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!

你若在一省之中见穷人受欺压，并夺去公义公平的事，不要因此诧异；因有一位高过居高位的鉴察，在他们以上还有更高的。

你若在一个地区看见穷人受欺压，公义公平被掠夺，不要因此惊奇；有一位高过居高位的在鉴察，在他们之上还有更高的。

你若在一个地区看见穷人受欺压，公义公平被掠夺，不要因此惊奇；有一位高过居高位的在鉴察，在他们之上还有更高的。

若你在某地看见穷人受欺压，公平正义被扭曲，不要震惊，因为官上有官，在众官之上还有更高的官。

如果你在一省之中，看到穷人遭受欺压，公正和公义被夺去，也不必因此惊讶，因为高位者之上有较高的照应，在他们之上还有更高的。

如果你在某一省中看到穷人受欺压，公正和公义被夺去，不要因此感到惊奇，因为高位者之上有更高的在保护他，在他们之上还有更高的保护他们。

你若在一省之中見窮人受欺壓，並奪去公義公平的事，不要因此詫異；因有一位高過居高位的鑒察，在他們以上還有更高的。

你若在一個地區看見窮人受欺壓，公義公平被掠奪，不要因此驚奇；有一位高過居高位的在鑒察，在他們之上還有更高的。

你若在一個地區看見窮人受欺壓，公義公平被掠奪，不要因此驚奇；有一位高過居高位的在鑒察，在他們之上還有更高的。

若你在某地看見窮人受欺壓，公平正義被扭曲，不要震驚，因為官上有官，在眾官之上還有更高的官。

如果你在一省之中，看到窮人遭受欺壓，公正和公義被奪去，也不必因此驚訝，因為高位者之上有較高的照應，在他們之上還有更高的。

你若在一省之中見有窮乏人受欺壓、而公平公義的權利被剝奪，你不要因這事而詫異；因為有一位高於居高位者在鑒察着，而在他們以上還有更高的。

如果你在某一省中看到窮人受欺壓，公正和公義被奪去，不要因此感到驚奇，因為高位者之上有更高的在保護他，在他們之上還有更高的保護他們。

若在州中見貧者受虐、或見強者奪公義、勿以為異、蓋有居位較高者鑒之、又有更高者在焉、

爾觀州邑強暴、虐貧枉法、則勿殷憂、人雖居高位、更有尊於彼者、鑒察其所為、其上又有至尊至高者。

然有王受國人之服役、凡事究於國有益、或作王營謀農事於國為益莫大

If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.

Suppose you see poor people being mistreated somewhere. And what is being done to them isn’t right or fair. Don’t be surprised by that. One official is watched by a higher one. Officials who are even higher are watching both of them.

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.

If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

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.

If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter, for one official is eyed by a higher one, and there are officials over them.

“ 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.”

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.

I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.

God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.

Say to him,‘ This is what the LORD says:“ Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?”’ Then say to him,‘ This is what the LORD says:“ In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood– yes, yours!”’”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.

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?”You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.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.They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

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.

Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” The sovereign LORD who commands armies has spoken.

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.

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.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.”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.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.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, a cudgel with which I angrily punish.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.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.

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.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.

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.

Confuse them, O Lord! Frustrate their plans! For I see violence and conflict in the city.

“ I will not overlook, O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much.I do not condone the use of rigged scales, or a bag of deceptive weights.The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; her inhabitants lie, their tongues speak deceptive words.I will strike you brutally and destroy you because of your sin.

The LORD’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!

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.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?

For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.

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.Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter.Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The LORD watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.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.

How long, LORD, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you,“ Violence!” But you do not intervene!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.

For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him?Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times?I will teach you about the power of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.If his children increase– it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat.Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them.If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,what he stores up a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver.The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off.The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power.It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.

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.

Then they will know that you alone are the LORD, the sovereign king over all the earth.

“‘ See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood.They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths!Slanderous men shed blood within you. Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; they commit obscene acts among you.They have sex with their father’s wife within you; they violate women during their menstrual period within you.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.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.“‘ See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed they have done among you.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!

Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land.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!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!”The LORD confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob:“ I swear I will never forget all you have done!

And,’ says the LORD who rules over all,‘ 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 who rules over all.

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.

LORD, you have heard the request of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.You defend the fatherless and oppressed, so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.

The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.Then observers will say,“ Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”

“ 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 immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the LORD who rules over all.

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,’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.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.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.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.

“ 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,to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen.

Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the LORD who commands 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!

But when the sovereign master 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.

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.David looked up and saw the LORD’s messenger 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.

Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You ought to know what is just,yet you hate what is good, and love what is evil. You flay my people’s skin and rip the flesh from their bones.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.Someday these sinners 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.”

For the LORD is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.

Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth- eaten.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!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 hosts.You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.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.

Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

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.

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.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!”He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey. His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’”

You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance.

“ The LORD who rules over all said,‘ Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’“ But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear.Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the LORD who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the LORD who rules over all had poured out great wrath.“‘ 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 LORD WHO RULES OVER ALL had said.

A slanderer will not endure on the earth; calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.I know that the LORD defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor.

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.You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence.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!”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!

For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build.For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; he does not let anything he desires escape.“ Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress overtakes him. the full force of misery will come upon him.“ While he is filling his belly, God sends his burning anger against him, and rains down his blows upon him.If he flees from an iron weapon, then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him.When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him.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.The heavens reveal his iniquity; the earth rises up against him.A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.Such is the lot God allots the wicked, and the heritage of his appointment from God.”