'Oppression' in the Bible

then if he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found,

You shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression), but you are to fear your God [with profound reverence].

You may even bequeath them as an inheritance to your children after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your fellow countrymen, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with harshness (severity, oppression).

Like a man hired year by year he shall deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness in your sight.

Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression;

But Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

“And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger,Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty],

His mouth is full of curses and deceit (fraud) and oppression;Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness [injustice and sin].

I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

For You are the God of my strength [my stronghold—in whom I take refuge]; why have You rejected me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Why do You hide Your faceAnd forget our affliction and our oppression?

Because of the voice of the enemy,Because of the pressure of the wicked;For they bring down trouble on me,And in anger they persecute me.

Do not trust in oppression,And do not vainly hope in robbery;If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

He will redeem their life from oppression and fraud and violence,And their blood will be precious in His sight.

They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;They speak loftily [with malice].

When they are diminished and bowed down (humbled)Through oppression, misery, and sorrow,

Redeem me from the oppression of man;That I may keep Your precepts.

For their minds plot violence,And their lips talk of trouble [for the innocent].

If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].

For oppression makes a wise man foolish,And a bribe corrupts the [good judgment of the] heart.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of IsraelAnd the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.

Therefore, the Holy One of Israel says this,“Because you have refused and rejected this word [of Mine]And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,

He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshedAnd shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;

After oppression and judgment He was taken away;And as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the factThat He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death]For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due?

“You will be firmly established in righteousness:You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,And from terror, for it will not come near you.

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression],The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,

Rebelling against and denying the Lord,Turning away from [following] our God,Speaking oppression and revolt,Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words.

For the Lord of hosts has said,“Cut down her treesAnd build a siege [mound] against Jerusalem.This is the city which must be punished;There is nothing but oppression inside her [walls].

if you do not oppress the transient and the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood [by oppression and by unjust judicial murders] in Jerusalem, nor follow after other gods to your own ruin,

“Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit];Through deceit they refuse to know (understand) Me,” says the Lord.

“But your eyes and your heartAre only intent on your own dishonest gain,On shedding innocent blood,On oppression and extortion and violence.”

In you they have treated father and mother lightly. They have oppressed the stranger among you; and in your presence they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.

In you they have accepted bribes to shed blood; you have taken [forbidden] interest and [a percentage of] profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression and extortion, and you have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

The people of the land have practiced oppression and extortion and have committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy and they have oppressed the stranger without justice.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your forceful seizure of property from My people,” says the Lord God.

Moreover, the prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance by oppression and by evicting them from their property; he shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”