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.

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.

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 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!

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.

The Lord replies,“ I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”

Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!

God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:

Give him this message:‘ This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’”“ So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.“ Yes,” Elijah answered,“ I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight.

But go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed.You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds and lounge on your couches, eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock and of choice calves fattened in the stall.You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David.You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation.

“ I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.

The angel replied,“ The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Can horses gallop over boulders? Can oxen be used to plow them? But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said,“ Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.Then the angel told him,“ Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did.“ Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“ What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger. I use it as a club to express my anger.I am sending Assyria against a godless nation, against a people with whom I am angry. Assyria will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet.But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is my tool; his mind does not work that way. His plan is simply to destroy, to cut down nation after nation.

I could see that she was drunk— drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.“ Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked.“ I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

What shall I say about the homes of the wicked filled with treasures gained by cheating? What about the disgusting practice of measuring out grain with dishonest measures?How can I tolerate your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights?The rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence. Your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.“ Therefore, I will wound you! I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.

That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere.

O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?

There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies.Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him.

How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen!“ Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save.Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight.

For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?Will God listen to their cry when trouble comes upon them?Can they take delight in the Almighty? Can they call to God at any time?I will teach you about God’s power. I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.But you have seen all this, yet you say all these useless things to me.“ This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty.They may have many children, but the children will die in war or starve to death.Those who survive will die of a plague, and not even their widows will mourn them.“ Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing.But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide that money.The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.The wicked go to bed rich but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.Terror overwhelms them like a flood, and they are blown away in the storms of the night.The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away.It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power.But everyone jeers at them and mocks them.

For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.

“ Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters in law, or who rape their own sisters.There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.“ But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.

Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor. Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.Now the Lord has sworn this oath by his own name, the Pride of Israel:“ I will never forget the wicked things you have done!

“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this:“ I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.

The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.Then at last everyone will say,“ There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”

“ At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.I will call a swift bird of prey from the east— a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.But this is what the Lord says:“ I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”

“ In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.

The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him— for he is proud and arrogant.

And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the death angel,“ Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground.

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

“ And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones.Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot.Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!”

For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.

Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth eaten rags.Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.

So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

“ But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:“ The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another,‘ Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ His subjects will not mourn for him, crying,‘ Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’He will be buried like a dead donkey— dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!

You have evicted women from their pleasant homes and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them.

“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.“ Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.“ Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Don’t let liars prosper here in our land. Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.But I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor.

Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right.You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption.You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.“ No harm can come to us,” you say,“ for the Lord is here among us.”Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.

For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.“ In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them.When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze tipped arrow will pierce them.The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them.Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left.The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them.A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.”