Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them.
Ecclesiastes 3:16 - New Revised Standard Version Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice there was wickedness, and that in the place of righteousness wickedness was there also. American Standard Version (1901) And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. Common English Bible I saw something else under the sun: in the place of justice, there was wickedness; and in the place of what was right, there was wickedness again! Catholic Public Domain Version I saw under the sun: instead of judgment, impiety, and instead of justice, iniquity. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in the place of justice iniquity. |
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them.
With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear God.
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
All this I observed, applying my mind to all that is done under the sun, while one person exercises authority over another to the other's hurt.
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter.
They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance.
Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.
The officials within it are roaring lions; its judges are evening wolves that leave nothing until the morning.
Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death,
At this Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?