Exodus 23:2-3

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹  in doing evil things; ²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ³  23:3 and you must not show partiality ⁴  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Deuteronomy 16:19

16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ⁵  the words of the righteous. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 27:19

27:19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Deuteronomy 27:2

27:2 When you cross the Jordan River ⁷  to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover ⁸  them with plaster.

Deuteronomy 19:7

19:7 Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

Job 31:13

31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants

or my female servants

when they disputed ⁹  with me,

Job 31:21-22

31:21 if I have raised my hand ¹⁰  to vote against the orphan,

when I saw my support in the court, ¹¹ 

31:22 then ¹²  let my arm fall from the shoulder, ¹³ 

let my arm be broken off at the socket. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 82:3-4

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹⁵ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ¹⁶  of the wicked!

Ecclesiastes 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ¹⁷  of the poor,

or the perversion ¹⁸  of justice and fairness in the government, ¹⁹ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ²⁰ 

and there are higher ones over them! ²¹ 

Isaiah 10:1-2

10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, ²² 

those who are always instituting unfair regulations, ²³ 

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ²⁴  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 5:28

5:28 That is how ²⁶  they have grown fat and sleek. ²⁷ 

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ²⁸ 

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 6:28

6:28 I reported, ²⁹ 

“All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! ³⁰ 

They are as hard as bronze or iron.

They go about telling lies.

They all deal corruptly.

Jeremiah 7:6

7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. ³¹  Stop killing innocent people ³²  in this land. Stop paying allegiance to ³³  other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. ³⁴ 

Amos 5:11-12

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ³⁵ 

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 ³⁶  vineyards you planted. ³⁷ 

5:12 Certainly ³⁸  I am aware of ³⁹  your many rebellious acts ⁴⁰ 

and your numerous sins.

You ⁴¹  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ⁴²  the needy at the city gate. ⁴³ 

Micah 3:1-4

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ⁴⁴  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁴⁵  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ⁴⁶ 

3:2 yet you ⁴⁷  hate what is good, ⁴⁸ 

and love what is evil. ⁴⁹ 

You flay my people’s skin ⁵⁰ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ⁵¹ 

3:3 You ⁵²  devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot ⁵³  –

like meat in a kettle.

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁵⁴ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Zephaniah 3:1-4

Jerusalem is Corrupt

3:1 The filthy, ⁵⁵  stained city is as good as dead;

the city filled with oppressors is finished! ⁵⁶ 

3:2 She is disobedient; ⁵⁷ 

she refuses correction. ⁵⁸ 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ⁵⁹  her God.

3:3 Her princes ⁶⁰  are as fierce as roaring lions; ⁶¹ 

her rulers ⁶²  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ⁶³ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ⁶⁴ 

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ⁶⁵ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ⁶⁶ 

they break God’s laws. ⁶⁷ 

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ⁶⁸  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, ⁶⁹  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ⁷⁰  who refuse to help ⁷¹  the immigrant ⁷²  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

James 2:5-6

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ⁷³  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ⁷⁴  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

[23:2]  ¹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ² tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ³ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[23:3]  ⁴ tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[16:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ⁶ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[27:2]  ⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[31:13]  ⁹ tn This construction is an adverbial clause using the temporal preposition, the infinitive from רִיב (riv, “contend”), and the suffix which is the subjective genitive.

[31:21]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “raised my hand” refers to a threatening manner or gesture in the court rather than a threat of physical violence in the street. Thus the words “to vote” are supplied in the translation to indicate the setting.

[31:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “gate,” referring to the city gate where judicial decisions were rendered in the culture of the time. The translation uses the word “court” to indicate this to the modern reader, who might not associate a city gate complex with judicial functions.

[31:22]  ¹² sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.

[31:22]  ¹³ tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”

[31:22]  ¹⁴ tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.

[82:3]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ²⁰ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ²¹ sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[10:1]  ²² tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[10:1]  ²³ tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.

[10:2]  ²⁴ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[5:28]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”

[6:28]  ²⁹ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some takes these words to be the continuation of the Lord’s commission of Jeremiah to the task of testing them. However, since this is the evaluation, the task appears to be complete. The words are better to be taken as Jeremiah’s report after he has completed the task.

[6:28]  ³⁰ tn Or “arch rebels,” or “hardened rebels.” Literally “rebels of rebels.”

[7:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”

[7:6]  ³² tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”

[7:6]  ³³ tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”

[5:11]  ³⁵ tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).

[5:11]  ³⁶ tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”

[5:12]  ³⁸ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ³⁹ tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.

[5:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[5:12]  ⁴³ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “who.”

[3:3]  ⁵³ tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).

[3:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:1]  ⁵⁵ tn The present translation assumes מֹרְאָה (mor’ah) is derived from רֹאִי (ro’i,“excrement”; see Jastrow 1436 s.v. רֳאִי). The following participle, “stained,” supports this interpretation (cf. NEB “filthy and foul”; NRSV “soiled, defiled”). Another option is to derive the form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”); in this case the term should be translated “rebellious” (cf. NASB, NIV “rebellious and defiled”). This idea is supported by v. 2. For discussion of the two options, see HALOT 630 s.v. I מרא and J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 206.

[3:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Woe, soiled and stained one, oppressive city.” The verb “is finished” is supplied in the second line. On the Hebrew word הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), see the note on the word “dead” in 2:5.

[3:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

[3:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

[3:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

[3:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶² tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[3:4]  ⁶⁵ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[3:5]  ⁶⁸ 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).

[3:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ⁷² tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

[2:5]  ⁷³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:6]  ⁷⁴ tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.