--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Woe to those who make unjust laws, to…" description: "\"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg" --- # Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue… ![“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” quote by Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg) > “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage condemns leaders who create unfair laws and deny justice, especially to the vulnerable, highlighting the moral duty to protect the oppressed. **In simple terms:** Unjust laws harm the poor and vulnerable. Key Takeaway Stand against oppression and protect the vulnerable. Themes justice oppression leadership vulnerability morality Mood somber determined hopeful Type biblical ethical political When to use this quote - legislative reform - community advocacy - legal aid - social work - humanitarian aid Key Concepts prophecy social ethics human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure laws protect the vulnerable? - What responsibilities do leaders have to prevent oppression? A Different Perspective The text assumes a binary moral view and may not address systemic complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decree/) [Decrees Deprive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decrees-deprive-3461921/) [Fatherless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatherless/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-oppressed-1299179/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-rights-2575913/) [Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prey/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Robbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbing/) [Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust/) [Unjust laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust-laws/) [Widows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/widows/) [Withhold Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withhold-justice-3461920/) [Woe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woe/) ## Related quotes > [“6. The LORD\* executes acts of loving kindness1 and justice for all that are oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/6-the-lord-executes-acts-of-loving-kindness1-and-justice-for-all-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the rich plunder the poor of his rights, it becomes an example for the poor to plunder the rich of his property, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/when-the-rich-plunder-the-poor-of-his-rights-it-becomes-an-example/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/stop-doing-wrong-learn-to-do-right-seek-justice-encourage-the/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [“We are brilliant shades of light, we can not be contained" -Boys of the Fatherless-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-riggins/we-are-brilliant-shades-of-light-we-can-not-be-contained-boys-of-the/) [David C Riggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-c-riggins/) > [Calpurnia evidently remembered a rainy Sunday when we were both fatherless and teacherless. Let to its own devices, the class tied Eunice Ann Simpson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/calpurnia-evidently-remembered-a-rainy-sunday-when-we-were-both/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Realizing that most these guys don't be stuck on the woman. They're stuck on trying not to leave their children growing up like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmarvalouz/realizing-that-most-these-guys-don-t-be-stuck-on-the-woman-they-re/) [DMarvalouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmarvalouz/) > [Government welfare programs contribute to the disintegration of poor families. They make women and children dependent on government; dependent for food, for clothing, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-f-sennholz/government-welfare-programs-contribute-to-the-disintegration-of-poor/) [Hans F. Sennholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-f-sennholz/) > [Friend of fatherless! Fountain of happiness! Lord of the swill-bucket! Oh, how my soul is on Fire when I gaze at thy Calm and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/friend-of-fatherless-fountain-of-happiness-lord-of-the-swill-bucket/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [In reality the world is as full of bad mothers as it is of bad fathers, and it is not the motherless children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/in-reality-the-world-is-as-full-of-bad-mothers-as-it-is-of-bad/) [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [The child in me could not die as it should have died, because according too legends it must find its father again. The old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-child-in-me-could-not-die-as-it-should-have-died-because/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Too many men making too many babies they don’t want to take care of, and then we end up dealing with your children.” Nutter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-men-making-too-many-babies-they-don-t-want-to-take-care-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Aping the lower class will only lead to fatherless children, unusable muscles, and the fear of tomorrow’s sobriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/aping-the-lower-class-will-only-lead-to-fatherless-children-unusable/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [“A father and a mother who are not honored are essentially adult peers of their children. They are not parents. No generation knows better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/a-father-and-a-mother-who-are-not-honored-are-essentially-adult-peers/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [The kingdom of heaven is comprised of the broken, the fatherless, the poor, the starving. Nothing that could create good ratings for NBC.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-comprised-of-the-broken-the-fatherless-the/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [The human father has to be confronted and recognized as human, as man who created a child and then, by his absence, left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-human-father-has-to-be-confronted-and-recognized-as-human-as-man/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More by Isaiah > [All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song. Even the trees of the wood are glad over you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/all-the-earth-is-at-rest-and-is-quiet-they-are-bursting-into-song/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/surely-god-is-my-salvation-i-will-trust-and-not-be-afraid-the-lord/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/tell-the-righteous-it-will-be-well-with-them-for-they-will-enjoy-the/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [“Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/thus-saith-thy-lord-the-lord-and-thy-god-that-pleadeth-the-cause-of/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/in-the-desert-prepare-the-way-for-the-lord-make-straight-in-the/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/therefore-a-curse-consumes-the-earth-its-people-must-bear-their-guilt/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/but-the-lord-almighty-will-be-exalted-by-his-justice-and-the-holy-god/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-to-those-who-call-evil-good-and-good-evil-who-put-darkness-for-2/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/behold-this-has-touched-your-lips-and-your-iniquity-is-taken-away-and/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-is-me-for-i-am-ruined-because-i-am-a-man-of-unclean-lips-and-i/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/cease-ye-from-man-whose-breath-is-in-his-nostrils/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/the-wolf-also-shall-dwell-with-the-lamb-and-the-leopard-shall-lie/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/stop-trusting-in-man-who-has-but-a-breath-in-his-nostrils/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [He that slayeth an ox is as he that killeth a human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/he-that-slayeth-an-ox-is-as-he-that-killeth-a-human/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/the-lord-says-these-people-come-near-to-me-with-their-mouth-and-honor/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) [Explore all 55 Isaiah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) ## More Decree quotes > [Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/kings-or-parliaments-could-not-give-the-rights-essential-to-happiness/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [On one hand, we know that everything happens for a reason, and there are no mistakes or coincidences. On the other hand, we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/on-one-hand-we-know-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-there/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Again I ask whence it happened that the fall of Adam involved, without remedy, in eternal death so many nations, together with their infant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/again-i-ask-whence-it-happened-that-the-fall-of-adam-involved-without/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [Silence 'tis awe decrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/silence-tis-awe-decrees/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Authority is the spiritual dimension of power because it depends upon faith in a system of meaning that decrees the necessity of the hierarchical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/authority-is-the-spiritual-dimension-of-power-because-it-depends-upon/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [State governments seek local remedies for the globally fabricated deprivations and miseries in vain - just as the individuals-by-the-decree-of-fate (read: by the impact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/state-governments-seek-local-remedies-for-the-globally-fabricated/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-in-the-middle-east-involving-a/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [Nature is not benevolent; Nature is just, gives pound for pound, measure for measure, makes no exceptions, never tempers her decrees with mercy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/nature-is-not-benevolent-nature-is-just-gives-pound-for-pound-measure/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Leadership does not mean being bossy, always telling others what to do. No, leadership means going ahead, not putting others in the front. Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/leadership-does-not-mean-being-bossy-always-telling-others-what-to-do/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Donald Trump gives the impression that he would like to govern by decree. He has that impulse in him and he wants to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/donald-trump-gives-the-impression-that-he-would-like-to-govern-by/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [The same government that requires a taxpaying citizen to document every statement on his tax return decrees that questioning a welfare applicant demeans and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-same-government-that-requires-a-taxpaying-citizen-to-document/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [This particular consent decree not only looks at the police department, but it also looks at how we engage our community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-e-pugh/this-particular-consent-decree-not-only-looks-at-the-police/) [Catherine E. Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-e-pugh/) [Browse all 224 Decree quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decree/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaiah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-those-who-issue-oppressive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decree" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-those-who-issue-oppressive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/isaiah-12431_decree_woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-tho_381888.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their…” — Isaiah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isaiah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Woe to those who make unjust...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-those-who-issue-oppressive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/woe-to-those-who-make-unjust-laws-to-those-who-issue-oppressive/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```