The Lord does what is right and fair for all who are treated badly.

耶和华施行公义，为一切受屈的人伸冤。

耶和华施行公义，为所有受欺压的人伸冤。

耶和华施行公义，为所有受欺压的人伸冤。

耶和华为一切受欺压的人伸张正义，主持公道。

耶和华施行公义，为所有受欺压的人主持公道。

耶和华施行公义，为一切受欺压的人施行公正。

耶和華施行公義，為一切受屈的人伸冤。

耶和華施行公義，為所有受欺壓的人伸冤。

耶和華施行公義，為所有受欺壓的人伸冤。

耶和華為一切受欺壓的人伸張正義，主持公道。

耶和華施行公義，為所有受欺壓的人主持公道。

永恆主顯義氣，為一切受欺壓的伸冤。

耶和華施行公義，為一切受欺壓的人施行公正。

耶和華行義事、為受虐者伸冤兮、

耶和華躬行仁義、眷佑窮獨兮、

主施行公義、為一切被屈之人伸冤、

公平惟主。屈者得直。

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

The LORD executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed.

The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

Jehovah executeth righteous acts, And judgments for all that are oppressed.

The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

The LORD does what is fair, and executes justice for all the oppressed.

Yahweh executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.

The Lord says,“ The poor are being robbed. Those who are in need groan. So I will stand up to help them. I will keep them safe from those who tell lies about them.”

He stands up for those who are treated badly. He gives food to hungry people. The Lord sets prisoners free.

Don’t take advantage of any hired worker who is poor and needy. That applies to your own people. It also applies to outsiders living in one of your towns.Give them their pay every day. They are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t pay them, they might cry out to the Lord against you. Then you will be guilty of committing a sin.

They have made fun of fathers and mothers alike. They have crushed outsiders. They have treated badly the children whose fathers have died. They have done the same thing to widows.

Don’t take advantage of poor people just because they are poor. Don’t treat badly those who are in need by taking them to court.The Lord will stand up for them in court. He will require the lives of people who have taken the lives of those in need.

“ Here is the way I want you to fast.“ Set free those who are held by chains without any reason. Untie the ropes that hold people as slaves. Set free those who are crushed. Break every evil chain.Share your food with hungry people. Provide homeless people with a place to stay. Give naked people clothes to wear. Provide for the needs of your own family.

The Lord is a place of safety for those who have been treated badly. He keeps them safe in times of trouble.

You accept money from people who want special favors. You do this to spill someone’s blood. You charge interest to poor people when you lend them money. You make money from them. You get rich by cheating your neighbors. And you have forgotten me,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city.Will you be brave on the day I deal with you? Will you be strong at that time? I have spoken. I will do this. I am the Lord.

The king will save needy people who cry out to him. He will save those who are hurting and have no one else to help.

But you hate what is good. And you love what is evil. You are like someone who tears the skin off my people. You pull the meat off their bones.You eat my people’s bodies. You strip off their skin. You break their bones in pieces. You chop them up like meat. You put them in a cooking pot.”The time will come when Israel will cry out to the Lord. But he won’t answer them. In fact, he’ll turn his face away from them. They have done what is evil.

You rich people, listen to me. Cry and weep, because you will soon be suffering.Your riches have rotted. Moths have eaten your clothes.Your gold and silver have lost their brightness. Their dullness will be a witness against you. Your wanting more and more will eat your body like fire. You have stored up riches in these last days.You have even failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields. Their pay is crying out against you. The cries of those who gathered the harvest have reached the ears of the Lord. He rules over all.You have lived an easy life on earth. You have given yourselves everything you wanted. You have made yourselves fat like cattle that will soon be butchered.You have judged and murdered people who aren’t guilty. And they weren’t even opposing you.

How terrible it will be for those who plan to harm others! How terrible for those who make evil plans before they even get out of bed! As soon as daylight comes, they carry out their plans. That’s because they have the power to do it.If they want fields or houses, they take them. They cheat people out of their homes. They rob them of their property.So the Lord says to them,“ I am planning to send trouble on you. You will not be able to save yourselves from it. You will not live so proudly anymore. It will be a time of trouble.

He stands ready to help those who need it. He saves them from those who are ready to sentence them to death.

God, you see the problems of people in trouble. You take note of their pain. You do something about it. So those who are attacked place themselves in your care. You help children whose fathers have died.Take away the power of sinful people. Hold them accountable for the evil things they do. Uncover all the evil they have done.The Lord is King for ever and ever. The nations will disappear from his land.Lord, you hear the desires of those who are hurting. You cheer them up and give them hope. You listen to their cries.You stand up for those whose fathers have died and for those who have been treated badly. You do it so that mere human beings made of dust may not terrify others anymore.

Anyone who crushes poor people makes fun of their Maker. But anyone who is kind to those in need honors God.

