What the Bible Says About Oppression

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him. liketh: Heb. is good for him

Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:

At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. setteth: Heb. lifteth his soul unto it

And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. he: Heb. in fleeing he would flee

Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. a refuge: Heb. an high place

LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: prepare: or, establish

To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. oppress: or, terrify

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. puffeth: or, would ensnare him

From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. oppress: Heb. waste my: Heb. my enemies against the soul

Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

AIN. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.

Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. the oppressor: Heb. a man of violence

He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. which: Heb. without food

There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. side: Heb. hand

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. at the: Heb. at the will, or, purpose

Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. relieve: or, righten

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! they: Heb. ye

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; righteously: Heb. in righteousnesses uprightly: Heb. uprightnesses oppressions: or, deceits blood: Heb. bloods

He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. high: Heb. heights, or, high places

Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. undertake: or, ease me

For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? the heavy: Heb. the bundles of the yoke oppressed: Heb. broken

O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Execute: Heb. Judge

But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. violence: or, incursion

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. oppression: or, deceit

The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. oppression: or, deceit wrongfully: Heb. without right

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. exactions: Heb. expulsions

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. pleasant: Heb. vineyards of desire

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. a bribe: or, a ransom

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? new: or, month set: Heb. open falsifying: Heb. perverting the balances of deceit

That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. oppress: or, defraud

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: Yea: or, How much more

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! Woe: or, Ho, he

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. blood: Heb. bloods

Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! coveteth: or, gaineth and evil gain power: Heb. palm of the hand

Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. beam: or, piece, or, fastening answer it: or, witness against it

And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. oppress: or, defraud

Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. first estate: or, principality

Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. strange: Gr. other

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh,1161 despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.