Psalms 68:5

68:5 He is a father to the fatherless

and an advocate for widows. ¹ 

God rules from his holy palace. ² 

Deuteronomy 10:18-19

10:18 who justly treats ³  the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing. 10:19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ⁴  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ⁵  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Proverbs 15:25

15:25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud, ⁶ 

but he maintains the boundaries of the widow. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 49:11

49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.

Your widows too can depend on me.” ⁸ 

Hosea 14:3

14:3 Assyria cannot save us;

we will not ride warhorses.

We will never again say, ‘Our gods’

to what our own hands have made.

For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” ⁹ 

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ¹⁰  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, ¹¹  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ¹²  who refuse to help ¹³  the immigrant ¹⁴  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

James 1:27

1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before ¹⁵  God the Father ¹⁶  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

¹ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.

² tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.

³ tn Or “who executes justice for” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “gives justice to.”

⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

⁵ tn Heb “gates.”

⁶ sn The “proud” have to be understood here in contrast to the widow, and their “house” has to be interpreted in contrast to the widow’s territory. The implication may be that the “proud” make their gain from the needy, and so God will set the balance right.

⁷ sn The Lord administers justice in his time. The Lord champions the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the needy. These people were often the prey of the proud, who would take and devour their houses and lands (e.g., 1 Kgs 21; Prov 16:19; Isa 5:8-10).

⁸ tn Or “Their children and relatives will all be destroyed. And none of their neighbors will say, ‘Leave your orphans with me and I’ll keep them alive. Your widows can trust in me.’” This latter interpretation is based on a reading in a couple of the Greek versions (Symmachus and Lucian) and is accepted by a number of the modern commentaries, (J. Bright, J. A. Thompson, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers). However, the majority of modern English versions do not follow it and lacking any other Hebrew or versional evidence it is probable that this is an interpretation to explain the mitigation of what appears as a prophecy of utter annihilation. There have been other cases in Jeremiah where a universal affirmation (either positive or negative) has been modified in the verses that follow. The verb in the second line תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtakhu) is highly unusual; it is a second masculine plural form with a feminine plural subject. The form is explained in GKC 127-28 §47.k and 160-61 §60.a, n. 1 as a pausal substitution for the normal form תִּבְטַחְנָה (tivtakhnah) and a similar form in Ezek 37:7 cited as a parallel.

⁹ tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

¹¹ tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

¹² tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

¹³ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

¹⁴ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

¹⁵ tn Or “in the sight of”; Grk “with.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “the God and Father.”