Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered.

Proverbs 21:1

21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water;

he turns it wherever he wants.

Proverbs 25:9-11

25:9 When you argue a case with your neighbor,

do not reveal the secret of another person,

25:10 lest the one who hears it put you to shame

and your infamy will never go away.

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver,

so is a word skillfully spoken.

Jeremiah 5:28

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

There is no limit to the evil things they do.

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.

Jeremiah 22:15-17

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king

that you outstrip everyone else in building with cedar?

Just think about your father.

He was content that he had food and drink.

He did what was just and right.

So things went well with him.

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression.

Ezekiel 22:7

22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.

Ezekiel 22:29-31

22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice.

22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Micah 3:1-4

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation of Israel!

You ought to know what is just,

3:2 yet you hate what is good,

and love what is evil.

You flay my people’s skin

and rip the flesh from their bones.

3:3 You devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot –

like meat in a kettle.

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help,

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”