Zechariah 7:10

Disobedience And Fasting

⁹ “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other; ¹⁰ and do not oppress or exploit the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise or even imagine evil in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they refused to listen and pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.

Devise Evil

Let There Be

Oppress the Poor

Oppress the Stranger

Plan Evil

No

Psalm 21:11

For they planned evil against You;
They devised a [malevolent] plot
And they will not succeed.

Psalm 72:4

May he bring justice to the poor among the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor,

Isaiah 1:23

Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].

Jeremiah 5:28

‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),
They excel in acts of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

Exodus 22:21-24

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul [the feelings, thoughts, and concerns] of a stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 24:14-18

“You shall not take advantage of a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether [he is] one of your countrymen or one of the strangers (resident aliens, foreigners) who is in your land inside your cities.

Deuteronomy 27:19

‘Cursed is he who distorts (perverts) the justice due to a stranger, an orphan, and a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Psalm 36:4

He plans wrongdoing on his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not reject or despise evil.

Psalm 140:2

They devise evil things in their hearts;
They continually [gather together and] stir up wars.

Proverbs 3:29

Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
Who lives securely beside you.

Proverbs 6:18

A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,

Proverbs 22:22-23

Do not rob the poor because he is poor [and defenseless],
Nor crush the afflicted [by legal proceedings] at the gate [where the city court is held],

Proverbs 23:10-11

Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
And do not go into the fields of the fatherless [to take what is theirs],

Isaiah 1:16-17

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
Stop doing evil,

Jeremiah 11:19-20

But I was like a gentle and tame lamb brought to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots and schemes against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;
Let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no longer.”

Jeremiah 18:18

Then [my enemies] said, “Come and let us work out schemes against Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest [as Jeremiah predicts], nor the counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with our tongue [by making charges against him before the king], and let us ignore anything he says.”

Jeremiah 22:15-17

“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?
Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,
Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?
Then all was well with him.

Ezekiel 22:7

In you they have treated father and mother lightly. They have oppressed the stranger among you; and in your presence they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.

Ezekiel 22:12

In you they have accepted bribes to shed blood; you have taken [forbidden] interest and [a percentage of] profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression and extortion, and you have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 22:29

The people of the land have practiced oppression and extortion and have committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy and they have oppressed the stranger without justice.

Amos 4:1

Hear this word, you [well-fed, pampered] cows (women) of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
Who say to their husbands, “Bring [the wine] now, and let us drink!”

Amos 5:11-12

Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor
And demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them,
Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone,
You will not live in them;
You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.

Micah 2:1-3

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who devise wickedness
And plot evil on their beds!
When morning comes, they practice evil
Because it is in the power of their hands.

Micah 3:1-4

And I said,

“Hear now, heads of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel.
Is it not for you to know and administer justice?

Zephaniah 3:1-3

Woe (judgment is coming) to her who is rebellious and defiled,
The tyrannical city [Jerusalem]!

Zechariah 8:17

And let none of you devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

Malachi 3:5

“Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the Lord of hosts.

Matthew 23:13

“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.

Mark 7:21-23

For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,

1 Corinthians 6:10

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

James 1:14-15

But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).

James 5:4

Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

1 John 3:15

Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.