Proverbs 22:16

22:16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain

and the one who gives to the rich ¹  – both end up only in poverty.

Proverbs 22:22

22:22 Do not exploit ²  a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court, ³ 

Proverbs 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ⁴  the poor insults ⁵  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ⁶  to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 18:23

18:23 A poor person makes supplications, ⁷ 

but a rich man answers harshly. ⁸ 

Amos 2:6

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions ⁹  –

make that four! ¹⁰  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ¹¹ 

They sold the innocent ¹²  for silver,

the needy for a pair of sandals. ¹³ 

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹⁴  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ¹⁵  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ¹⁶  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ¹⁷ 

Amos 5:11-12

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ¹⁸ 

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 ¹⁹  vineyards you planted. ²⁰ 

5:12 Certainly ²¹  I am aware of ²²  your many rebellious acts ²³ 

and your numerous sins.

You ²⁴  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ²⁵  the needy at the city gate. ²⁶ 

Amos 8:4

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample ²⁷  the needy,

and do away with ²⁸  the destitute in the land.

Amos 8:6

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, ²⁹ 

a pair of sandals ³⁰  for the needy!

We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” ³¹ 

James 2:6

2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ³²  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ³³  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 5:4

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

[22:16]  ¹ tn Heb “oppressing the poor, it is gain; giving to the rich, it is loss.” The Hebrew is cryptic, but two sins are mentioned here that will be punished by poverty: extortion and bribery. Perhaps the proverb is simply saying it is easy to oppress the poor for gain, but it is a waste of money to try to buy or bribe a patron (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 149).

[22:22]  ² tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

[22:22]  ³ tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.

[14:31]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[18:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “speaks supplications”; NIV “pleads for mercy.” The poor man has to ask for help because he has no choice (cf. CEV). The Hebrew term תַּחֲנוּן (takhanun) is a “supplication for favor” (related to the verb חָנַן [khanan], “to be gracious; to show favor”). So the poor man speaks, but what he speaks is a request for favor.

[18:23]  ⁸ sn The rich person responds harshly to the request. He has hardened himself against such appeals because of relentless demands. The proverb is an observation saying; it simply describes the way the world generally works, rather than setting this out as the ideal.

[2:6]  ⁹ tn For this translation see the note at 2:4.

[2:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Israel, even because of four.”

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[2:6]  ¹² tn Or “honest” (CEV, NLT). The Hebrew word sometimes has a moral-ethical connotation, “righteous, godly,” but the parallelism (note “poor”) suggests a socio-economic or legal sense here. The practice of selling debtors as slaves is in view (Exod 21:2-11; Lev 25:35-55; Deut 15:12-18) See the note at Exod 21:8 and G. C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East (JSOTSup). Probably the only “crime” the victim had committed was being unable to pay back a loan or an exorbitant interest rate on a loan. Some have suggested that this verse refers to bribery in legal proceedings: The innocent are “sold” in the sense that those in power pay off the elders or judges for favorable decisions (5:12; cf. Exod 23:6-7).

[2:6]  ¹³ tn Perhaps the expression “for a pair of sandals” indicates a relatively small price or debt. Some suggest that the sandals may have been an outward token of a more substantial purchase price. Others relate the sandals to a ritual attached to the transfer of property, signifying here that the poor would be losing their inherited family lands because of debt (Ruth 4:7; cf. Deut 25:8-10). Still others emend the Hebrew form slightly to נֶעְלָם (ne’lam, “hidden thing”; from the root עָלַם, ’alam, “to hide”) and understand this as referring to a bribe.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

[5:11]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ²² tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[8:4]  ²⁷ tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.

[8:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”

[8:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”

[8:6]  ³⁰ tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.

[8:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”

[2:6]  ³² tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.

[5:1]  ³³ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”