Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ¹ 

because of the painful cries ²  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ³  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ⁴ 

Psalms 35:10

35:10 With all my strength I will say, ⁵ 

“O Lord, who can compare to you?

You rescue ⁶  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ⁷ 

the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ⁸ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁹  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 109:31

109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to deliver him from those who threaten ¹¹  his life.

Job 5:15-16

5:15 So he saves ¹²  from the sword that comes from their mouth, ¹³ 

even ¹⁴  the poor from the hand of the powerful.

5:16 Thus the poor have hope,

and iniquity ¹⁵  shuts its mouth. ¹⁶ 

Proverbs 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ¹⁷  the poor insults ¹⁸  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ¹⁹  to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 22:16

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

and the one who gives to the rich ²⁰  – both end up only in poverty.

Proverbs 28:15

28:15 Like ²¹  a roaring lion or a roving bear, ²² 

so is a wicked ruler over a poor people. ²³ 

Isaiah 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ²⁴ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ²⁵  has spoken.

Isaiah 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ²⁶ 

he dreams up evil plans ²⁷ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ²⁸ 

Ezekiel 22:29

22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ²⁹ 

Amos 2:6-7

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions ³⁰  –

make that four! ³¹  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³² 

They sold the innocent ³³  for silver,

the needy for a pair of sandals. ³⁴ 

2:7 They trample ³⁵  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ³⁶ 

they push the destitute away. ³⁷ 

A man and his father go to the same girl; ³⁸ 

in this way they show disrespect ³⁹  for my moral purity. ⁴⁰ 

Amos 5:11-12

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ⁴¹ 

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 ⁴²  vineyards you planted. ⁴³ 

5:12 Certainly ⁴⁴  I am aware of ⁴⁵  your many rebellious acts ⁴⁶ 

and your numerous sins.

You ⁴⁷  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ⁴⁸  the needy at the city gate. ⁴⁹ 

Habakkuk 3:14

3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors ⁵⁰  with a spear. ⁵¹ 

They storm forward to scatter us; ⁵² 

they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. ⁵³ 

[12:5]  ¹ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ² tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ³ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.

[35:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “all my bones will say.”

[35:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.

[35:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.

[35:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

[37:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[109:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “judge.”

[5:15]  ¹² tn The verb, the Hiphil preterite of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “and he saves”) indicates that by frustrating the plans of the wicked God saves the poor. So the vav (ו) consecutive shows the result in the sequence of the verses.

[5:15]  ¹³ tn The juxtaposition of “from the sword from their mouth” poses translation difficulties. Some mss do not have the preposition on “their mouth,” but render the expression as a construct: “from the sword of their mouth.” This would mean their tongue, and by metonymy, what they say. The expression “from their mouth” corresponds well with “from the hand” in the next colon. And as E. Dhorme (Job, 67) notes, what is missing is a parallel in the first part with “the poor” in the second. So he follows Cappel in repointing “from the sword” as a Hophal participle, מֹחֳרָב (mokhorav), meaning “the ruined.” If a change is required, this has the benefit of only changing the pointing. The difficulty with this is that the word “desolate, ruined” is not used for people, but only to cities, lands, or mountains. The sense of the verse can be supported from the present pointing: “from the sword [which comes] from their mouth”; the second phrase could also be in apposition, meaning, “from the sword, i.e., from their mouth.”

[5:15]  ¹⁴ tn If the word “poor” is to do double duty, i.e., serving as the object of the verb “saves” in the first colon as well as the second, then the conjunction should be explanatory.

[5:16]  ¹⁵ tn Other translations render this “injustice” (NIV, NRSV, CEV) or “unrighteousness” (NASB).

[5:16]  ¹⁶ tn The verse summarizes the result of God’s intervention in human affairs, according to Eliphaz’ idea that even-handed justice prevails. Ps 107:42 parallels v. 16b.

[14:31]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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).

[22:16]  ²⁰ 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).

[28:15]  ²¹ tn The term “like” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[28:15]  ²² sn The comparison uses animals that are powerful, terrifying, insensitive, and in search of prey. Because political tyrants are like this, animal imagery of this sort is also used in Dan 7:1-8 for the series of ruthless world powers.

[28:15]  ²³ sn A poor nation under the control of political tyrants who are dangerous and destructive is helpless. The people of that nation will crumble under them because they cannot meet their demands and are of no use to them.

[3:15]  ²⁴ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[32:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ²⁷ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[22:29]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

[2:6]  ³⁰ tn For this translation see the note at 2:4.

[2:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Israel, even because of four.”

[2:6]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.

[2:7]  ³⁵ tn Most scholars now understand this verb as derived from the root II שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to crush; to trample”), an alternate form of שׁוּף (shuf), rather than from I שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to pant, to gasp”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[2:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “those who stomp on the dirt of the ground on the head of the poor.” It is possible to render the line as “they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground,” thereby communicating that the poor are being stepped on in utter contempt (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 79-80). The participial form הַשֹּׁאֲפִים (hasho’afim) is substantival and stands in apposition to the pronominal suffix on מִכְרָם (mikhram, v. 6b).

[2:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they turn aside the way of the destitute.” Many interpreters take “way” to mean “just cause” and understand this as a direct reference to the rights of the destitute being ignored. The injustice done to the poor is certainly in view, but the statement is better taken as a word picture depicting the powerful rich pushing the “way of the poor” (i.e., their attempt to be treated justly) to the side. An even more vivid picture is given in Amos 5:12, where the rich are pictured as turning the poor away from the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[2:7]  ³⁸ sn Most interpreters see some type of sexual immorality here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), even though the Hebrew phrase הָלַךְ אֶל (halakh ’el, “go to”) never refers elsewhere to sexual intercourse. (The usual idiom is בוֹא אֶל [bo’ ’el]. However, S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 82) attempts to develop a linguistic case for a sexual connotation here.) The precise identification of the “girl” in question is not clear. Some see the referent as a cultic prostitute (cf. NAB; v. 8 suggests a cultic setting), but the term נַעֲרָה (na’arah) nowhere else refers to a prostitute. Because of the contextual emphasis on social oppression, some suggest the exploitation of a slave girl is in view. H. Barstad argues that the “girl” is the hostess at a pagan מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh) banquet (described at some length in 6:4-7). In his view the sin described here is not sexual immorality, but idolatry (see H. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos [VTSup], 33-36). In this case, one might translate, “Father and son go together to a pagan banquet.” In light of this cultic context, F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman argue that this is a reference to a specific female deity (“the Girl”) and correlate this verse with 8:14 (Amos [AB], 318-19).

[2:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “pollute”; “desecrate”; “dishonor.”

[2:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “my holy name.” Here “name” is used metonymically for God’s moral character or reputation, while “holy” has a moral and ethical connotation.

[5:11]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[3:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (pÿrazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.

[3:14]  ⁵¹ tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being a corruption of an original he (ה).

[3:14]  ⁵² tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.

[3:14]  ⁵³ tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”