Leviticus 19:35

19:35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. ¹ 

Psalms 58:1-2

Psalm 58 ² 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ³  a prayer ⁴  of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? ⁵ 

Do you judge people ⁶  fairly?

58:2 No! ⁷  You plan how to do what is unjust; ⁸ 

you deal out violence in the earth. ⁹ 

Psalms 82:1-2

Psalm 82 ¹⁰ 

A psalm of Asaph.

82:1 God stands in ¹¹  the assembly of El; ¹² 

in the midst of the gods ¹³  he renders judgment. ¹⁴ 

82:2 He says, ¹⁵  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ¹⁶  (Selah)

Psalms 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ¹⁷  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ¹⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 3:16

The Problem of Injustice and Oppression

3:16 I saw something else on earth: ¹⁹ 

In the place of justice, there was wickedness,

and in the place of fairness, ²⁰  there was wickedness.

Amos 5:7

5:7 The Israelites ²¹  turn justice into bitterness; ²² 

they throw what is fair and right ²³  to the ground. ²⁴ 

Micah 3:8-11

3:8 But I ²⁵  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ²⁶ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ²⁷ 

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ²⁸  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁹  of Israel!

You ³⁰  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

3:10 You ³¹  build Zion through bloody crimes, ³² 

Jerusalem ³³  through unjust violence.

3:11 Her ³⁴  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ³⁵ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ³⁶  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ³⁷ 

Disaster will not overtake ³⁸  us!”

[19:35]  ¹ tn That is, liquid capacity (HALOT 640 s.v. מְשׂוּרָה). Cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, TEV “quantity”; NAB, NASB “capacity.”

[58:1]  ² sn Psalm 58. The psalmist calls on God to punish corrupt judges because a vivid display of divine judgment will convince observers that God is the just judge of the world who vindicates the godly.

[58:1]  ³ tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 57, 59, and 75.

[58:1]  ⁴ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam) which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 56-57, 59-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[58:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Really [in] silence, what is right do you speak?” The Hebrew noun אֵלֶם (’elem, “silence”) makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some feel that this is an indictment of the addressees’ failure to promote justice; they are silent when they should make just decisions. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֵלִם (’elim), which in turn is understood as a defectively written form of אֵילִים (’elim, “rulers,” a metaphorical use of אַיִל, ’ayil, “ram”; see Exod 15:15; Ezek 17:13). The rhetorical question is sarcastic, challenging their claim to be just. Elsewhere the collocation of דָּבַר (davar, “speak”) with צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “what is right”) as object means “to speak the truth” (see Ps 52:3; Isa 45:19). Here it refers specifically to declaring what is right in a legal setting, as the next line indicates.

[58:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of mankind.” The translation assumes the phrase is the object of the verb “to judge.” Some take it as a vocative, “Do you judge fairly, O sons of mankind?” (Cf. NASB; see Ezek 20:4; 22:2; 23:36.)

[58:2]  ⁷ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

[58:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

[58:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

[82:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

[82:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “presides over.”

[82:1]  ¹² tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

[82:1]  ¹³ sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

[82:1]  ¹⁴ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).

[82:2]  ¹⁵ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[94:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[3:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “righteousness.”

[5:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11-13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation – those with social and economic power.

[5:7]  ²² tn There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.

[5:7]  ²³ tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites, but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, but powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.

[3:8]  ²⁵ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[3:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “who.”

[3:10]  ³² tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

[3:10]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:11]  ³⁴ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ³⁶ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”