56 Bible Verses about Rights

" 'You will not afflict any widow or orphan.

" 'If you lend money [to] my people, [to] the needy with you, you will not be to him as a creditor; you will not {charge him interest}. If indeed you require the cloak of your neighbor as a pledge, you will return it to him at sundown, because it is his only garment; it is his cloak for his skin. In what will he sleep? {And} when he cries out to me, I will hear, because I [am] gracious.

" 'And at your reaping the harvest of your land you must not finish reaping the edge of your field, and you must not glean the remnants of your harvest. And you must not glean your vineyard, and you must not gather your vineyard's fallen grapes; you must leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I [am] Yahweh your God.

He does not keep [the] wicked alive but grants justice [to the] afflicted.

But a priest, if [with] his money he buys a person [as] {his possession}, that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food.

'If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing. If he comes in single, he will go out single. If he is the husband of a wife, his wife will go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and [the slave] will go out single.read more.
But if the slave explicitly says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free," his master will present him to God and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

If your relative who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and [he or she] has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person [out] {free}. And when you send him [out] free from you, you shall not send him [away] empty-handed. You shall generously supply him from [among] your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; [according to] that [with which] Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.read more.
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I [am] commanding you thus {today}. And then [if] it will happen [that] he says to you, '{I do not want to go out} from you,' because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him [to be] with you; then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust [it] through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you {a slave forever}; and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. It shall not be hard in your eyes {when you send him forth free}, because for six years he has served you [worth] twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you {in whatever you will do}.

" 'And if a man sells his daughter as a slave woman, she will not go out as male slaves go out. If {she does not please her master} who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her. And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters.read more.
If he takes for himself another, he will not reduce her food, her clothing, or her right of cohabitation. And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver [paid for her].

" 'And when an alien dwells with you in your land, you shall not oppress him. The alien who is dwelling with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I [am] Yahweh your God.

" 'You will not mistreat an alien, and you will not oppress him, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

And you must not glean your vineyard, and you must not gather your vineyard's fallen grapes; you must leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I [am] Yahweh your God.

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'When you cross the Jordan [into] the land of Canaan, you will select for yourselves cities for your cities of refuge, that a killer who has killed a person unintentionally can flee there.read more.
The cities will be to you a refuge from a redeemer, so that the killer will not die until he stands before the community for judgment.

Then Moses set apart three cities {on the other side of the Jordan}, {toward the east}, [in order for] {a manslayer} to flee there [who] has killed his neighbor {without intent} and was not hating him {previously}, and [so] he could flee to one of these cities {and be safe}.

And Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, "Speak to the {Israelites}, saying, 'Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through the hand of Moses. Anyone who kills a person by accident or unintentionally may flee there; they will be for yourselves a refuge from the avenger of blood.read more.
The killer will flee to one of these cities, stand [at] the entrance of the gate of the city, and {state his case to the elders of that city}; and they will take him into the city and give him a place, and he will dwell among them. And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they will not hand over the killer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and {he did not hate him previously}. The killer will stay in that city until he stands before the congregation for the trial, until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then {the killer will return} to his city and to his house, to the city from which he fled.'"

The husband must fulfill his obligation to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband [does]. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife [does]. Do not defraud one another, except perhaps by agreement, for a time, in order that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and [then] you should be {together} again, lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self control.

"If a man takes a woman and {he has sex with her}, but [he] then {dislikes her}, and {he accuses her falsely}, and {he defames her}, and he says 'This woman I took and I lay with her and {I discovered that she was not a virgin},' then [in defense] the father of the young woman shall take, along with her mother, and [together] they must bring out the [evidence of] the virginity of the young woman [to display it] to the elders of the city {at the city gate}.read more.
And [then] the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, but he [now] {dislikes} her, and now look {he has accused her falsely}, saying, "I did not find {your daughter a virgin}," but here [is] [evidence of] the virginity of my daughter'; and they shall spread the cloth [out] {before} the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man, and they shall discipline him. Then they shall fine him hundred [shekels of] silver, and they shall give [them] to the father of the young woman, for {he defamed an Israelite young woman}, and {she shall become his wife}; he will not be allowed {to divorce her} all his days. "But if {this charge} was true, {and the signs of virginity were not found} for the young woman, and [then] they shall bring out the young woman to the doorway of the house of her father, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die, because she did a disgraceful thing in Israel {by playing the harlot} [in] the house of her father, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

--wives to their own husbands as to the Lord, because [the] husband is [the] head of the wife, as also Christ [is the] head of the church (he himself [being the] Savior of the body). But as the church is subject to Christ, thus also wives [should be subject] to their husbands in everything.read more.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; in order that he might sanctify her by cleansing [her] with the washing of water by the word; in order that he might present to himself the church glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any such [thing], but that she may be holy and blameless. Thus also husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. The one who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as also Christ [does] the church, because we are members of his body. "For this [reason] a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." (This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.) Only you also, each one [of you], must thus love his own wife as himself, and the wife {must respect} her husband.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving you.

'Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you, so that it will be good for you {in the land} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

[that] no one [be] a sexually immoral or totally worldly [person] like Esau, who for one meal traded his own birthright.

Once Jacob cooked a thick stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "Give me {some of that red stuff} to gulp down, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom). Then Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright {first}."read more.
And Esau said, "Look, I am going to die; now what [is] this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me {first}." And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread, and thick lentil stew, and he ate and drank. Then he got up and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

"If a man has two wives, [and] the one [is] loved and the [other] one [is] disliked and the one loved and the one that is disliked have borne for him sons, if it happens [that] the firstborn son {belongs to the one that is disliked}, [nevertheless] {it will be the case that} on the day of bestowing his inheritance upon his sons, he will not be allowed to treat as [the] firstborn son the son of the beloved [wife] {in preference to} the son of the disliked [wife], [who is] the firstborn [son]. But he shall acknowledge the firstborn son of the disliked [wife] {by giving} him a double portion of {all that he has}, for he [is] the firstfruit of his vigor; to him [is] the legal claim of the birthright.

The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but when he defiled the couch of his father, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that he was not enrolled in the genealogy as the firstborn, though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief [came] from him, but the birthright belonged to Joseph).

And fathers, do not make your children angry, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

But as many as received him--to those who believe in his name--he gave to them authority to become children of God,

The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to him to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.'

The one who conquers, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne.

Blessed [are] the ones who wash their robes, so that their authority will be over the tree of life and they may enter into the city through the gates.

What then is my reward? That [when I] proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel free of charge, in order not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you, for you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this:read more.
Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a sister [as] wife, like the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right {to refrain from working}? Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Who shepherds a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock? I am not saying these [things] according to a human perspective. Or does the law not also say these [things]? For in the law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox [while it] is threshing." It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it? Or doubtless does he speak {for our sake}? For it is written {for our sake}, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes [ought to do so] in hope of a share. If we have sown spiritual [things] among you, [is it too] great [a thing] if we reap material [things] from you? If others share this right over you, do we not [do so] even more? Yet we have not made use of this right, but we endure all [things], in order that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those performing the holy services eat the things from the temple, [and] those attending to the altar have a share with the altar? In the [same] way also the Lord ordered those who proclaim the gospel to live from the gospel. But I have not made use of any of these [rights]. And I am not writing these [things] in order that it may be thus with me. For [it would be] better to me rather to die than [for] anyone to deprive me of my reason for boasting. For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if [I do so] unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

The elders who lead well must be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor by speaking and teaching. For the scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox [while it] is threshing," and "The worker [is] worthy of his wages."

" 'You shall not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, {lest the land be prostituted and the land fill up with depravity}.

"At the end of seven years you shall grant remission of debt. And this [is] the manner of the remission of debt: every {creditor} shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment [from] his brother because there remission of debt has been proclaimed unto Yahweh. [With respect to] the foreigner you may exact payment, but {you must remit} what shall be [owed] to you [with respect to] your brother.read more.
Nevertheless, there shall not be among you a poor [person], because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as] an inheritance, to take possession of it. If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God {by observing diligently} all of these commandments that I [am] commanding you {today}. When Yahweh your God has blessed you, [just] as he {promised} to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow [from them], and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

{The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}.

