Oppression is a recurring theme in the Bible, often depicted as the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power over others. It is condemned by God and is a subject of divine judgment and human lament. The scriptures provide numerous references to oppression, highlighting its impact on individuals and communities, and calling for justice and righteousness.

Old Testament References:

1. Exodus 3:9 · "And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them." This verse highlights God's awareness of the Israelites' suffering under Egyptian bondage and His intention to deliver them.

2. Leviticus 19:13 · "You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand." This commandment underscores the importance of fair treatment and justice in economic dealings, condemning oppression through financial exploitation.

3. Deuteronomy 24:14-15 · "Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them; otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin." This passage emphasizes the need for timely and fair compensation, recognizing the vulnerability of the poor and the foreigner.

4. Psalm 9:9 · "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." This verse offers comfort, portraying God as a protector and source of strength for those who suffer under oppression.

5. Isaiah 1:17 · "Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow." Here, the prophet Isaiah calls for active engagement in justice, urging the correction of oppressive practices and the defense of the vulnerable.

6. Jeremiah 22:3 · "This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." This directive from God through Jeremiah stresses the importance of justice and protection for those who are often targets of oppression.

New Testament References:

1. Matthew 23:4 · "They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Jesus criticizes the religious leaders for their oppressive practices, highlighting the hypocrisy and burden they place on others.

2. Luke 4:18 · "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 freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed." Jesus declares His mission, which includes liberating those who are oppressed, fulfilling the prophetic vision of deliverance.

3. James 2:6 · "But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?" James addresses the issue of partiality and the oppression of the poor by the wealthy, calling for equitable treatment within the community of believers.

4. Acts 10:38 · "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him." This verse highlights Jesus' ministry of healing and liberation from spiritual oppression.

The Bible consistently calls for justice, compassion, and righteousness in response to oppression, urging believers to act as agents of God's justice and mercy in the world.Exodus 22:21-24
You shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
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Deuteronomy 23:15,16
You shall not deliver to his master the servant which is escaped from his master to you:
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Deuteronomy 24:14,15
You shall not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of your brothers, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates:
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Job 27:13-23
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
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Psalm 9:9
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
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Psalm 10:17,18
LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble: you will prepare their heart, you will cause your ear to hear:
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Psalm 12:5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, said the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffs at him.
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Psalm 62:10
Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
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Psalm 74:21
O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise your name.
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Psalm 119:134
Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep your precepts.
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Proverbs 3:31
Envy you not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
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Proverbs 14:31
He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker: but he that honors him has mercy on the poor.
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Proverbs 22:22
Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
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Proverbs 28:3
A poor man that oppresses the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaves no food.
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Proverbs 30:14
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.
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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.
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Ecclesiastes 5:8
If you see 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 regards; and there be higher than they.
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Ecclesiastes 7:7
Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.
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Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
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Isaiah 5:8
Woe to them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the middle of the earth!
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Isaiah 33:15,16
He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil;
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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 you break every yoke?
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Jeremiah 21:12
O house of David, thus said the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
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Ezekiel 22:29
The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yes, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
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Ezekiel 45:9
Thus said the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, said the Lord GOD.
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Amos 5:11,12
For as much therefore as your treading is on the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat: you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them.
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Amos 8:4-6
Hear this, O you that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
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Micah 2:1-3
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil on their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
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Habakkuk 2:5-11
Yes also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers to him all nations, and heaps to him all people:
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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.
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Matthew 23:2-4
Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
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James 2:6
But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
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Oppression: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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