They mock and say evil things; they proudly threaten violence.

As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

The one who oppresses the poor insults his Creator, but whoever shows favor to the needy honors him.

The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich – both end up only in poverty.

The sons of his brother Eshek: Ulam was his firstborn, Jeush second, and Eliphelet third.

The one who is tormented by the murder of another will flee to the pit; let no one support him.

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds.

All of this is because the Lord who rules over all has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it.

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.

“When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen,

when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, or the lost thing that he had found,

If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!