The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ¹ 

Surely oppression ¹  can turn a wise person into a fool; ²  likewise, ³  a bribe corrupts ⁴  the heart. ⁵ 

Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! ¹  Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! ²  If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! ³ 

They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ¹  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ²  declares the sovereign Lord. ³ 

As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, ¹  then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, ²  or the lost thing that he had found,

“But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹  and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ²  ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ³  (How long will this go on?) ⁴  – he who gets rich by extortion!’ ⁵ 

“Woe to you, experts in the law ¹  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

The one who increases his wealth by increasing interest ¹  gathers it for someone who is gracious ²  to the needy.

They have treated father and mother with contempt ¹  within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow ²  within you.

He told them, “Collect no more ¹  than you are required to.” ² 

But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression. ¹ 

The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ¹  her inhabitants lie, ²  their tongues speak deceptive words. ³ 

Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution ¹  you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift ²  and not as something you feel forced to do. ³ 

“When a person sins and commits a trespass ¹  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ²  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ³ 

If you see the extortion ¹  of the poor, or the perversion ²  of justice and fairness in the government, ³  do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, ⁴  and there are higher ones over them! ⁵ 

Please let the Moabite fugitives live ¹  among you. Hide them ²  from the destroyer!” Certainly ³  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁴  the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear ⁵  from the earth.

The one who lives ¹  uprightly ²  and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; ³  the one who does not plot violent crimes ⁴  and does not seek to harm others ⁵  –

But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean ¹  the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ²