Verse 12

Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.

Referenced Verses

  • Amos 5:7 : 7 The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground.
  • Amos 5:11-12 : 11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 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 vineyards you planted. 12 Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
  • Hos 10:4 : 4 They utter empty words, taking false oaths and making empty agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field.
  • 1 Kgs 21:7-9 : 7 His wife Jezebel said to him,“You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.” 8 She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. 9 This is what she wrote:“Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify,‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. 12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 13 The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying,“Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.
  • Isa 59:13-14 : 13 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. 14 Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter.
  • Jer 5:3 : 3 LORD, I know you look for faithfulness. But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. They refuse to change their ways.
  • Jer 6:29-30 : 29 The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged. 30 They are regarded as‘rejected silver’ because the LORD rejects them.”
  • Ps 94:20-21 : 20 Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws. 21 They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent.
  • Isa 48:4 : 4 I did this because I know how stubborn you are. Your neck muscles are like iron and your forehead like bronze.
  • Mic 7:3 : 3 They are experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men announce what they wish and then they plan it out.
  • Hab 1:3-4 : 3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife. 4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.
  • Zech 7:11-12 : 11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 12 Indeed, they made their hearts as hard as diamond, so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had poured out great wrath.
  • Acts 7:51-52 : 51 “You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did! 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!
  • Hos 10:13 : 13 But you have plowed wickedness; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your chariots; you have relied on your many warriors.