Oppression

Oppression is the cruel or unjust use of power over others. Those who oppress the poor and weak are condemned, and God is the defender of the oppressed.

God sees the oppressed

• Exodus 3:7-9
  ⁷And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. ⁸And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁹Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.
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• Ecclesiastes 4:1
  So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
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• Psalm 12:5
  For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
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A refuge for the oppressed

• Psalm 9:9
  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
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• Psalm 103:6
  The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
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• Psalm 146:7
  Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
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• Luke 4:18
  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
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Do not oppress

• Zechariah 7:10
  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
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• Exodus 22:21-22
  ²¹Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. ²²Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.
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• Leviticus 25:17
  Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God.Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
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• Jeremiah 22:3
  Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
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Oppressing the poor

• Proverbs 14:31
  He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
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• Proverbs 22:16
  He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
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• Proverbs 22:22-23
  ²²Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, ²³For the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
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• Amos 4:1
  Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
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• James 2:6
  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
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Abuse of power

• Ezekiel 34:2-4
  ²Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? ³Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
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• Micah 2:1-2
  ¹Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. ²And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
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• Isaiah 10:1-2
  ¹Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees, ²To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
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• Matthew 20:25-28
  ²⁵But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. ²⁶But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— ²⁸Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
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• 1 Peter 5:2-3
  ²Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; ³Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
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Seek justice

• Isaiah 1:17
  Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
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• Isaiah 58:6
  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
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See also

• Justice
• Poverty
• Widows and orphans
• Leadership
• Violence

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.