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Ecclesiastes 5

Eccl. 5:8 KJV (With Strong’s)

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Ifk thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the δmatter: for hel that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there bem higher than they.

k

Eccl. 3:16• ¹⁶And moreover I saw under the sun,{HR}That in the place of judgment wickedness was there;{HR}And in the place of righteousness wickedness was there. (Eccl. 3:16)

δ

will, or, purpose.

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Psa. 12:5• ⁵Because of the oppression of the afflicted,{HR}Because of the groaning of the needy,{HR}Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;{HR}I will place in safety [from] him that puffeth at him. (Psa. 12:5)

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Psa. 58:11• ¹¹And a man shall say, Surely the righteous one hath fruit;{HR}Surely there is a God judging in the earth. (Psa. 58:11)

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Psa. 95:3• ³For Jehovah [is] a great God ,{HR}And a great king above all gods. (Psa. 95:3)

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Ministry on This Verse

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thou seest.

Eccl. 3:16• ¹⁶And moreover I saw under the sun,{HR}That in the place of judgment wickedness was there;{HR}And in the place of righteousness wickedness was there. (Eccl. 3:16)

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Eccl. 4:1• ¹Then I returned and saw all the oppressions{HR}That are done under the sun:{HR}And behold, the tears of such as were oppressed,{HR}And they had no comforter;{HR}And on the side of their oppressors there was power,{HR}But they had no comforter. (Eccl. 4:1)

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Psa. 12:5• ⁵Because of the oppression of the afflicted,{HR}Because of the groaning of the needy,{HR}Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;{HR}I will place in safety [from] him that puffeth at him. (Psa. 12:5)

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Psa. 55:9• ⁹Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue;{HR}For I have seen violence and strife in the city. (Psa. 55:9)

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Psa. 58:11• ¹¹And a man shall say, Surely the righteous one hath fruit;{HR}Surely there is a God judging in the earth. (Psa. 58:11)

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Prov. 8:17• ¹⁷I love those that love me;{HR}And they that seek me early shall find me. (Prov. 8:17)

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Hab. 1:2‑3,13• ²O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou dost not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou savest not?
³Why dost thou show me iniquity, and beholdest grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
¹³Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (Hab. 1:2‑3,13)

marvel.

Zech. 8:6• ⁶Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith Jehovah of hosts. (Zech. 8:6)

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1 John 3:13• ¹³Wonder not, brethren, if the world hateth you. (1 John 3:13)

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Rev. 17:6‑7• ⁶And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder.
⁷And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that beareth her, that hath the seven heads and the ten horns. (Rev. 17:6‑7)

matter.

Heb. will, or purpose.

Isa. 10:5‑7,12• ⁵Ho, Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation.
⁶I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to seize the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
⁷But he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but [it is] in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
¹²And it shall come to pass [that], when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. (Isa. 10:5‑7,12)

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Isa. 46:10‑11• ¹⁰declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure,
¹¹calling a bird of prey from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do it. (Isa. 46:10‑11)

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Hab. 1:12• ¹²Art thou not from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. (Hab. 1:12)

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Acts 4:27‑28• ²⁷For of a truth in this city against thy holy servant Jesus whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with Gentiles and peoples of Israel were gathered,
²⁸to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. (Acts 4:27‑28)

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Rom. 11:33• ³³O depth of God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! how unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! (Rom. 11:33)

for.

Isa. 57:15• ¹⁵For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy, I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isa. 57:15)

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Luke 1:32,35,76• ³²He shall be great, and shall be called Son of [the] Highest, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father.
³⁵{i}And the angel answering said to her,{/i} [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, therefore the holy thing also which shall be born [of thee] shall be called Son of God.
⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called [the] prophet of [the] Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of [the] Lord to make ready his ways; (Luke 1:32,35,76)

regardeth.

1 Kings 21:19‑20• ¹⁹And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
²⁰And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of Jehovah. (1 Kings 21:19‑20)

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Job 20:19‑29• ¹⁹For he crushed, abandoned, the poor,{HR}Seized a house, and built it not;
²⁰For he knew no rest in his belly;{HR}He shall not escape with his desirable thing,
²¹There is no remnant of his eating.{HR}Therefore his prosperity endureth not.
²²In the fullness of his superfluity he is straitened,{HR}Every hand of a wretch shall be upon him.
²³That it may be to the filling of his belly,{HR}He shall send against him the burning of his anger,{HR}And rain upon him with his food.
²⁴He fleeth from a weapon of iron,{HR}A bow of copper pierceth him through;
²⁵It is drawn, and it cometh out of the body,{HR}And the glittering sword proceedeth out of his gall:{HR}Upon him [are] terrors.
²⁶All darkness [is] hid for his treasures,{HR}A fire not blown consumeth him;{HR}It shall fare ill with what is left in his tent.
²⁷The heavens reveal his iniquity,{HR}And the earth riseth up against him.
²⁸The increase of his house departeth,{HR}Things that ran away in the day of his anger.
²⁹This [is] the portion of the wicked man from God [Elohim],{HR}And the heritage of his sentence from God [El]. (Job 20:19‑29)

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Job 27:8‑23• ⁸For what [is] the hope of the impure that he shall gain,{HR}When God shall draw out his soul?
⁹Doth God [El] hear his cry when trouble cometh on him?
¹⁰Doth he delight in the Almighty?{HR}Doth he call on God at all times?
¹¹I will teach you of the hand of God:{HR}What [is] with the Almighty I hide not.
¹²Behold, ye all of you have seen;{HR}And why this — years altogether vain?
¹³This [is] the portion of a wicked man with God,{HR}And the heritage of oppressors they receive from the Almighty.
¹⁴If his children multiply, [it is] for the sword,{HR}And his offspring have not enough of bread;
¹⁵His residue are buried in death, and their widows weep not.
¹⁶If he heap up silver as dust, and prepare clothing as clay,
¹⁷He prepareth, but the righteous shall put [it] on,{HR}And the innocent shall divide the silver.
¹⁸He hath built his house as a moth,{HR}And as a booth the watchman needeth.
¹⁹He lieth down, but shall not be gathered;{HR}He openeth his eyes, and he is not.
²⁰Terrors overtake him as waters,{HR}By night a tempest stealeth him away.
²¹An east wind taketh him up, and he is gone,{HR}And it sweepeth him out of his place;
²²And it casteth at him, and spareth not;{HR}From its hand he would gladly flee.
²³It clappeth its hands at him,{HR}And hisseth him out of his place. (Job 27:8‑23)

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Psa. 10:17‑18• ¹⁷The desire of the afflicted thou hast heard, O Jehovah;{HR}Thou strengthenest their heart, thou causest thine ear to hearken,
¹⁸To judge the orphan and the oppressed:{HR}He shall continue no more to terrify man from the earth. (Psa. 10:17‑18)

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Psa. 12:5• ⁵Because of the oppression of the afflicted,{HR}Because of the groaning of the needy,{HR}Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;{HR}I will place in safety [from] him that puffeth at him. (Psa. 12:5)

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Psa. 58:10‑11• ¹⁰The righteous one shall rejoice,{HR}For he hath seen vengeance;{HR}His steps he shall wash in the blood of the wicked one;
¹¹And a man shall say, Surely the righteous one hath fruit;{HR}Surely there is a God judging in the earth. (Psa. 58:10‑11)

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Psa. 82:1• ¹A psalm of Asaph.{HR}God standeth in the assembly of God ;{HR}He judgeth among the gods . (Psa. 82:1)

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Psa. 83:18• ¹⁸And they shall know that thou alone,{HR}Whose name [is] Jehovah,{HR}[Art] Most High above all the earth. (Psa. 83:18)

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Psa. 140:11‑12• ¹¹A man of tongue shall not be established in the earth (land);{HR}A man of violence, evil shall hunt him to ruin (destruction).
¹²I know that Jehovah will maintain the poor one's cause,{HR}The right of the needy. (Psa. 140:11‑12)

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Isa. 3:15• ¹⁵What mean ye [that] ye crush my people and grind the faces of the afflicted? saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. (Isa. 3:15)

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Isa. 5:7• ⁷For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isa. 5:7)

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Isa. 59:13‑16• ¹³in transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
¹⁴And judgment is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵And truth is lacking; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And Jehovah saw, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
¹⁶And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; and his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. (Isa. 59:13‑16)

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Jer. 22:17‑19• ¹⁷But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
¹⁸Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
¹⁹He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. (Jer. 22:17‑19)

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Ezek. 22:6‑14• ⁶{i}Behold, the princes of Israel have been in thee to shed blood, each according to his power.{/i}
⁷{i}In thee have they made light of father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.{/i}
⁸{i}Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths.{/i}
⁹{i}In thee there have been slanderous men to shed blood; and in thee have they eaten upon the mountains; in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness;{/i}
¹⁰{i}in thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness; in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her separation.{/i}
¹¹{i}And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.{/i}
¹²{i}In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast overreached thy neighbours by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.{/i}
¹³Therefore, behold, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
¹⁴Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I Jehovah have spoken it, and will do it. (Ezek. 22:6‑14)

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Amos 5:12• ¹²For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. (Amos 5:12)

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Amos 6:2‑6,12• ²Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
³Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
⁴that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
⁵that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;
⁶that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
¹²Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: (Amos 6:2‑6,12)

