Ecclesiastes 4:1

New Living Translation

Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.

Cross References

Job 16:4

I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.

Job 35:9

“People cry out when they are oppressed. They groan beneath the power of the mighty.

Job 6:29

Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.

Job 9:24

The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

Psalm 12:5

The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”

Psalm 142:4

I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.

Psalm 142:5

Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.

Psalm 42:3

Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

Psalm 42:9

“O God my rock,” I cry, “why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”

Psalm 69:20

Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.

Psalm 69:21

But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

Psalm 80:5

You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful.

Exodus 1:16

“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

Exodus 1:22

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

Proverbs 19:7

The relatives of the poor despise them; how much more will their friends avoid them! Though the poor plead with them, their friends are gone.

Proverbs 28:3

A poor person who oppresses the poor is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.

Proverbs 29:2

When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

Ecclesiastes 3:16

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!

Ecclesiastes 5:8

Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

Ecclesiastes 7:7

Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.

Ecclesiastes 8:9

I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other.

Isaiah 5:7

The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

Isaiah 51:23

Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors, those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust and walk on your backs.’”

Isaiah 59:7

Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them.

Jeremiah 16:7

No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.

Lamentations 1:16

“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us.”

Lamentations 1:17

Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the Lord has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”

Lamentations 1:2

She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.

Lamentations 1:9

She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “Lord, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.”

Amos 3:10

“My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the Lord. “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence.

Amos 3:9

Announce this to the leaders of Philistia and to the great ones of Egypt: “Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria, and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.”

Malachi 2:13

Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure.

Malachi 3:18

Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

Malachi 3:5

“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Matthew 26:56

But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Deuteronomy 28:33

A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.

Deuteronomy 28:48

you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.

James 5:4

For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Judges 4:3

Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.