Bible Strands
Proverbs 23:11
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The passage addresses a reader being warned against exploiting the vulnerable, specifically the fatherless whose fields might be illegally encroached upon. It functions as the concluding rationale for the immediate prohibition against moving ancient boundary markers.
The words — The text emphasizes גֹאֲלָ֥ם (goʿālam), meaning "their redeemer," and יָרִ֖יב (yārîḇ), meaning "he will conduct [a] case." These terms frame the intervention in legal and protective terminology rather than abstract spiritual concepts.
The thread — The strong Redeemer motif appears in Job 19:25, while the theme of God taking up the case of the vulnerable runs through Proverbs 22:23 and Exodus 22:22. These references consistently pair divine advocacy with the protection of those lacking earthly legal representation.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to cease exploitation by acknowledging that a powerful advocate will actively pursue the offender. It demands immediate obedience to the boundary warning without relying on human oversight or impunity.
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
For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 22:23 for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
- Job 19:25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- Exodus 22:22 You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.
- Deuteronomy 27:19 ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Psalms 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.”
- Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.
- Jeremiah 50:33 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.