Isa 1:23-24, Eze 22:12-13, Hos 12:7-8, Amo 3:10, 8:4-6, Mic 2:1-2, 9 | ESV | STEP | Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves . Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts . They do not bring justice to the fatherless , and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

Isaiah 1:23-24

23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone ^aloves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
^bThey do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
24 Therefore the ^cLord declares,
the Lord of hosts,
the ^dMighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
^eand avenge myself on my foes.

Ezekiel 22:12-13

12 In you ^fthey take bribes to shed blood; ^gyou take interest and profit ^{▼▼That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor (compare Leviticus 25:36)} and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but ⁱme you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

13 “Behold, ^jI strike my hand at ^kthe dishonest gain that you have made, and at ^lthe blood that has been in your midst.

Hosea 12:7-8

7 A merchant, in whose hands are ^mfalse balances,
he loves ⁿto oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^oI am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors ^pthey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

Amos 3:10

10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
^q“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

Amos 8:4-6

4 Hear this, ^ryou who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will ^sthe new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And ^tthe Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make ^uthe ephah small and the shekel ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for ^wsilver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

Micah 2:1-2

Woe to the Oppressors

1 ^xWoe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil ^yon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and ^zseize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.

Micah 2:9

9 The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever.