Bible Verses About Rulers: Wicked

He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.

I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth,

Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Samuel told all the LORD’s words to the people who asked of him a king.

He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;

and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.

He will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

He will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive groves, even their best, and give them to his servants.

He will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

He will take your male servants, and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

He will take the tenth of your flocks: and you shall be his servants.

You shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he had dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed severely against the LORD.

Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, “You exact usury, everyone of his brother.” I held a great assembly against them.

I said to them, “We, after our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Jews that were sold to the nations; and would you even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us?” Then they held their peace, and found never a word.

Also I said, “The thing that you do is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?

neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you testified against them.

For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you gave before them, neither did they turn from their wicked works.

“Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it.

It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life.

They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.

“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.

LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,