" 'But the land must not be sold in perpetuity, because the land [is] mine, because you [are] aliens and temporary residents with me. And in all your property's land you must provide redemption for the land. " 'When your brother becomes poor and he sells part of his property, then {his nearest redeemer} shall come, and he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother.read more.
But if a man {does not have} a redeemer, then {he prospers} and he finds enough for his redemption, then he shall calculate the years of its selling, and he shall refund the balance to the man to whom he sold [it], and he shall return to his property. But if his hand does not find enough to refund to him, then {what he has sold} shall be in the buyer's hand until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his property. " 'And if a man sells {a residential house in a walled city}, then it shall be his redemption until completing {a year after his selling}; its redemption {shall last} {a year}. But if it is not redeemed {before a full year has passed}, then the house that [is] {in the walled city} shall belong to the buyer in perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee. However, village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered {open country}; [there] is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out [of the buyer's hand]. " 'As for the cities of the Levites, [that is], the houses in their property's cities, it shall be {a lasting redemption} for the Levites. And whatever [anyone] redeems from the Levites then must go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee, [including] a house's selling {in his city's property}, because the houses in the cities of the Levites [are] their property in the midst of the {Israelites}. But a field of their cities' pastureland must not be sold, because {it is their property for all time}. " 'And if your countryman becomes poor and {if he becomes dependent on you}, then you shall support him [like] an alien and [like] a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. You must not take interest or usury from him, but you shall revere your God, and your countryman shall live with you. You must not give your money to him with interest or give your food for profit. I [am] Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give {you} the land of Canaan, to be as God for you. " 'And if your countryman [who is] with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, {you shall not treat him as a slave}. He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee. And he and his sons with him shall go out from you, and he shall return to his clan, and to the property of his ancestors he shall return. Because they [are] my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold {as a slave}. You shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but you shall revere your God.

You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy! When I fall I will stand up; when I sit in darkness Yahweh [will be] a light for me. I will bear the rage of Yahweh, for I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes my justice. He will bring me out to the light; I will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, "Where [is] Yahweh your God?" My eyes will look upon her; now she will become a trampling place, like mud in the streets.

[And he] executes justice for the orphan and widow, and [he is] one who loves [the] alien, to give to them food and clothing.

A father to orphans and a judge for widows [is] God in his holy habitation.

Do not remove an ancient boundary marker, and on the fields of orphans do not encroach; For their redeemer is strong, he himself will plead their cause against you.

Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil, and writers who have written harm, to guide [the] needy away from legal claims, and to rob the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; and they plunder orphans. And what will you do at [the] day of punishment, and at calamity? It comes from afar! To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth,read more.
{save that they bow down under the prisoners and fall under the slain}? In all of this his anger has not turned away, and still his hand [is] stretched out.

For wicked people are found among my people, they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers, they set up a trap, they catch humans. Like a cage full of birds, so their houses [are] full of fraud. {Therefore} they have become great, and they have become rich. They have grown fat, they have grown sleek, also, {their evil deeds have no limit}. They do not judge [with] justice, [the] legal cause of [the] orphan, or allow it to succeed, and [the] legal case of [the] poor, they do not defend.read more.
Because of these [things] shall I not punish?" {declares} Yahweh, "and on a nation who [is] like this, shall I not take revenge?

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals! Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father {have sexual relations with} the same girl, so that [they] profane my holy name. They stretch themselves out beside every altar on clothing taken in pledge and they drink wine, bought with fines imposed, in the house of their God.

O God, give your judgments to [the] king, and your righteousness to [the] king's son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. Let [the] mountains yield prosperity for the people, and [the] hills in righteousness.read more.
May he provide justice [for the] poor of [the] people, save [the] children of [the] needy, and crush [the] oppressor.

[It is] not for the kings, O Lemuel; drinking wine [is] not for the kings, nor [is] strong drink for rulers. Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the {afflicted}. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those {in bitter distress}.read more.
He will drink and forget his poverty, and his misery he will not remember [any] more. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the {needy}. Open your mouth, judge righteousness, and defend [the] poor and needy.

Rather, Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt with great strength and with an outstretched arm--him you shall fear, and to him you shall bow down, and to him you shall sacrifice.

Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

And Jesus answered [and] said to him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.

God [is] spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

And now, Israel, what [is] Yahweh your God asking from you, except to revere Yahweh your God, to go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today {for your own good}.

"This day Yahweh your God is commanding you to do these rules and regulations, {and you must observe them diligently} with all your heart and with all your soul. Yahweh you [have] declared {today} to be for you as [your] God, and to go in his ways and to observe his rules and his commandments and his regulations and to listen to his voice. And Yahweh [has] declared you {today} to be for him as a people, a treasured possession, as he {promised} to you, and [that you are] to observe all his commandments,

what I am commanding you {today} [is] to love Yahweh your God by going in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the {land where you are going}.