Bible Strands
Jeremiah 21:12
O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah, addressing the house of David directly (v. 11 frames the directive). The moment is a warning that escalates immediately in v. 13 to the valley dwellers.
The words — דִּ֤ינוּ (di.nu, "judge," imperative plural) is the command; מִשְׁפָּ֔ט (mish.Pat, "justice") is its object. Together they form the core obligation: render justice.
The thread — Isaiah 1:17 commands the same: seek justice and correct the oppressor. Proverbs 31:8 extends the duty to speaking for the dispossessed.
Why it lands — The verse places a non-negotiable daily duty on those in power: rescue the robbed from the robber. The alternative is not negotiation but fire no one can put out.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
O house of David, thus saith 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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
- Proverbs 31:8 Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.
- Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”
- Isaiah 1:31 The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.
- Jeremiah 22:2 saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates.
- Zechariah 7:9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
- Jeremiah 5:28 They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
- Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.
- Jeremiah 17:4 And you yourself will relinquish the inheritance that I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you do not know, for you have kindled My anger; it will burn forever.”
- Jeremiah 36:7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”