“Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Parallel translations
- KJV Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
- BSB Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
- NKJV Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
- NASB Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
- NLT “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
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 commands rulers to defend the weak, poor, and fatherless and uphold their rights. Caring for the vulnerable is central to godly justice.
Overview
God charges judges with their true calling, to protect those least able to protect themselves. This reflects His own heart for the poor and oppressed throughout Scripture (cf. Deut. 10:18). Such concern foreshadows the ministry of Christ, who came to bring good news to the poor and lift up the lowly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jas 1:27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
- Ps 10:18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
- Jer 22:3Yahweh says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no violence, to the foreigner, the fatherless, nor the widow; neither shed innocent blood in this place.
- Deut 10:18He does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the foreigner, in giving him food and clothing.
- Deut 24:17You shall not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing in pledge;
- Jer 5:28They 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.
- Jer 22:16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Wasn’t this to know me?” says Yahweh.
- Isa 1:17Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow.”
- Isa 1:23Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don’t judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 82:3 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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