16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
    and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

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Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor(A) because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,(B)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(C)
    and will exact life for life.(D)

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13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.(A) Mercy triumphs over judgment.

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“Because the poor are plundered(A) and the needy groan,(B)
    I will now arise,(C)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them(D) from those who malign them.”

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Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.(D) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.(E) Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers(F) who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries(G) of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.(H) You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves(I) in the day of slaughter.[a](J)

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Footnotes

  1. James 5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,(A) 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”(B)

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33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?(A) Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them,(B) and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children(C) of the Most High,(D) because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

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A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
    is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:3 Or A poor person

31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,(A)
    but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.(B)

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24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(A) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(B)

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“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(A) show mercy and compassion to one another.(B) 10 Do not oppress the widow(C) or the fatherless, the foreigner(D) or the poor.(E) Do not plot evil against each other.’(F)

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(G) they turned their backs(H) and covered their ears.(I) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(J) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(K) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(L)

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(M) so when they called, I would not listen,’(N) says the Lord Almighty.(O) 14 ‘I scattered(P) them with a whirlwind(Q) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(R) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(S)’”

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22 The stingy are eager to get rich
    and are unaware that poverty awaits them.(A)

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19 For he has oppressed the poor(A) and left them destitute;(B)
    he has seized houses(C) he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(D)
    he cannot save himself by his treasure.(E)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
    his prosperity will not endure.(F)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(G)
    the full force of misery will come upon him.(H)
23 When he has filled his belly,(I)
    God will vent his burning anger(J) against him
    and rain down his blows on him.(K)
24 Though he flees(L) from an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(M)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(N) will come over him;(O)
26     total darkness(P) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(Q) unfanned will consume him(R)
    and devour what is left in his tent.(S)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
    the earth will rise up against him.(T)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(U)
    rushing waters[a] on the day of God’s wrath.(V)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
    the heritage appointed for them by God.”(W)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away

They covet fields(A) and seize them,(B)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(C) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(D)

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster(E) against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(F)
    for it will be a time of calamity.

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