<p class="poetry">Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and plead the cause<n id="2" /> of the poor and needy.p>

<p class="poetry">Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;p> <p class="poetry">I have purified you<n id="1" /> in the furnace of misery.p>

<p class="poetry">I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and they will find safety in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s presence.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites<n id="1" /> or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">Before daybreak<n id="1" /> the murderer rises up;p> <p class="poetry">he kills the poor and the needy;p> <p class="poetry">in the night he is<n id="2" /> like a thief.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">For you deliver oppressed<n id="1" /> people,p> <p class="poetry">but you bring down those who have a proud look.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">This oppressed man cried out and the <sc>Lordsc> heard;p> <p class="poetry">he saved him<n id="1" /> from all his troubles.p>

<p class="poetry">Evil men draw their swordsp> <p class="poetry">and prepare their bows,p> <p class="poetry">to bring down<n id="1" /> the oppressed and needy,p> <p class="poetry">and to slaughter those who are godly.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="psasuper">A prayer of David.p> <p class="poetry">Listen<n id="2" /> O <sc>Lordsc>! Answer me!p> <p class="poetry">For I am oppressed and needy.p>

<p class="poetry">My eyes grow weak because of oppression.p> <p class="poetry">I call out to you, O <sc>Lordsc>, all day long;p> <p class="poetry">I spread out my hands in prayer to you.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">I know<n id="1" /> that the <sc>Lordsc> defends the cause of the oppressedp> <p class="poetry">and vindicates the poor.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Do not exploit<n id="1" /> a poor person because he is poorp> <p class="poetry">and do not crush the needy in court,<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">lest they drink and forget what is decreed,p> <p class="poetry">and remove<n id="1" /> from all the poor<n id="2" /> their legal rights.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.p> <p class="poetry">So things went well for Judah.&#8217;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> says,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;That is a good example of what it means to know me.&#8217;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">You pierce the heads of his warriors<n id="1" /> with a spear.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">They storm forward to scatter us;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;I have surely seen<n id="1" /> the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.<n id="2" />

The <sc>Lordsc> saw Israel&#8217;s intense suffering;<n id="1" /> everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer.<n id="2" />

<p class="poetry">For he did not despise or detest the suffering<n id="1" /> of the oppressed;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he did not ignore him;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">when he cried out to him, he responded.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">With all my strength I will say,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;O <sc>Lordsc>, who can compare to you?p> <p class="poetry">You rescue<n id="2" /> the oppressed from those who try to overpower them;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>