“ Here’s what God does to sinful people. Here’s what those who are mean receive from the Mighty One.All their children will be killed by swords. They’ll never have enough to eat.A plague will kill those who are left alive. The widows of sinful men won’t even weep over their own children.Sinners might store up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay.But people who do what is right will wear those clothes. People who haven’t done anything wrong will divide up that silver.The house an evil person builds is like a moth’s cocoon. It’s like a hut that’s made by someone on guard duty.Sinful people lie down wealthy, but their wealth is taken away. When they open their eyes, everything is gone.Terrors sweep over them like a flood. A storm takes them away during the night.The east wind carries them off, and they are gone. It sweeps them out of their houses.It blows against them without mercy. They try to escape from its power.It claps its hands and makes fun of them. It hisses them out of their houses.”

May the king stand up for those who are hurting. May he save the children of those who are in need. May he crush those who treat others badly.

But you have disrespected poor people. Aren’t rich people taking advantage of you? Aren’t they dragging you into court?

Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you.If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever.But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.“‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before.Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say,‘ We are safe.’ You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!” announces the Lord.“‘ “Go now to the town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first made a home for my Name. See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing.I spoke to you again and again,” announces the Lord.“ I warned you while you were doing all these things. But you did not listen. I called out to you. But you did not answer.So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my Name is. It is the temple you trust in. It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago.But I will throw you out of my land. That is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim. And they are your relatives.” ’

Don’t move old boundary stones. Don’t try to take over the fields of children whose fathers have died.

they will make fun of the king of Babylon. They will say,“ See how the one who crushed others has fallen! See how his anger has come to an end!The Lord has taken away the authority of evil people. He has broken the power of rulers.When they became angry, they struck down nations. Their blows never stopped. In their anger they brought nations under their control. They attacked them again and again.All the lands now enjoy peace and rest. They break out into singing.Even the juniper trees show how happy they are. The cedar trees of Lebanon celebrate too. They say,‘ Babylon, you have fallen. Now no one comes and cuts us down.’“ King of Babylon, many people in the place of the dead are really excited. They’re excited about meeting you when you go down there. The spirits of the dead get up to welcome you. At one time all of them were leaders in the world. They were kings over the nations. They get up from their thrones.All of them call out to you. They say,‘ You have become weak, just as we are. You have become like us.’Your grand show of power has been brought down to the grave. The noise of your harps has come down here along with your power. Maggots are spread out under you. Worms cover you.“ King of Babylon, you thought you were the bright morning star. But now you have fallen from heaven! You once brought down nations. But now you have been thrown down to the earth!You said in your heart,‘ I will go up to the heavens. I’ll raise my throne above the stars of God. I’ll sit as king on the mountain where the gods meet. I’ll set up my throne on the highest slopes of Mount Zaphon.I will rise above the tops of the clouds. I’ll make myself like the Most High God.’But now you have been brought down to the place of the dead. You have been thrown into the deepest part of the pit.“ Those who see you stare at you. They think about what has happened to you. They say to themselves,‘ Is this the man who shook the earth? Is he the one who made kingdoms tremble with fear?Did he turn the world into a desert? Did he destroy its cities? Did he refuse to let his prisoners go home?’“ All the kings of the nations are buried with honor. Each of them lies in his own tomb.But you have been thrown out of your tomb. You are like a branch that is cut off and thrown away. You are covered with the bodies of those who have been killed by swords. You have been tossed into a stony pit along with them. You are like a dead body that people have walked on.You won’t be buried like other kings. That’s because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people.“ Let the children of that evil man be killed. Let none of them be left to carry on the family name.So prepare a place to kill his children. Kill them because of the sins of the rulers who lived before them. They must not rise to power. They must not rule over the world. They must not cover the earth with their cities.”“ I will rise up against them,” announces the Lord who rules over all.“ I will destroy Babylon. It will not be remembered anymore. No one will be left alive there. I will destroy its people and their children after them,” announces the Lord.“ I will turn it into a place where nothing but owls can live. I will turn it into a swamp. I will sweep through it like a broom and destroy everything,” announces the Lord who rules over all.The Lord who rules over all has made a promise. He has said,“ You can be sure that what I have planned will happen. What I have decided will take place.I will crush the Assyrians in my land. On my mountains I will walk all over them. The yokes they put on my people will be removed. The heavy load they put on their shoulders will be taken away.”That’s how the Lord carries out his plan all over the world. That’s how he reaches out his powerful hand to punish all the nations.The Lord who rules over all has planned it. Who can stop him? He has reached out his powerful hand. Who can keep him from using it?This prophecy came to me from the Lord in the year King Ahaz died. The Lord said,“ The rod of Assyria has struck all of you Philistines. But do not be glad that it is broken. That rod is like a snake that will produce an even more poisonous snake. It will produce a darting, poisonous serpent.Even the poorest people in Israel will have plenty to eat. Those who are in need will lie down in safety. But I will destroy your families. They will die of hunger. I will kill any of them who are still left alive.“ Cities of Philistia, cry out for help! Scream in pain! All you Philistines, melt away in fear! An army is coming from the north in a cloud of dust. No one in its ranks is falling behind.What answer should be given to the messengers from that nation? Tell them,‘ The Lord has made Zion secure. His suffering people will find safety there.’ ”