Nehemiah 5:10

5:10 Even I and my relatives ¹  and my associates ²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ³ 

Psalms 82:2-5

82:2 He says, ⁴  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ⁵  (Selah)

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ⁶ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ⁷  of the wicked!

82:5 They ⁸  neither know nor understand.

They stumble ⁹  around in the dark,

while all the foundations of the earth crumble. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 1:17

1:17 Learn to do what is right!

Promote justice!

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! ¹¹ 

Take up the cause of the orphan!

Defend the rights of the widow! ¹² 

Jeremiah 22:3

22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those ¹³  who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. ¹⁴  Do not kill innocent people ¹⁵  in this land.

Zechariah 8:16

8:16 These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ¹⁶ 

Luke 3:14

3:14 Then some soldiers ¹⁷  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ¹⁸  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ¹⁹  or by false accusation, ²⁰  and be content with your pay.”

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:10]  ² tn Heb “lads.”

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “this debt.” This expression is a metonymy of association: “debt” refers to the seizure of the collateral of the debt.

[82:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[82:3]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[82:5]  ⁸ sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.

[82:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.

[82:5]  ¹⁰ sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”

[1:17]  ¹² tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.

[22:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”

[22:3]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”

[8:16]  ¹⁶ sn For a similar reference to true and righteous judgment see Mic 6:8.

[3:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ²⁰ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.