Keluaran 22:22

22:22 “You must not afflict ¹  any widow or orphan.

Ayub 6:27

6:27 Yes, you would gamble ²  for the fatherless,

and auction off ³  your friend.

Ayub 24:9

24:9 The fatherless child is snatched ⁴  from the breast, ⁵ 

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge. ⁶ 

Ayub 29:12

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ⁷  had no one to assist him;

Mazmur 10:18

10:18 You defend ⁸  the fatherless and oppressed, ⁹ 

so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 82:3

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹¹ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

Amsal 23:10

23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,

or take over ¹²  the fields of the fatherless,

Yehezkiel 22:7

22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt ¹³  within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow ¹⁴  within you.

[22:22]  ¹ tn The verb “afflict” is a Piel imperfect from עָנָה (’anah); it has a wide range of meanings: “afflict, oppress, humiliate, rape.” These victims are at the mercy of the judges, businessmen, or villains. The righteous king and the righteous people will not mistreat them (see Isa 1:17; Job 31:16, 17, 21).

[6:27]  ² tn The word “lots” is not in the text; the verb is simply תַּפִּילוּ (tappilu, “you cast”). But the word “lots” is also omitted in 1 Sam 14:42. Some commentators follow the LXX and repoint the word and divide the object of the preposition to read “and fall upon the blameless one.” Fohrer deletes the verse. Peake transfers it to come after v. 23. Even though it does not follow quite as well here, it nonetheless makes sense as a strong invective against their lack of sympathy, and the lack of connection could be the result of emotional speech. He is saying they are the kind of people who would cast lots over the child of a debtor, who, after the death of the father, would be sold to slavery.

[6:27]  ³ tn The verb תִכְרוּ (tikhru) is from כָּרָה (karah), which is found in 40:30 with עַל (’al), to mean “to speculate” on an object. The form is usually taken to mean “to barter for,” which would be an expression showing great callousness to a friend (NIV). NEB has “hurl yourselves,” perhaps following the LXX “rush against.” but G. R. Driver thinks that meaning is very precarious. As for the translation, “to speculate about [or “over”] a friend” could be understood to mean “engage in speculation concerning,” so the translation “auction off” has been used instead.

[24:9]  ⁴ tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”

[24:9]  ⁵ tn This word is usually defined as “violence; ruin.” But elsewhere it does mean “breast” (Isa 60:16; 66:11), and that is certainly what it means here.

[24:9]  ⁶ tc The MT has a very brief and strange reading: “they take as a pledge upon the poor.” This could be taken as “they take a pledge against the poor” (ESV). Kamphausen suggested that instead of עַל (’al, “against”) one should read עוּל (’ul, “suckling”). This is supported by the parallelism. “They take as pledge” is also made passive here.

[29:12]  ⁷ tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[10:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “to judge (on behalf of),” or “by judging (on behalf of).”

[10:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “crushed.” See v. 10.

[10:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he will not add again [i.e., “he will no longer”] to terrify, man from the earth.” The Hebrew term אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) refers here to the wicked nations (v. 16). By describing them as “from the earth,” the psalmist emphasizes their weakness before the sovereign, eternal king.

[82:3]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[23:10]  ¹² tn Or “encroach on” (NIV, NRSV); Heb “go into.”

[22:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”

[22:7]  ¹⁴ tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.