Oppression leads to the exploitation of the weak and vulnerable by the strong. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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"For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the LORD. "I will bring safety to him who yearns."
In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!"
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.'
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow's cloak as security.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage. They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me," says the LORD of Hosts.
They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation."
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
"Here," said Abram, "your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
"Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?" "Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. " So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,
For this is what the Lord GOD says: "At first My people went down to Egypt to live, then Assyria oppressed them without cause.
Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich. They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
"But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression."
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, "Bring us more to drink."
Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. "
and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, "Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions."
Asa was angry with the seer and became so enraged over this matter that he put the man in prison. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.
You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.
'Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.' And let all the people say, 'Amen!'
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: "Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.'"
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom.
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood.
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom's king.
They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation."
I say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?"
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly. After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. And they began to salute Him: "Hail, King of the Jews!" They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth. In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth." "Tell me," said the eunuch, "who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!"
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. "We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this. Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.