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Amos 8:4‑7• ⁴{i}Hear this, ye that pant after the needy, even to cause to fail the poor of the land,{/i}
⁵{i}saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat? making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances for deceit:{/i}
⁶{i}that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat.{/i}
⁷{i}Jehovah hath sworn by the glory of Jacob, Certainly I will never forget any of their works.{/i} (Amos 8:4‑7)

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Mic. 2:1‑3,9• ¹Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
²And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
³{i}Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye walk haughtily: for it is an evil time.{/i}
⁹{i}The women of my people do ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children do ye take away my magnificence forever.{/i} (Mic. 2:1‑3,9)

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Mic. 3:1‑4,9‑12• ¹{i}And I said{/i}, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
²{i}Ye who hate the good, and love evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from off their bones;{/i}
³{i}and who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron.{/i}
⁴{i}Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; and he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings{/i}.
⁹Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
¹⁰They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
¹¹{i}The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet do they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.{/i}
¹²Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. (Mic. 3:1‑4,9‑12)

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Mic. 6:10‑13• ¹⁰{i}Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure which is abominable?{/i}
¹¹{i}Shall I be pure with the unjust balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?{/i}
¹²{i}For her rich men are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.{/i}
¹³{i}Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee; I will make thee desolate because of thy sins.{/i} (Mic. 6:10‑13)

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Zech. 7:9‑13• ⁹{i}Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying,{/i} Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother,
¹⁰{i}and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.{/i}
¹¹{i}But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear.{/i}
¹²{i}And they made their heart as an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.{/i}
¹³{i}And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts;{/i} (Zech. 7:9‑13)

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Mal. 3:5• ⁵And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts. (Mal. 3:5)

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James 2:13• ¹³for the judgment [is] merciless to him that showed no mercy. Mercy glorieth over judgment. (James 2:13)

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James 5:2‑7• ²Your wealth is corrupted, and your garments are become moth-eaten.
³Your gold and [your] silver are rusted through, and their rust shall be for a witness to you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye laid up treasure in [the] last days.
⁴Behold, the hire of the labourers who reaped your fields, that is kept back of you crieth out, and the cries of those that reaped entered into the ears of Jehovah of hosts.
⁵Ye lived luxuriously on the earth and indulged yourselves; ye nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
⁶Ye condemned, ye slew the just one; he doth not resist you.
⁷Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it, until it receive early and latter rain. (James 5:2‑7)

higher than they.

1 Chron. 21:15‑16• ¹⁵{i}And{/i} God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough; stay now thine hand. {i}And the angel of Jehovah stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.{/i}
¹⁶And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. (1 Chron. 21:15‑16)

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Psa. 95:3• ³For Jehovah [is] a great God ,{HR}And a great king above all gods. (Psa. 95:3)

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Isa. 37:36• ³⁶And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses. (Isa. 37:36)

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Matt. 13:41‑42• ⁴¹{i}The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and those that practice lawlessness;{/i}
⁴²{i}and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.{/i} (Matt. 13:41‑42)

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Acts 12:7‑10,23• ⁷And, behold, an angel of [the] Lord stood by, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck the side of Peter, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
⁸And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals; and he did so. And he saith to him, Throw thy cloak round thee and follow me.
⁹And going out he followed and knew not that what was being done by the angel was true, but thought he was seeing a vision.
¹⁰And when they came through a first guard and a second, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which of itself opened to them; and having gone out they went forth one street; and immediately the angel departed from him.
²³And immediately an angel of [the] Lord smote him, because he gave not the glory to God; and becoming worm-eaten he expired. (Acts 12:7‑10,23)

• “Marvel not”; think it not strange, as though some strange thing were happening; thou art only looking on a weed-plant that everywhere flourishes ‘under the sun,’ and still thou mayest remember that these oppressors themselves, high though they be, have superiors above them: yea, in the ever-ascending scale of ranks and orders thou mayest have to go to the Highest―God Himself; but the same truth hold good, and He shall yet call powers and governors to answer for the exercise of their authorities. (“Ecclesiastes 5” by F.C. Jennings)

• Our own dear apostle seems to have dropped for a moment from his higher vantage-ground to the level of Solomon’s wisdom when smarting under “oppression and the violent perverting of judgment,” he cried to the high priest, “God [the higher than the highest] shall smite thee, thou whited wall.”....Not so in the silent suffering of “violent oppression” at Philippi. There he and his companion have surely comfort beyond any that Solomon can offer, and the overflowing joy of their hearts comes from no spring that rises in this sad desert scene. (“Ecclesiastes 5” by F.C. Jennings)

J. N. Darby Translation

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8

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they.

W. Kelly Translation

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8

If thou seest the oppression of the poor,{HR}And the violent taking away of judgment{HR}And justice in a province,{HR}Marvel not at the matter:{HR}For one higher than the high regardeth;{HR}And there are higher than they.