With all my strength I will say, ¹  “O Lord, who can compare to you? You rescue ²  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ³  the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ⁴ 

I am oppressed and needy! ¹  May the Lord pay attention to me! ²  You are my helper and my deliverer! O my God, do not delay!

I am oppressed and needy! ¹  O God, hurry to me! ²  You are my helper and my deliverer! O Lord, ³  do not delay!

For he never bothered to show kindness; ¹  he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened. ² 

For you are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. Though the breath of tyrants ¹  is like a winter rainstorm, ² 

A deceiver’s methods are evil; ¹  he dreams up evil plans ²  to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right. ³ 

The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; ¹  I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

Even your clothes are stained with the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong; you did not catch them breaking into your homes. ¹  Yet, in spite of all these things you have done, ² 

That is how ¹  they have grown fat and sleek. ²  There is no limit to the evil things they do. ³  They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.

oppresses the poor and the needy, ¹  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ²  idols, performs abominable acts,

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 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They sold the innocent ⁴  for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals. ⁵ 

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹  who live on Mount Samaria! You ²  oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your ³  husbands, “Bring us more to drink!” ⁴ 

Certainly ¹  I am aware of ²  your many rebellious acts ³  and your numerous sins. You ⁴  torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to ⁵  the needy at the city gate. ⁶ 

Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ¹  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ²  and you do not lend ³  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ⁴ 

He lifts the weak ¹  from the dust; he raises ²  the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. ³  The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.

as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

“‘See here – this was the iniquity ¹  of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help ²  the poor and needy.