Ecclesiastes 7:7
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Cross-references
Ecclesiastes 4:1 describes the same oppressive reality — tears of the oppressed with no comforter — amplifying the warning about oppression.
Exodus 23:8 warns that bribes blind and subvert justice, directly matching the heart-corrupting effect of bribes in Ecclesiastes 7:7.
Deuteronomy 16:19 states bribes blind the eyes of the wise, paralleling how bribes corrupt the heart in Ecclesiastes 7:7.
Deuteronomy 28:34 explicitly says oppression will drive you mad—the same outcome Ecclesiastes 7:7 attributes to oppression.
Proverbs 17:23 states the wicked take bribes to pervert justice, directly echoing the bribery corruption in Ecclesiastes 7:7.
Isaiah 1:23 condemns bribes among rulers, mirroring how a bribe corrupts the heart in Ecclesiastes 7:7.
Isaiah 33:15 describes the righteous who refuses bribes — contrasting with the corruption warned about here.
1 Samuel 8:3 gives a historical example of bribery perverting justice, illustrating the corruption Ecclesiastes 7:7 warns against.
1 Samuel 21:13 shows David feigning madness under threat — an illustration of oppression driving a wise man to act mad.
1 Samuel 12:3 shows Samuel's clean record—no bribery or oppression—contrasting the corrupting influences mentioned in Ecclesiastes 7:7.
1 Samuel 21:14 records Achish declaring David insane — the result of David's feigned madness under oppression, paralleling the theme.