Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow.”
- KJV Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
- NKJV Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
- NASB Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor, Obtain justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow’s case.
- NLT Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God calls them to learn to do good, seek justice, and defend the oppressed, orphan, and widow. True repentance shows itself in active care for the vulnerable.
Overview
Care for the fatherless and the widow is a recurring biblical measure of genuine righteousness (James 1:27). Right worship overflows into justice and mercy toward the weak. This reflects God's own heart, supremely revealed in Christ who came to seek and serve the lowly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mic 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Jer 22:3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
- Ps 82:3–4Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
- Prov 31:9Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.
- Isa 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Zech 7:9–10“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
- Jer 22:15–16Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
- Zech 8:16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
- Dan 4:27Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”
- Zeph 2:3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 1:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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