'Rights' in the Bible

Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.”

Jacob answered, “First sell me your birthright (the rights of a firstborn).”

Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.

If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights of daughters.

If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.

In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim (Lights) and the Thummim (Perfections) [to be used for determining God’s will in a matter]. They shall be over Aaron’s heart whenever he goes before the Lord, and Aaron shall always carry the judgment (verdict, judicial decisions) of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord.

The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall shall be considered as open fields; they have redemption rights and revert in the jubilee.

He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved wife, by giving him two shares of his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.

You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.

Then the first male child she has will take the rights of the brother who is dead, so that his name may not come to an end in Israel.

Listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them and tell them about the rights of the king who will rule over them.”

He said, “These are the rights of the king who will rule over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.

Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his home.

May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord give me my rights against you, but my hand will never be lifted up against you.

The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn -- (Now he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, Israel's son. So Reuben is not listed as firstborn in the genealogical records.

Now the following were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls (poultry) were prepared for me; and in intervals of ten days all sorts of wine was provided in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

And the king said to the wise men, {the ones who know the times}--for it [was] the procedure of the king before all those who knew law and rights;

Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

I am certain that the Lord will take care of the cause of the poor, and of the rights of those who are troubled.

Who gives their rights to those who are crushed down; and gives food to those who are in need of it: the Lord makes the prisoners free;

The righteous person knows the rights of the poor,but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

He who pampers his slave from childhoodWill find him to be a son in the end.

For they will drink and forget what is decreed,And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

Open your mouth for the mute,For the rights of all the unfortunate.

Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.

Learn to do what is good.Seek justice.Correct the oppressor.Defend the rights of the fatherless.Plead the widow’s cause.

Your rulers are rebels,friends of thieves.They all love graftand chase after bribes.They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,and the widow’s case never comes before them.

Who justify the wicked for a bribe,And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

to deprive the needy of justice and to rob the poor of my people of their rights, so that widows may become their spoil and so that they may plunder orphans!

In the Lord will all the seed of Israel get their rights, and they will give glory to him.

he who obtains rights for me [is] near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who [is] the master of my judgment? Let him approach me.

All your rights will be made certain to you: have no fear of evil, and destruction will not come near you.

They have become fat and sleek.They have also excelled in evil matters.They have not taken up cases,such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

{What rights has my beloved in my house} [when] she has done many wicked things? Can the flesh of holiness pass over you? For {you engage in your wickedness}, then you exult.

when a person's rights are perverted in defiance of the Most High.

O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause [You have guided my way and protected me];You have rescued and redeemed my life.

And I will come near to you for judging; I will quickly be a witness against the wonder-workers, against those who have been untrue in married life, against those who take false oaths; against those who keep back from the servant his payment, and who are hard on the widow and the child without a father, who do not give his rights to the man from a strange country, and have no fear of me, says the Lord of armies.

And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes [by claiming the rights and prerogatives of God]!”

He answered them, “Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]?

A student is not superior to his teacher; but everyone, after he has been completely trained, will be like his teacher.

And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth.

A husband should give to his wife her sexual rights, and likewise a wife to her husband.

It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife.

Do not deprive each other [of marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves [unhindered] to prayer, but come together again so that Satan will not tempt you [to sin] because of your lack of self-control.

But I have used none of these rights, and I have not written this to make it happen that way for me. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

What, then, is my reward? It is to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so I never resort to demanding my rights when I'm preaching the gospel.

It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.

remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God’s agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household,

not overstepping the rights of and wronging his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, even as we also told you before, and have fully testified.

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or any sort of criminal [in response to persecution], or as a troublesome meddler interfering in the affairs of others;