As for their enemies, ¹  they decreased in number and were beaten down, because of painful distress ²  and suffering.

Deliver me ¹  from oppressive men, so that I can keep ²  your precepts.

They mock ¹  and say evil things; ²  they proudly threaten violence. ³ 

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

Why do you look the other way, ¹  and ignore ²  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ³ 

From harm and violence he will defend them; ¹  he will value their lives. ² 

They do one act of violence after another, and one deceitful thing after another. ¹  They refuse to pay attention to me,” ²  says the Lord.

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ² 

Disaster is within it; violence ¹  and deceit do not depart from its public square.

You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ¹  You will not experience oppression; ²  indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, ³  for nothing frightening ⁴  will come near you.

His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; ¹  his tongue injures and destroys. ² 

So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he ¹  heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression.

For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “You have rejected this message; ¹  you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, ²  and rely on that kind of behavior. ³ 

Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy ¹  and the Lord responded favorably, ²  for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. ³ 

For you are the God who shelters me. ¹  Why do you reject me? ²  Why must I walk around ³  mourning ⁴  because my enemies oppress me?

All of this is because ¹  the Lord who rules over all ²  has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. ³  This is the city which is to be punished. ⁴  Nothing but oppression happens in it. ⁵ 

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 

He delivers the afflicted by ¹  their ²  afflictions, he reveals himself to them ³  by their suffering.

I will pray ¹  to God, my high ridge: ²  “Why do you ignore ³  me? Why must I walk around mourning ⁴  because my enemies oppress me?”

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