Habakkuk 1:4
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4 So the law becomes slack,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous;
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.(A)
Isaiah 1:21-23
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The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She that was full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her—
but now murderers!(A)
22 Your silver has become dross;
your wine is mixed with water.(B)
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan,
and the widow’s cause does not come before them.(C)
Psalm 119:126
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126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
Job 21:7
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7 Why do the wicked live on,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?(A)
Jeremiah 12:1
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Jeremiah Complains to God
12 You will be in the right, O Lord,
when I lay charges against you,
but let me put my case to you.
Why does the way of the guilty prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?(A)
Psalm 94:20-21
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20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?(A)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(B)
Ezekiel 9:9
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9 He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city full of perversity, for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’(A)
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Amos 5:12
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12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe
and push aside the needy in the gate.(A)
Hosea 10:4
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4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.(A)
Ezekiel 22:25-30
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25 Its princes[a] within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.(A) 26 Its priests have done violence to my teaching and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.(B) 27 Its officials within it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.(C) 28 Its prophets have smeared whitewash on their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” when the Lord has not spoken.(D) 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy and have extorted from the alien without justice.(E) 30 And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.(F)
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- 22.25 Gk: Heb A conspiracy of its prophets
Isaiah 59:13-15
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13 transgressing and denying the Lord
and turning away from following our God,
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.(A)
14 Justice is turned back,
and deliverance stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.(B)
15 Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.(C)
Isaiah 5:20
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20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!(A)
Psalm 58:1-2
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Psalm 58
Prayer for Vengeance
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.(B)
Deuteronomy 16:19
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19 You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.(A)
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Exodus 23:6
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6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.(A)
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Exodus 23:2
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2 You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice,[a](A)
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- 23.2 Gk: Heb lacks justice
James 2:6-7
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6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(A) 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
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Romans 3:31
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31 Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
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Acts 23:12-14
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The Plot to Kill Paul
12 In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.(A) 13 There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul.(B)
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Acts 7:59
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59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”(A)
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Acts 7:52
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52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.(A)
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Mark 7:9
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9 Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!(A)
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Matthew 27:25-26
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25 Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”(A) 26 So he released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified.(B)
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Matthew 27:1-2
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Jesus Brought before Pilate
27 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. 2 They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.(A)
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Matthew 26:59-66
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59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward(A) 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”(B) 62 The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah,[a] the Son of God.”(C) 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,
From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”(D)
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy.(E) 66 What do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death.”(F)
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- 26.63 Or Christ
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