Therefore I said, Surely these {are} poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, {nor} the judgment of their God.

[A Psalm of Asaph.] God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. {of Asaph: or, for Asaph}

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment {is} toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

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.

Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. {Take: Heb. Give}

And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,

And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people {as} they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.

They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. {out...: Heb. moved}

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness {which} they have prescribed; {that write...: or, to the writers that write grievousness}

Son 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?

Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: {in a city: Gr. in a certain city}

And touching the house of the king of Judah, {say}, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,

I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.

Forasmuch therefore as your treading {is} upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. {pleasant...: Heb. vineyards of desire}

Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.

Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah {is} exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. {full of blood: Heb. filled with, etc} {perverseness: or, wresting of judgment}

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to {execute} wrath upon him that doeth evil.

{He is} a merchant, the balances of deceit {are} in his hand: he loveth to oppress. {a merchant: or, Canaan} {oppress: or, deceive}

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.

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.

I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, {and} the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, {and} burst the bonds.

As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually {is} grief and wounds.

And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. {welfare: Heb. peace}

Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. {power: Heb. arm}

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: {but} ye feed not the flock.

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; {but} he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment {is} toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue {is} deceitful in their mouth.

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. {wrong: or, wrested}

Her princes within her {are} roaring lions; her judges {are} evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed {be} the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and {the rest of} the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; {but} ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment {is} God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring {it} unto me, and I will hear it. {respect...: Heb. acknowledge faces}

If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that {the judges} may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing {is} this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

{There is} a generation, whose teeth {are as} swords, and their jaw teeth {as} knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from {among} men.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for {he that is} higher than the highest regardeth; and {there be} higher than they. {at the... Heb. at the will, or, purpose}

Thy princes {are} rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. {rulers: Heb. heads}

For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works {are} works of iniquity, and the act of violence {is} in their hands.

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third {day} I shall be perfected.

The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: {but} the wicked regardeth not to know {it}.

Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all {ye of} Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.