Job 6:27

6:27 Yes, you would gamble ¹  for the fatherless,

and auction off ²  your friend.

Job 22:9

22:9 you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms ³  of the orphans you crushed. ⁴ 

Job 24:3

24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;

they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

Job 24:9

24:9 The fatherless child is snatched ⁵  from the breast, ⁶ 

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge. ⁷ 

Job 31:21-23

31:21 if I have raised my hand ⁸  to vote against the orphan,

when I saw my support in the court, ⁹ 

31:22 then ¹⁰  let my arm fall from the shoulder, ¹¹ 

let my arm be broken off at the socket. ¹² 

31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, ¹³ 

and by reason of his majesty ¹⁴  I was powerless.

Psalms 94:6

94:6 They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land,

and they murder the fatherless. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 7:5

7:5 You must change ¹⁶  the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 22:3

22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those ¹⁸  who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. ¹⁹  Do not kill innocent people ²⁰  in this land.

Zechariah 7:10

7:10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ²¹  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, ²²  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ²³  who refuse to help ²⁴  the immigrant ²⁵  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 ²⁶  God the Father ²⁷  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

[6:27]  ¹ tn The word “lots” is not in the text; the verb is simply תַּפִּילוּ (tappilu, “you cast”). But the word “lots” is also omitted in 1 Sam 14:42. Some commentators follow the LXX and repoint the word and divide the object of the preposition to read “and fall upon the blameless one.” Fohrer deletes the verse. Peake transfers it to come after v. 23. Even though it does not follow quite as well here, it nonetheless makes sense as a strong invective against their lack of sympathy, and the lack of connection could be the result of emotional speech. He is saying they are the kind of people who would cast lots over the child of a debtor, who, after the death of the father, would be sold to slavery.

[6:27]  ² tn The verb תִכְרוּ (tikhru) is from כָּרָה (karah), which is found in 40:30 with עַל (’al), to mean “to speculate” on an object. The form is usually taken to mean “to barter for,” which would be an expression showing great callousness to a friend (NIV). NEB has “hurl yourselves,” perhaps following the LXX “rush against.” but G. R. Driver thinks that meaning is very precarious. As for the translation, “to speculate about [or “over”] a friend” could be understood to mean “engage in speculation concerning,” so the translation “auction off” has been used instead.

[22:9]  ³ tn The “arms of the orphans” are their helps or rights on which they depended for support.

[22:9]  ⁴ tn The verb in the text is Pual: יְדֻכָּא (yÿdukka’, “was [were] crushed”). GKC 388 §121.b would explain “arms” as the complement of a passive imperfect. But if that is too difficult, then a change to Piel imperfect, second person, will solve the difficulty. In its favor is the parallelism, the use of the second person all throughout the section, and the reading in all the versions. The versions may have simply assumed the easier reading, however.

[24:9]  ⁵ tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”

[24:9]  ⁶ tn This word is usually defined as “violence; ruin.” But elsewhere it does mean “breast” (Isa 60:16; 66:11), and that is certainly what it means here.

[24:9]  ⁷ tc The MT has a very brief and strange reading: “they take as a pledge upon the poor.” This could be taken as “they take a pledge against the poor” (ESV). Kamphausen suggested that instead of עַל (’al, “against”) one should read עוּל (’ul, “suckling”). This is supported by the parallelism. “They take as pledge” is also made passive here.

[31:21]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.

[31:22]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[31:23]  ¹³ tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.

[31:23]  ¹⁴ tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umissÿ’eto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).

[94:6]  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; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[7:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[22:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”

[22:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “aliens, orphans, or widows” treating the terms as generic or collective. However, the term “alien” carries faulty connotations and the term “orphan” is not totally appropriate because the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean that both parents have died.

[22:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”

[3:5]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ²³ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ²⁵ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

[1:27]  ²⁶ tn Or “in the sight of”; Grk “with.”

[1:27]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the God and Father.”