Oppression

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

God is a refuge from

• Psalm 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Prayers against

• Psalm 17:9 from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
• Psalm 44:24 Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and oppression?
• Psalm 119:121 I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.
• Psalm 119:134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts.
• Isaiah 38:14 I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

God's help promised against

• Psalm 12:5 “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
• Psalm 72:4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
• Psalm 72:14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
• Jeremiah 50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

God will judge

• Psalm 103:6 The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
• Isaiah 10 Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder. What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom wi… (whole chapter)
• Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
• Ezekiel 22:7 Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
• Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
• Micah 2:2 They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
• Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of H…
• James 5:4 Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

National, God judges

• Acts 7:7 ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’

National, relieved

• Exodus 3:9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.
• Deuteronomy 26:7 So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.
• Judges 2:14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
• Judges 6 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Is… (whole chapter)
• Judges 7 Early in the morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glo… (whole chapter)
• Judges 8 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently. But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the… (whole chapter)
• Judges 10 After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir. Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel… (whole chapter)
• 2 Kings 13 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn awa… (whole chapter)
• Isaiah 52:4 For this is what the Lord GOD says: “At first My people went down to Egypt to live, then Assyria oppressed them without cause.

Instances of

Of Hagar, by Sarah

• Genesis 16:6 “Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.

Of Israelites, by Egyptians

• Exodus 1:10–22 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rames…
• Exodus 5 After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will… (whole chapter)

Rehoboam resolves to oppress the Israelites

• 1 Kings 12:14 and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”

Unclassified Scriptures Relating to

• Exodus 22:21–24 You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the s…
• Deuteronomy 23:15–16 Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you. Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
• Deuteronomy 24:14–15 Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother 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.
• Job 27:13–23 This is the wicked man’s portion from God — the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food. His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them. Though he h…
• Psalm 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
• Psalm 10:17–18 You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear, to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
• Psalm 12:5 “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
• Psalm 62:10 Place no trust in extortion or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
• Psalm 74:21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
• Psalm 119:134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts.