Parallel Verses

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,

American Standard Version

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that 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 to those who enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
2 So as to deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the orphans.

Cross References

Psalm 94:20-21

Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?

Isaiah 5:8

Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!

Micah 3:1-4

And I said,
Hear now, heads of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel.
Is it not for you to know justice?

Habakkuk 2:6

“Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him,
Even mockery and insinuations against him
And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself rich with loans?’

Matthew 23:23

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Luke 11:42-44

But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Luke 11:52

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

Esther 3:10-13

Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

Psalm 58:2

No, in heart you work unrighteousness;
On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.

Isaiah 5:18

Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;

Isaiah 5:20-22

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Jeremiah 22:13

“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness
And his upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And does not give him his wages,

Daniel 6:8-9

Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

Micah 3:9-11

Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,

Micah 6:16

“The statutes of Omri
And all the works of the house of Ahab are observed;
And in their devices you walk.
Therefore I will give you up for destruction
And your inhabitants for derision,
And you will bear the reproach of My people.”

Habakkuk 2:9

“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house
To put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of calamity!

Habakkuk 2:12

“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with violence!

Habakkuk 2:15

“Woe to you who make your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!

Habakkuk 2:19

“Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
And there is no breath at all inside it.

Matthew 11:21

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Matthew 23:13-16

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Matthew 23:27

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:29

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

Matthew 26:24

The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Luke 11:46-47

But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

John 9:22

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.

John 19:6

So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”

Jude 1:11

Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

1 Kings 21:13

Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

Isaiah 3:11

Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,
For what he deserves will be done to him.

Isaiah 5:11

Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

King James Version Public Domain

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

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

NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. NetBible

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