44 Bible Verses about oppression

Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you. Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! read more.
Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

This was my lot for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave for you -- fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times!

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice.

They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.

Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, "Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants."

So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth. This is what I saw: The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.

"You must not wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

"You must not oppress a foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages.

No one is to oppress his fellow citizen, but you must fear your God, because I am the Lord your God.

Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,

"I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me," says the Lord who rules over all.

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, "Bring us more to drink!"

But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression.

Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited.

For this is what the sovereign Lord says: "In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.

So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression.

The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies' attacks.

The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich -- both end up only in poverty.

The one who oppresses the poor insults his Creator, but whoever shows favor to the needy honors him.

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: "This is why my troubled thoughts bring me back -- because of my feelings within me. When I hear a reproof that dishonors me, then my understanding prompts me to answer. read more.
"Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth, that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Even though his stature reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever, like his own excrement; those who used to see him will say, 'Where is he?' Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, and like a vision of the night he is put to flight. People who had seen him will not see him again, and the place where he was will recognize him no longer. His sons must recompense the poor; his own hands must return his wealth. His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust. "If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, if he retains it for himself and does not let it go, and holds it fast in his mouth, his food is turned sour in his stomach; it becomes the venom of serpents within him. The wealth that he consumed he vomits up, God will make him throw it out of his stomach. He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him. He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter. He gives back the ill-gotten gain without assimilating it; he will not enjoy the wealth from his commerce. For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build.

A poor person who oppresses the weak is like a driving rain without food.

Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. O sovereign master, I am oppressed; help me!

Deliver me from oppressive men, so that I can keep your precepts.

Protect me from the wicked men who attack me, my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.

Why do you look the other way, and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated?

(Ayin) I do what is fair and right. Do not abandon me to my oppressors!

"Zion said, 'The Lord has abandoned me, the sovereign master has forgotten me.' Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you! Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are constantly before me. read more.
Your children hurry back, while those who destroyed and devastated you depart. Look all around you! All of them gather to you. As surely as I live," says the Lord, "you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry; you will put them on as if you were a bride. Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away. Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, 'This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.' Then you will think to yourself, 'Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?'" This is what the sovereign Lord says: "Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. Kings will be your children's guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame. Can spoils be taken from a warrior, or captives be rescued from a conqueror? Indeed," says the Lord, "captives will be taken from a warrior; spoils will be rescued from a conqueror. I will oppose your adversary and I will rescue your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. Then all humankind will recognize that I am the Lord, your deliverer, your protector, the powerful ruler of Jacob."

But all who destroyed you will be destroyed. All your enemies will go into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered. I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged. Yes, I will restore you to health. I will heal your wounds. I, the Lord, affirm it! For you have been called an outcast, Zion, whom no one cares for." The Lord says, "I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob. I will show compassion on their ruined homes. Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site. read more.
Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving and the sounds of laughter and merriment. I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away. I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised. The descendants of Jacob will enjoy their former privileges. Their community will be reestablished in my favor and I will punish all who try to oppress them.

The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others -- This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.

"Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period, does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, read more.
does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men, and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. That man is righteous; he will certainly live, declares the sovereign Lord.

But the one who will rescue them is strong. He is known as the Lord who rules over all. He will strongly champion their cause. As a result he will bring peace and rest to the earth, but trouble and turmoil to the people who inhabit Babylonia.

From harm and violence he will defend them; he will value their lives.

"Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action," says the Lord. "I will provide the safety they so desperately desire."

He will defend the oppressed among the people; he will deliver the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.

How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who remains forever faithful, vindicates the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord releases the imprisoned.

The Lord does what is fair, and executes justice for all the oppressed.

Consequently the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; he provides safety in times of trouble.

Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord's power revealed through him? He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. read more.
But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. He was led away after an unjust trial -- but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man's tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord's purpose will be accomplished through him. Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. "My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.

For your husband is the one who made you -- the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called "God of the entire earth." "Indeed, the Lord will call you back like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, like a young wife when she has been rejected," says your God. "For a short time I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. read more.
In a burst of anger I rejected you momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you," says your protector, the Lord. "As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah's time, when I vowed that the waters of Noah's flood would never again cover the earth. In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you. Even if the mountains are removed and the hills displaced, my devotion will not be removed from you, nor will my covenant of friendship be displaced," says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you. "O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli. I will make your pinnacles out of gems, your gates out of beryl, and your outer wall out of beautiful stones. All your children will be followers of the Lord, and your children will enjoy great prosperity. You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. You will not experience oppression; indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, for nothing frightening will come near you.

The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom, but the one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

Come, let's deal wisely with them. Otherwise they will continue to multiply, and if a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with our enemies and fight against us and leave the country." So they put foremen over the Israelites to oppress them with hard labor. As a result they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result the Egyptians loathed the Israelites, read more.
and they made the Israelites serve rigorously. They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live." But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women -- for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!" So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he made households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "All sons that are born you must throw into the river, but all daughters you may let live."

and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh."

Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

Consequently the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; he provides safety in times of trouble.

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' said God, 'and after these things they will come out of there and worship me in this place.'

But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?