May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.

You will listen, O LORD, to the prayers of the lowly; you will give them courage.

Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans; be fair to the needy and the helpless.

Rescue them from the power of evil people.

He will hear his forsaken people and listen to their prayer.

He heard the groans of prisoners and set free those who were condemned to die.

When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.

"When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed

He answered John's messengers, "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.

You say, 'I am rich and well off; I have all I need.' But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind.

I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself and cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes, so that you may see.

Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their oppressors had power on their side.

I decided that the time to save my people had come; it was time to punish their enemies.

I was amazed when I looked and saw that there was no one to help me. But my anger made me strong, and I won the victory myself.