TSK · Amos 5:12

and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Provision for Justice You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the LORD your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.

Boaz Settles the Matter Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said,“Come here, what’s-your-name, and sit down.” So he came and sat down.

A Summary of Israel’s Sinful History This happened because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods;

When I went out to the city gate and secured my seat in the public square,

Do not sweep me away with sinners, or execute me along with violent people,

Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.

to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.

The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others–

“I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; they will come and witness my splendor.

ל(Lamed) To crush underfoot all the earth’s prisoners,

Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The LORD is speaking!

Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the LORD and say,“The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!”

“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the resident foreigner and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!

Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.