Amos 5:11-12

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops

and exact a grain tax from them,

you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,

nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.

5:12 Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts

and your numerous sins.

You torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.

Amos 6:12

6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?

Can one plow the sea with oxen?

Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,

and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.

Deuteronomy 29:18

29:18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Isaiah 1:23

1:23 Your officials are rebels,

they associate with thieves.

All of them love bribery,

and look for payoffs.

They do not take up the cause of the orphan,

or defend the rights of the widow.

Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience!

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!

Isaiah 10:1

10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead,

those who are always instituting unfair regulations,

Isaiah 59:13-14

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds.

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness stands far off.

Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

Hosea 10:4

10:4 They utter empty words,

taking false oaths and making empty agreements.

Therefore legal disputes sprout up

like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field.

Habakkuk 1:12-14

Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns

1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times;

my sovereign God, you are immortal.

Lord, you have made them your instrument of judgment.

Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment.

1:13 You are too just to tolerate evil;

you are unable to condone wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people?

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?

1:14 You made people like fish in the sea,

like animals in the sea that have no ruler.