Your sky that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron. [24] Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust: from the sky shall it come down on you, until you are destroyed. [25] Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them: and you shall be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. [26] Your dead body shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away. [27] Yahweh will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. [28] Yahweh will strike you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart; [29] and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save you. [30] You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not use the fruit of it. [31] Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it: your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have none to save you. [32] Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people; and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nothing in the power of your hand. [33] The fruit of your ground, and all your labors, shall a nation which you don't know eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always; [34] so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. [35] Yahweh will strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. [36] Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers; and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone. [37] You shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh shall lead you away. [38] You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. [39] You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather [the grapes]; for the worm shall eat them. [40] You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive shall cast [its fruit]. [41] You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. [42] All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess. [43] The foreigner who is in the midst of you shall mount up above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower. [44] He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. [45] All these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you: [46] and they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed forever. [47] Because you didn't serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; [48] therefore shall you serve your enemies whom Yahweh shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he have destroyed you. [49] Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies; a nation whose language you shall not understand; [50] a nation of fierce facial expressions, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, [51] and shall eat the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; that also shall not leave you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your cattle, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. [52] They shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Yahweh your God has given you. [53] You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. [54] The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining; [55] so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your gates. [56] The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, [57] and toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates. [58] If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH YOUR GOD; [59] then Yahweh will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. [60] He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cleave to you. [61] Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will Yahweh bring on you, until you are destroyed. [62] You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. [63] It shall happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go in to possess it. [64] Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. [65] Among these nations shall you find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; [66] and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. [67] In the morning you shall say, Would it were even! and at even you shall say, Would it were morning! for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. [68] Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for bondservants and for bondmaids, and no man shall buy you.

• Exodus 22:1-31

  [1] "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. [2] If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. [3] If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt of bloodshed for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. [4] If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double. [5] "If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten, and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard. [6] "If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. [7] "If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man's house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double. [8] If the thief isn't found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods. [9] For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, 'This is mine,' the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. [10] "If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it; [11] the oath of Yahweh shall be between them both, whether he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. [12] But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. [13] If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn. [14] "If a man borrows anything of his neighbor's, and it is injured, or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make restitution. [15] If the owner of it is with it, he shall not make it good. If it is a leased thing, it came for its lease. [16] "If a man entices a virgin who isn't pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. [17] If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. [18] "You shall not allow a sorceress to live. [19] "Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death. [20] "He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed. [21] "You shall not wrong an alien, neither shall you oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. [22] "You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. [23] If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; [24] and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. [25] "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor; neither shall you charge him interest. [26] If you take your neighbor's garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, [27] for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious. [28] "You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people. [29] "You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me. [30] You shall do likewise with your oxen and with your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother, then on the eighth day you shall give it me. [31] "You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.

• Romans 13:4

  for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn't bear the sword in vain; for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.

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