Parallel Verses

American Standard Version

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;

New American Standard Bible

Woe to those who enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,

King James Version

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

Holman Bible

Woe to those enacting crooked statutes
and writing oppressive laws

International Standard Version

"How terrible it will be for the one who enacts unjust decrees, for those who write oppressive laws that they have prescribed

A Conservative Version

Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write perverseness,

Amplified

Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes,
And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions,

Bible in Basic English

Cursed are those who make evil decisions, and the writers who make the records of their cruel acts:

Darby Translation

Woe unto them that decree iniquitous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression,

Julia Smith Translation

Wo to those decreeing not decrees, and they wrote writings of labor;

King James 2000

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write misfortune which they have prescribed;

Lexham Expanded Bible

Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil, and writers who have written harm,

Modern King James verseion

Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the scribes who write toil;

Modern Spelling Tyndale-Coverdale

Woe be unto you that make unrighteous laws, and devise things, which be too hard for to keep:

NET Bible

Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, those who are always instituting unfair regulations,

New Heart English Bible

Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees;

The Emphasized Bible

Alas! for them who ordain iniquitous decree, - And, busy writers, who make a business of writing mischief:

Webster

Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

World English Bible

Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees;

Youngs Literal Translation

Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.

Interlinear

English(KJV)
Strong's
Root Form
Definition
Usage
Woe
הוי 
Howy 
woe, Ah, Ho, O, Alas
Usage: 50

חקק 
Chaqaq 
Usage: 19

חקק 
Cheqeq 
Usage: 2

and that write
כּתב 
Kathab 
Usage: 223

References

American

Fausets

Hastings

Watsons

Context Readings

Woes On The Wicked

1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; 2 to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!


Cross References

Psalm 94:20-21

Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with thee, Which frameth mischief by statute?

Isaiah 5:8

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!

Micah 3:1-4

And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?

Habakkuk 2:6

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges!

Matthew 23:23

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

Luke 11:42-44

But woe unto you Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over justice and the love of God: but these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 11:52

Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Esther 3:10-13

And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy.

Psalm 58:2

Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

Isaiah 5:18

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;

Isaiah 5:20-22

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Jeremiah 22:13

Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;

Daniel 6:8-9

Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

Micah 3:9-11

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity.

Micah 6:16

For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I may make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: and ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Habakkuk 2:9

Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!

Habakkuk 2:12

Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!

Habakkuk 2:15

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Habakkuk 2:19

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Matthew 11:21

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Matthew 23:13-16

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.

Matthew 23:27

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:29

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,

Matthew 26:24

The Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born.

Luke 11:46-47

And he said, Woe unto you lawyers also! for ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

John 9:22

These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

John 19:6

When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him , crucify him ! Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him.

Jude 1:11

Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.

1 Kings 21:13

And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.

Isaiah 3:11

Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him ; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him.

Isaiah 5:11

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!

King James Version Public Domain

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International Standard Version Copyright © 1996-2008 by the ISV Foundation.

New American Standard Bible Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org

American Standard Version Public Domain

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Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain