They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and they don’t judge the right of the needy.
- KJV They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
- NKJV They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend.
- NASB ‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they may be successful; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
- NLT They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.
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
Grown fat and sleek through wickedness, they ignore the cause of the orphan and the needy. It matters because their prosperity is paired with callous neglect of justice for the vulnerable.
Overview
The wicked have prospered and excel in evil deeds, yet they refuse to defend the fatherless or judge rightly for the poor. Their comfort breeds indifference to those God commands them to protect. This neglect of justice is a grave offense to God, who defends the weak, and the gospel calls His people to true righteousness that cares for the needy (Isaiah 1:23; James 1:27).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- 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.
- Deut 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Zech 7:10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
- Ps 73:12Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth.
- Jer 7:6if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
- Jer 2:33How skillfully you pursue love! Even the most immoral of women could learn from your ways.
- Job 12:6The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.
- Jas 5:4–5Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
- Ps 72:4May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
- Job 15:27–28Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
- Job 21:23–24One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
- Job 29:12–14because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
- Jer 22:15–19Does 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.
- 1 Cor 5:1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
- Ps 119:70Their hearts are hard and callous, but I delight in Your law.
- Ezek 16:47–52And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.
- Ps 73:6–7Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.
- Amos 4:1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
- Ezek 5:6–7But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’
- Ps 82:2–4“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 5:28 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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