Job 34:19

34:19 who shows no partiality to princes,

and does not take note of ¹  the rich more than the poor,

because all of them are the work of his hands?

Nehemiah 5:5

5:5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ²  and our children are just like their children, ³  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ⁴  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ⁵  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ⁶ 

Proverbs 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ⁷  the poor insults ⁸  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ⁹  to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 22:2

22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; ¹⁰ 

the Lord is the creator of them both. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 58:7

58:7 I want you ¹²  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ¹³ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ¹⁴ 

Malachi 2:10

The Rebellion of the People

2:10 Do we not all have one father? ¹⁵  Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, in this way making light of the covenant of our ancestors?

[34:19]  ¹ tn The verb means “to give recognition; to take note of” and in this passage with לִפְנֵי (lifne, “before”) it means to show preferential treatment to the rich before the poor. The word for “rich” here is an unusual word, found parallel to “noble” (Isa 32:2). P. Joüon thinks it is a term of social distinction (Bib 18 [1937]: 207-8).

[5:5]  ² tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “like their children, our children.”

[5:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.

[5:5]  ⁶ sn The poor among the returned exiles were being exploited by their rich countrymen. Moneylenders were loaning large amounts of money, and not only collecting interest on loans which was illegal (Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19-20), but also seizing pledges as collateral (Neh 5:3) which was allowed (Deut 24:10). When the debtors missed a payment, the moneylenders would seize their collateral: their fields, vineyards and homes. With no other means of income, the debtors were forced to sell their children into slavery, a common practice at this time (Neh 5:5). Nehemiah himself was one of the moneylenders (Neh 5:10), but he insisted that seizure of collateral from fellow Jewish countrymen was ethically wrong (Neh 5:9).

[14:31]  ⁷ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22.

[14:31]  ⁸ sn In the Piel this verb has the meaning of “to reproach; to taunt; to say sharp things against” someone (cf. NIV “shows contempt for”). By oppressing the poor one taunts or mistreats God because that person is in the image of God – hence the reference to the “Creator.” To ridicule what God made is to ridicule God himself.

[14:31]  ⁹ sn The phrase “shows favor” is contrasted with the term “oppresses.” To “show favor” means to be gracious to (or treat kindly) those who do not deserve it or cannot repay it. It is treatment that is gratis. This honors God because he commanded it to be done (Prov 14:21; 17:5; 19:17).

[22:2]  ¹⁰ tn The form of the verb is the Niphal perfect of פָּגַשׁ (pagash); it means “to meet together [or, each other]” (cf. KJV, ASV). The point is that rich and poor live side by side in this life, but they are both part of God’s creation (cf. NAB, NASB “have a common bond”). Some commentators have taken this to mean that they should live together because they are part of God’s creation; but the verb form will not sustain that meaning.

[22:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all.” The Lord is sovereign over both groups, that is, he has had the final say whether a person is rich or poor. People would do well to treat all people with respect, for God can as easily reduce the rich to poverty as raise up the poor to wealth.

[58:7]  ¹² tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[2:10]  ¹⁵ sn The rhetorical question Do we not all have one father? by no means teaches the “universal fatherhood of God,” that is, that all people equally are children of God. The reference to the covenant in v. 10 as well as to Israel and Judah (v. 11) makes it clear that the referent of “we” is God’s elect people.