Justice: General Scriptures Concerning

“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. …

You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. …

You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand. …

You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. …

If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned. …

If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

Of Solomon. Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.

May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah …

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.

It is surely not good to punish the innocent or to flog a noble for his honesty.

Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.

If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?

These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.

Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”

If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.

Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.

So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, …

…to deny a man justice before the Most High,

…to subvert a man in his lawsuit—of these the Lord does not approve.

There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.

Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.

For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.

Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.