Verse 8
Government Corruption 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!
Referenced Verses
- Ps 12:5 : 5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the LORD.“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”
- Eccl 3:16 : 16 The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
- Eccl 4:1 : 1 Evil Oppression on Earth So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth. This is what I saw: The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.
- Ps 82:1 : 1 A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.
- Ps 83:18 : 18 Then they will know that you alone are the LORD, the Most High over all the earth.
- Ps 95:3 : 3 For the LORD is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.
- Ps 140:11-12 : 11 A slanderer will not endure on the earth; calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down. 12 I know that the LORD defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor.
- Prov 8:17 : 17 I will love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
- 1 Kgs 21:19-20 : 19 Say to him,‘This is what the LORD has said:“Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?”’ Then say to him,‘This is what the LORD has said:“In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood– yes, yours!”’” 20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him,“So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah replied,“I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
- 1 Chr 21:15-16 : 15 God sent an angel to ravage Jerusalem. As he was doing so, the LORD watched and relented from his judgment. He told the angel who was destroying,“That’s enough! Stop now!” Now the LORD’s angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 David looked up and saw the LORD’s angel standing between the earth and sky with his sword drawn and in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the leaders, covered with sackcloth, threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.
- Job 20:19-29 : 19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build. 20 For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; he does not let anything he desires escape. 21 “Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last. 22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress overtakes him. The full force of misery will come upon him. 23 “While he is filling his belly, God sends his burning anger against him, and rains down his blows upon him. 24 If he flees from an iron weapon, then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him. 25 When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him. 26 Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; a fire which has not been kindled will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. 27 The heavens reveal his iniquity; the earth rises up against him. 28 A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. 29 Such is the lot God allots the wicked, and the heritage of his appointment from God.”
- Job 27:8-9 : 8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9 Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him? 10 Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times? 11 I will teach you about the power of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal. 12 If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk? 13 This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty. 14 If his children increase– it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat. 15 Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them. 16 If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay, 17 what he stores up a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver. 18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made. 19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone. 20 Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off. 21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. 22 It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power. 23 It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.
- Ps 10:17-18 : 17 LORD, you have heard the request of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. 18 You defend the fatherless and oppressed, so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.
- Ps 55:9 : 9 Confuse them, O Lord! Frustrate their plans! For I see violence and conflict in the city.
- Ps 58:10-11 : 10 The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Then observers will say,“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”
- Isa 3:15 : 15 Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” The Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken.
- Isa 5:7 : 7 Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got– disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got– cries for help!
- Isa 10:5-7 : 5 The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria Beware, Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 6 I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets. 7 But he does not agree with this, his mind does not reason this way, for his goal is to destroy, and to eliminate many nations.
- Isa 10:12 : 12 But when the Lord finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.
- Isa 37:36 : 36 The LORD’s angel went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!
- Isa 46:10-11 : 10 who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says,‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,’ 11 who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out.
- Isa 57:15 : 15 For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy:“I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.
- Isa 59:13-16 : 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. 15 Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The LORD watches and is displeased, for there is no justice. 16 The Lord Intervenes He sees there is no advocate; he is shocked that no one intervenes. So he takes matters into his own hands; his desire for justice drives him on.
- Jer 22:17-19 : 17 But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression. 18 So the LORD has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying,“This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying,“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!” 19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey. His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’”
- Ezek 22:6-9 : 6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the resident foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; they commit obscene acts among you. 10 They have sexual relations with their father’s wife within you; they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 11 One commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates his sister– his father’s daughter– within you. 12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD. 13 “‘See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed they have done among you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it!
- Amos 5:12 : 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.
- Amos 6:2-6 : 2 They say to the people:“Journey over to Calneh and look at it! Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! Then go down to Gath of the Philistines! Are they superior to our two kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?” 3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence. 4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen. 5 They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments. 6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.
- Amos 6:12 : 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.
- Amos 8:4-7 : 4 Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land. 5 You say,“When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! 6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” 7 The LORD confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob:“I swear I will never forget all you have done!
- Mic 2:1-3 : 1 Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so. 2 They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 3 Therefore the LORD says this:“Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of catastrophe.
- Mic 2:9 : 9 You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance.
- Mic 3:1-4 : 1 God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders I said,“Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You ought to know what is just, 2 yet you hate what is good, and love what is evil. You flay my people’s skin and rip the flesh from their bones. 3 You devour my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and crush their bones. You chop them up like flesh in a pot– like meat in a kettle. 4 Someday these sinful leaders will cry to the LORD for help, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”
- Mic 3:9-9 : 9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You hate justice and pervert all that is right. 10 You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence. 11 Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the LORD and say,“The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!” 12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount will become a hill overgrown with brush!
- Mic 6:10-13 : 10 “I will not overlook, O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. 11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales, or a bag of deceptive weights. 12 The city’s wealthy people readily resort to violence; her inhabitants tell lies, their tongues speak deceptive words. 13 I will strike you brutally and destroy you because of your sin.
- Hab 1:2-3 : 2 How long, LORD, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you,“Violence!” But you do not deliver! 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.
- Hab 1:12-13 : 12 Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns LORD, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal. LORD, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. 13 You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?
- Zech 7:9-9 : 9 “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies said,‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other. 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the resident foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow citizen.’ 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. 13 “‘It then came about that just as I cried out, but they would not obey, so they will cry out, but I will not listen,’ the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had said.
- Zech 8:6 : 6 And,’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
- Mal 3:5 : 5 “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the resident foreigner and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
- Matt 13:41-42 : 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Luke 1:32 : 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
- Luke 1:35 : 35 The angel replied,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.
- Luke 1:76 : 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
- Acts 4:27-28 : 27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.
- Acts 12:7-9 : 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying,“Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 The angel said to him,“Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so. Then the angel said to him,“Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
- Acts 12:23 : 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck Herod down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Rom 11:33 : 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!
- Jas 2:13 : 13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Jas 5:2-7 : 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. 7 Patience in Suffering So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains.
- 1 Pet 4:12 : 12 Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 John 3:13 : 13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
- Rev 17:6-7 : 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. 7 But the angel said to me,“Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.