for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
Parallel translations
- WEB for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.
- KJV For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
- NKJV For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
- NASB For the Lord will plead their case And take the life of those who rob them.
- NLT For the Lord is their defender. He will ruin anyone who ruins them.
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
The LORD Himself defends the poor and will repay those who rob them.
Overview
This verse gives the reason not to exploit the needy: God is their advocate who takes up their cause. The language of "plundering the life" of the oppressor shows that injustice against the weak invites divine justice in kind. God as Defender of the helpless foreshadows Christ, the righteous Judge who will set all wrongs right (2 Thess. 1:6-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 12:5“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Ps 140:12I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
- Jer 51:36Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.
- Prov 23:11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
- 1 Sam 25:39On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage.
- Ps 35:10All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
- Ps 43:1Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
- Mic 7:9Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
- Jer 50:34Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Ps 35:1Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
- Ps 68:5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
- Isa 33:1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Hab 2:8Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
- 1 Sam 24:12May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.
- 1 Sam 24:15May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 22:23 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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