44 Bible Verses about oppression

Come now, Oh ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are rotten, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is corrupted with rust; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall completely eat your flesh, as fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. read more.
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields (which you have kept back by fraud) cries out; and the cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the hosts. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton; ye have refreshed your hearts, as in the day of slaughter of sacrifices.

Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters and six years for thy flock; and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have done violence unto the poor and needy; they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, making mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigor.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields (which you have kept back by fraud) cries out; and the cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the hosts.

Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried unto Elisha, saying, Thy slave, my husband, is dead; and thou knowest that thy slave feared the LORD; and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his slaves.

So I returned and considered all the violence that is done under the sun and behold the tears of such as are oppressed, and they have no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but the oppressed had no comforter.

Thou shalt neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye know the state of the soul of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Thou shalt not do violence unto a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he is of thy brethren or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates.

Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am the LORD your God.

Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither destroy the destitute in judgment:

And I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts.

Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness and for to shed innocent blood and for oppression and for violence, to do it.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields (which you have kept back by fraud) cries out; and the cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the hosts.

And they coveted fields and stole them, and houses and took them away; so they oppressed the man and his house, even the man and his heritage.

For thus has the Lord GOD said, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian captured them without cause.

Therefore, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has now come before me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labour and our oppression.

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

He that oppresses the poor to increase his riches and who gives to the rich shall surely come to want.

He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he that has mercy on the poor, honours him.

Then Zophar, the Naamathite, answered and said, My thoughts certainly cause me to answer, and therefore, I make haste. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my intelligence causes me to answer. read more.
Dost thou not know this that always was, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches unto the clouds, yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung; those who have seen him shall say, What is become of him? He shall fly away as a dream and shall not be found: yea, he shall flee away as a vision of the night. The eye which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place behold him any more. His poor sons shall go forth begging, and their hands shall restore that which he stole. His bones are full of the sins of his youth, which shall be buried with him in the dust. If wickedness was sweet in his mouth, if he hid it under his tongue, if it seemed good unto him, and he did not forsake it, but savored it within his mouth, his food shall be changed in his bowels, it shall be the gall of asps within him. He has swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again; God shall cast them out of his belly. He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. He shall restore the work that was not his; according to the substance that he took; neither shall he devour, nor rejoice. Because he oppressed and forsook the poor; because he has violently taken away houses which he did not build,

A poor man that oppresses the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaves no food.

Like a crane or a swallow, so did I complain; I mourned as a dove; I raised my eyes upward, O LORD, I am suffering violence; comfort me.

Ransom me from the violence of men, and I will keep thy precepts.

from the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

Why dost thou hide thy face and forget our affliction and our oppression?

AIN. I have complied with judgment and righteousness; do not leave me to my oppressors.

But Zion said, The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even though they may forget, I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. read more.
Thy builders shall come in haste; thy destroyers and those that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them all, as with a garment of honour and shalt be girded by them as a bride. For thy waste and thy desolate places and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and those that destroyed thee shall be separated far away. Even thy sons which were fatherless, shall say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who has begotten me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, a stranger removed from my land? and who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? Thus has the Lord GOD said, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and raise up my banner as an example to the peoples: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their princesses thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for those that wait for me shall not be ashamed. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contends with thee, and I will save thy sons. And I will feed those that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Therefore all those that devour thee shall be devoured; and all those that afflict thee, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and those that trampled upon thee shall be trodden down, and all that prey upon thee I will give for a prey. For I will cause healing to come for thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, said the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after. Thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob's tents and have mercy on his dwelling places and the city shall be built upon her own hill, and the temple according to her judgment shall stand. read more.
And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of people that live in joy: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be decreased; I will multiply them, and they shall not be cut down. Their sons shall also be as at first, and their congregation shall be confirmed before me, and I will visit all their oppressors.

He that walks in righteousness, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of violence, he that shakes his hands from receiving bribes; he that stops his ears to not hear of blood; he who shuts his eyes to not see evil; he shall dwell upon the high places: fortresses of rocks shall be his place of refuge: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

But if a man is just and does judgment and righteousness, that he does not eat upon the mountains, neither lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither defile his neighbour's wife, neither come near to the menstruous woman, neither oppress any, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment, read more.
neither lends at interest, neither takes any increase, withdraws his hand from iniquity, executes true judgment between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rights, to do according to the truth: he is just; he shall surely live, said the Lord GOD.

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of the hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause that he may give rest to the land and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise, saith the LORD; I will set in safety the one whom the wicked one has ensnared.

He shall judge the poor of the people; he shall save the children of the destitute and shall break in pieces the violent.

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God; who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is therein; who keeps truth for ever: He who does justice unto the oppressed; who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD looses the prisoners:

The LORD executes righteousness and justice unto all that suffer violence.

The LORD also will be a refuge to the humble, a refuge for the time of trouble.

Who shall believe our report? and upon whom shall the arm of the LORD be manifested? With all this he shall grow up before him as a tender sprout and as a root out of a dry ground. There is no outward appearance in him, nor beauty. We shall see him, yet nothing attractive about him that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected among men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with weakness; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. read more.
Surely he has borne our sicknesses and suffered our pain: and we considered him stricken, smitten of God, and cast down. But he was wounded for our rebellions; he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes healing was provided for us. All we like sheep have become lost; we have turned each one to his own way; and the LORD transposed in him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he did not open his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall count his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the rebellion of my people he was smitten. And he made his grave with the wicked, and his death with the rich; even though he had never done evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth. With all this the LORD chose to bruise him; subjecting him to grief. When he shall have offered his soul for atonement, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the will of the LORD shall be prospered in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. And by his knowledge shall my righteous slave justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.

For thy Maker shall be thine husband; the LORD of the hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit has the LORD called thee, and as a young woman who is put away, said thy God. For a small moment I have forsaken thee; but with great mercies I will gather thee. read more.
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with eternal mercy I will have compassion on thee, said the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so I have sworn that I would not be wroth again with thee, nor reprehend thee. For the mountains shall be removed, and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be changed, said the LORD that has mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will cement thy stones upon carbuncle and lay thy foundations upon sapphires. And I will make thy windows of precious stones, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of stones of great price. And all thy sons shall be taught of the LORD; and the peace of thy sons shall be multiplied. With righteousness shalt thou be adorned: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear it; and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

The prince void of intelligence is also a great oppressor, but he that hates covetousness shall prolong his days.

Now, therefore, let us be wise concerning him, that he not multiply and it come to pass that when war comes, he shall also join with our enemies and fight against us and so leave the land. Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built the supply cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, so much that they loathed the sons of Israel. read more.
And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, making mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigor. And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and another named Puah; and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see the sex, if it is a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them but gave the men children their lives. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing and have given the men children their lives? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively and are delivered before the midwives come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty. And it came to pass because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall give them their lives.

and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleases thee. Then Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her face.

The LORD also will be a refuge to the humble, a refuge for the time of trouble.

And the Gentiles unto whom they shall be in slavery I will judge, said God; and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place.

But ye have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you with tyranny and draw you with violence to the courts?