Bible Strands
Psalms 82:3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses corrupt judges or divine council members who are accused of judging unjustly and showing partiality to the wicked, issuing a direct command before the follow-up order to rescue the weak in the next verse.
The words — שִׁפְטוּ (shif.tu) = give judgment for, and הַצְדִּיקוּ (hatz.Di.ku) = vindicate, frame the imperative command to legally defend and declare righteous the poor and fatherless.
The thread — The demand to legally defend vulnerable groups appears in Jeremiah 22:3, which commands administering justice and rescuing robbery victims, Psalm 10:18, which calls for vindicating the fatherless and oppressed, and James 1:27, which ties caring for orphans and widows to pure religion.
Why it lands — The text explicitly commands those in authority to actively judge for and vindicate the poor, fatherless, afflicted, and oppressed, directly countering partiality to the wicked. It requires readers to prioritize legal protection for vulnerable groups over social or economic bias.
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
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Cross-references
- James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Psalms 10:18 to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
- Jeremiah 22:3 This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
- Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.
- Deuteronomy 24:17 Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.
- Jeremiah 22:16 He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
- Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.