Verse 4

because it is God’s servant for your well-being. But be afraid if you do wrong because government does not bear the sword for nothing. It is God’s servant to administer punishment on the person who does wrong.

Referenced Verses

  • 2 Chr 19:6 : 6 He told the judges,“Be careful what you do, for you are not judging for men, but for the LORD, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions.
  • Rom 12:19 : 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written,“Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
  • 1 Thess 4:6 : 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.
  • Prov 24:23-24 : 23 Further Sayings of the Wise These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible: 24 The one who says to the guilty,“You are innocent,” peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him.
  • Prov 31:8-9 : 8 Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak, for the legal rights of all the dying. 9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
  • Eccl 8:2-5 : 2 Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him. 3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste– do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he can do whatever he pleases. 4 Surely the king’s authority is absolute; no one can say to him,“What are you doing?” 5 Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.
  • Isa 1:17 : 17 Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!
  • Jer 5:28 : 28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.
  • Ezek 22:27 : 27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey– shedding blood and destroying lives– so they can get dishonest profit.
  • Ezek 25:14 : 14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
  • 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 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.
  • Ps 82:2-4 : 2 He says,“How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked?(Selah) 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! Vindicate the oppressed and suffering! 4 Rescue the poor and needy! Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
  • Prov 16:14 : 14 A king’s wrath is like a messenger of death, but a wise person appeases it.
  • Prov 20:2 : 2 The king’s terrifying anger is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him sins against himself.
  • Prov 20:8 : 8 A king sitting on the throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes.
  • Prov 20:26 : 26 A wise king separates out the wicked; he turns the threshing wheel over them.
  • Num 35:19-27 : 19 The avenger of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him. 20 “But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies, 21 or with enmity he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The avenger of blood must kill the murderer when he meets him. 22 “But if he strikes him suddenly, without enmity, or throws anything at him unintentionally, 23 or with any stone large enough that a man could die, without seeing him, and throws it at him, and he dies, even though he was not his enemy nor sought his harm, 24 then the community must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these decisions. 25 The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil. 26 But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,
  • Josh 20:9 : 9 These were the cities of refuge appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly.
  • 1 Kgs 10:9 : 9 May the LORD your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.”
  • Rom 13:6 : 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing.
  • Josh 20:5 : 5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation.