Key Bible Verses about Justice

¹God spoke all these words, saying, ²“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³“You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name. ⁸“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹You shall labor six days, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; ¹¹for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. ¹²“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you. ¹³“You shall not murder. ¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵“You shall not steal. ¹⁶“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. ¹⁷“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹The Lord GOD’s Spirit is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound, ²to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ ⁴⁰“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

²⁵Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” ²⁷He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” ²⁹But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, ³⁴came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ ³⁶Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”