58 Bible Verses about Oppression, Nature Of

Because oppressed people are robbed and needy people groan, I will now arise, says Jehovah. I will provide safety for those who long for it.

The wicked proudly persecutes the poor people. He will be caught in the schemes that he contrived.

You have not strengthened those that were weak, healed those who were sick, or bandaged those who were injured. You have not brought back those who strayed away or looked for those who were lost. You have ruled them harshly and violently.

Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate. Jehovah will plead their cause and take the life of those who rob them.

Do not deny justice to a poor person at his trial.

This is what you must do whenever there are poor Israelites in one of your cities in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you.

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

He who gives to the poor will not lack. But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.

The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.'

Jehovah said: I will not withdraw punishment for (three sins of Israel, even for four) the many transgressions of Israel! They sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes. They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of lowly (meek) persons. They reject the humble! A man and his father have sexual relations with the same maiden, to profane my holy name.

You impose unfair rent on the poor and defraud a tribute of grain from them. You haave built houses of hewn stone yet you will not live in them. You planted pleasant vineyards, but you will not drink the wine from them. I know you have many transgressions and your sins are great. You afflict the righteous. You take bribes. You refuse to help the needy at the gate.

Hear this, you who would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail.

Do not oppress the widow. Do not oppress the fatherless. Do not oppress the stranger and do not oppress the poor. And you should not devise evil in your heart against your brother.

You have dishonored the poor man. Do the rich oppress you, and personally drag you into court?

Do not mistreat any widow or orphan.

Do not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan. Do not take a widow's garment in pledge.

They drive away the donkey of the orphan. They take the widow's ox for a pledge.

if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate;

They crush your people, O Jehovah. They make those who belong to you suffer. They kill widows and foreigners, and they murder orphans.

Do not remove the old landmark (boundry). And do not enter the field of the fatherless.

Your rulers are rebels, friends with thieves. They all love bribes and run after gifts. They never defend orphans. They do not listen to the widows' pleas.

if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin,

I will approach you people for judgment! I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers and those acting fraudulently with the wages of the worker, the widow and the fatherless. I will be a speedy witness against those who swear falsely and take advantage of the stranger, and do not show me reverence, said Jehovah of Hosts.

They devour widows' houses and for pretence make long prayers. These shall receive greater condemnation.

Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner. Remember that you were foreigners in Egypt.

Jehovah said to Abram: Know this for sure; your offspring will be strangers (aliens) in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years.

Do not mistreat a foreigner. You know how it feels to be a foreigner. After all you were foreigners in Egypt.

Never mistreat a foreigner living in your land. Foreigners living among you will be like your own people. Love them as you love yourself, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.

Do not detest an Edomite for he is your brother. Do not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien (strangers) (guests) in his land.

They kill widows and foreigners, and they murder orphans.

This is what Jehovah says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and do not oppress them. Do not kill innocent people in this place.

Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. Pay him his wages on the workday day before the sunsets. He is poor and sets his heart on it. He will not complain against you to Jehovah and it becomes your sin.

Your servant is in your hands, Abram said. Do with her whatever you think best. Then Sarai mistreated Hagar. So she ran away from her.

So the Egyptians put slave masters over them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply (storage) cities for Pharaoh.

My people have begged for my help. I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them.

Do not oppress your neighbor and do not rob him. Do not fail to pay your workers at the end of each day.

Why have we fasted and you do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and you do not notice? Behold, on the day of your fast you find desire, and mistreat all your workers.'

Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged the oppressed one by killing the Egyptian.

Behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, which are held back by you, cry out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of Jehovah of Hosts.

I always absorbed the loss when wild animals killed a sheep. I did not take it to you to show that it was not my fault. You demanded that I make good anything that was stolen during the day or during the night.

A new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. He said to his people: There are too many Israelites! They are stronger than we are. We must outsmart them or they will increase in number. If war breaks out they will leave the country and join our enemies to fight against us.read more.
So the Egyptians put slave masters over them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply (storage) cities for Pharaoh. However the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians could not stand them any longer. They forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. They made their lives bitter with backbreaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard work. The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives. Shiphrah and Puah were among them. He said: When you help the Hebrew women give birth on the birth stool, if it is a son you shall put him to death. If it is a daughter, then she shall live. The midwives respected God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. They let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said: Why have you let the boys live? The midwives replied to Pharaoh: Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them. God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives respected God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: Every son who is born must be thrown into the Nile River. However, keep every daughter alive.

The Lord Jehovah says: At first my people went down to Egypt to live as aliens. Now Assyria has oppressed them.

Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit. That is why they become powerful and rich. They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They do not defend the rights of the poor.

They will drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

They deprive the poor of justice. They take away the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and rob orphans.

Your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain. You are shedding innocent blood and on practicing oppression and extortion.

Hear this word you cows of Bashan who live on the mountain of Samaria. You oppress the poor. You crush the needy. You say to your masters (husbands) (lords), Bring us drink.

We must outsmart them or they will increase in number. If war breaks out they will leave the country and join our enemies to fight against us.

He spoke to them as the young men advised. He said: If my father made your burden heavy, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will use scorpions.

Asa was so angry with the prophet that he had him put in chains. It was at this same time that Asa began treating some of the people cruelly.

Like a roaring lion and a charging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the helpless people.

Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help, and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless.

Cursed is he who withholds justice due an alien, orphan, and widow. The people all say: Amen.

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he also will cry, but will not be heard.

Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers. They struck the people with fury, with blows that did not stop. They ruled nations in anger, persecuting them without restraint.

Jehovah of Hosts says: Cut down trees and build up a siege against Jerusalem. This city should be punished, for there is only oppression in her.

This is what Jehovah says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and do not oppress them. Do not kill innocent people in this place. If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David's throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people.' But if you do not do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,' declares Jehovah, 'this palace will become a pile of rubble.'

I will not hold back punishment, said Jehovah, For the many transgressions of Damascus. This is because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.