Jeremiah 5:28

5:28 That is how ¹  they have grown fat and sleek. ² 

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ³ 

They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.

They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Job 29:12-17

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ⁴  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁵ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁶ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ⁷ 

my just dealing ⁸  was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father ⁹  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs ¹⁰  of the wicked,

and made him drop ¹¹  his prey from his teeth.

Psalms 72:1-4

Psalm 72 ¹² 

For ¹³  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ¹⁴ 

Grant the king’s son ¹⁵  the ability to make fair decisions! ¹⁶ 

72:2 Then he will judge ¹⁷  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ¹⁸  equitably.

72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,

and the hills will announce justice. ¹⁹ 

72:4 He will defend ²⁰  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ²¹  the children ²²  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Psalms 72:12-13

72:12 For he will rescue the needy ²³  when they cry out for help,

and the oppressed ²⁴  who have no defender.

72:13 He will take pity ²⁵  on the poor and needy;

the lives of the needy he will save.

Psalms 82:3-4

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ²⁶ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ²⁷  of the wicked!

Psalms 109:31

109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to deliver him from those who threaten ²⁸  his life.

Proverbs 24:11-12

24:11 Deliver those being taken away to death,

and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. ²⁹ 

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”

does not the one who evaluates ³⁰  hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ³¹ 

Isaiah 1:17

1:17 Learn to do what is right!

Promote justice!

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! ³² 

Take up the cause of the orphan!

Defend the rights of the widow! ³³ 

[5:28]  ¹ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.

[5:28]  ² tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.

[5:28]  ³ tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”

[29:12]  ⁴ tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[29:13]  ⁵ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁶ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[29:14]  ⁷ tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.

[29:14]  ⁸ tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.

[29:16]  ⁹ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[29:17]  ¹⁰ tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.

[29:17]  ¹¹ tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).

[72:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ¹³ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ¹⁵ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:2]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ¹⁸ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[72:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[the] mountains will bear peace to the people, and [the] hills with justice.” The personified mountains and hills probably represent messengers who will sweep over the land announcing the king’s just decrees and policies. See Isa 52:7 and C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:133.

[72:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ²² tn Heb “sons.”

[72:12]  ²³ tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.

[72:12]  ²⁴ tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.

[72:13]  ²⁵ tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).

[82:3]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[82:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[109:31]  ²⁸ tn Heb “judge.”

[24:11]  ²⁹ tn The idea of “slipping” (participle from מוֹט, mot) has troubled some commentators. G. R. Driver emends it to read “at the point of” (“Problems in Proverbs,” ZAW 50 [1932]: 146). But the MT as it stands makes good sense. The reference would be general, viz., to help any who are in mortal danger or who might be tottering on the edge of such disaster – whether through sin, or through disease, war, or danger. Several English versions (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) render this term as “staggering.”

[24:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”

[24:12]  ³¹ sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.

[1:17]  ³² tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”

[1:17]  ³³ tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.