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To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
– Proverbs 28:21

[V]erses 21-23 address greed in some form. This saying refers to the perversion of justice through bribes. Respect of persons refers to discrimination on the basis of a person’s standing, whether ethnically, socially, etc. The miscarriage of justice can go in favor of a person or against them depending on their standing. Such injustice is consistently condemned in Proverbs, as well as in the law (Proverbs 18:5; 24:23; Exodus 23:2, 8; Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19).

A piece of bread is a slight temptation and so speaks to the power of unchecked greed within a covetous heart. As Kidner pointed out, this sin, or temptation to sin, is not only limited to public officials, but to teachers as well (Ezekiel 13:19).