Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security.

Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

“You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.

‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.

You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.

Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.
They all love graft
and chase after bribes.
They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,
and the widow’s case never comes before them.

They have become fat and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.

“Do not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.

Be sure to return it to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the Lord your God.

Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”

while the land belonged to a powerful man
and an influential man lived on it.

When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.

A psalm of Asaph.God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:

Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?

Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?

Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed at the gate,

Otherwise, they will drink,
forget what is decreed,
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

Why do you crush My people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.

The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes to avoid endorsing evil

This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.

Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the foreign resident is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the foreign resident.

Those who turn justice into wormwood
throw righteousness to the ground.

Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans on their beds!
At morning light they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.

Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.

“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”

Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Bible References

Pervert

Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
“You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.
Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”
while the land belonged to a powerful man
and an influential man lived on it.
When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.
A psalm of Asaph.God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:
Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?
Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed at the gate,
Otherwise, they will drink,
forget what is decreed,
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.
If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.
Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.
They all love graft
and chase after bribes.
They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,
and the widow’s case never comes before them.
Why do you crush My people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes to avoid endorsing evil
They have become fat and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.
This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.
Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the foreign resident is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.
Those who turn justice into wormwood
throw righteousness to the ground.
Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans on their beds!
At morning light they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.
Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.
“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.
Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”
Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

Nor take

“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.

General references

“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in the garment he has given as security.
‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.

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