They ¹  cried out with a loud voice, ²  “How long, ³  Sovereign Master, ⁴  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”

They will judge ¹  the people under normal circumstances, ²  and every difficult case ³  they will bring to you, but every small case ⁴  they themselves will judge, so that ⁵  you may make it easier for yourself, ⁶  and they will bear the burden ⁷  with you.

As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, ¹  make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, ²  and the officer throw you into prison.

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. ¹  He who speaks against a fellow believer ²  or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ³ 

May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ² 

The man ¹  replied, “Who made you a ruler ²  and a judge over us? Are you planning ³  to kill me like you killed that ⁴  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ⁵  “Surely what I did ⁶  has become known.”

and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge, ¹  because you have made us stink ²  in the opinion of ³  Pharaoh and his servants, ⁴  so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!” ⁵ 

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ¹  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ²  and judge fairly, ³  whether between one citizen and another ⁴  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁵ 

You must appoint judges and civil servants ¹  for each tribe in all your villages ²  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ³ 

If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ¹  legal claim, ²  or assault ³  – matters of controversy in your villages ⁴  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ⁵ 

Then, ¹  if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, ²  the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. ³ 

The Lord will judge his people, and will change his plans concerning ¹  his servants; when he sees that their power has disappeared, and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.

You ¹  should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of ²  the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, ³  and he did not rebuke them.

Eli ¹  said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely ²  if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”

Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me ¹  a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint ²  could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, ¹  “May the gods judge me severely ²  if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!” ³ 

Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely ¹  if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.” ² 

Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” ¹ 

I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment ¹  for every deed.

At that time ¹  the sovereign master ²  will wash the excrement ³  from Zion’s women, he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, ⁴  as he comes to judge and to bring devastation. ⁵