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Psalms 103:6

in Psalms 103

The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Jehovah executeth righteous acts, And judgments for all that are oppressed.

KJV

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

This verse in Psalms 103

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 4 (1874)

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are of oppressed. Our own personal obligations must not absorb our song; we must also magnify the Lord for his goodness to others. He does not leave the poor and needy to perish at the hands of their enemies, but interposes on their behalf, for he is the executor of the poor and the executioner of the cruel. When his people were in Egypt he heard their groanings and brought them forth, but he overthrew Pharaoh in the Red Sea. Man's injustice shall receive retribution at the hand of God.

This site's exposition

executes righteousness and justice

on Psalms 103:6-8

Verse 6 puts God's government on the side of the wronged, and verse 7 names where Israel learned it, from Moses. Verse 8 is the LORD's own name for Himself, spoken to Moses at Exodus 34:6, abounding in loving devotion and slow to anger. The psalm is quoting God's own words.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

Exposition on Psalm 103 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

"The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all them that are oppressed with wrong" [Psalm 103:6]....An adulterous woman is brought forward to be stoned according to the Law, but she is brought before the Lawgiver Himself....Our Lord, at the time she was brought before Him, bending His Head, began writing on the earth. When He bent Himself down upon the earth, He then wrote on the earth: before He bent upon the earth, He wrote not on the earth, but on stone. The earth was now something fertile, ready to bring forth from the Lord's letters. On the stone He had written the Law, intimating the hardness of the Jews: He wrote on the earth, signifying the productiveness of Christians. Then they who were leading the adulteress came, like raging waves against a rock: but they were dashed to pieces by His answer. For He said to them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." [John 8:7] And again bending His head, He began writing on the ground. And now each man, when he asked his own conscience, came not forward. It was not a weak adulterous woman, but their own adulterate conscience, that drove them back. They wished to punish, to judge; they came to the Rock, their judges were overthrown by the Rock.. ..

A commentator

John Chrysostom

HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 14 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

...and that we received this law in our very nature, and that our Creator entrusted to us the impartial rule of conscience, these I say, are proofs of the greatest grace and unspeakable lovingkindness. And the recovery of this law after it had become corrupt, by means of the written (Law), this too was the work of grace. For what might have been expected to follow was, that they who falsified the law once given should suffer correction and punishments; but what actually took place was not this, but, on the contrary, an amending of our nature, and pardon, not of debt, but given through mercy and grace. For to show that it was of grace and mercy, hear what David saith; "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed; He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel": and again; "Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will He give laws to them that are in the way."

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): He executes righteousness and judgment, not only for his own people, but for all that are oppressed; for even in common providence he is the patron of wronged innocency, and, one way or other, will plead the cause of those that are injured against their oppressors.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 4 (1874)

proposed

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are of oppressed. Our own personal obligations must not absorb our song; we must also magnify the Lord for his goodness to others. He does not leave the poor and needy to perish at the hands of their enemies, but interposes on their behalf, for he is the executor of the poor and the executioner of the cruel. When his people were in Egypt he heard their groanings and brought them forth, but he overthrew Pharaoh in the Red Sea. Man's injustice shall receive retribution at the hand of God. Mercy to his saints demands vengeance on their persecutors, and he will repay it. No blood of martyrs shall be shed in vain; no groans of confessors in prison shall be left without inquisition being made concerning them. All wrongs shall be righted, all the oppressed shall be avenged. Justice may at times leave the courts of man, but it abides upon the tribunal of God. For this every right-minded person will bless God. Were he careless of his creature's good, did he neglect the administration of justice, did he suffer high-handed oppressors finally to escape, we should have greater reason for trembling than rejoicing; it is not so, however, for our God is a God of justice, and by him actions are weighed; he will mete out his portion to the proud and make the tyrant bite the dust, —yea, often he visits the haughty persecutor even in this life, so that "the Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth."
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Lord executeth - This shall be done because the Lord will avenge his elect who have cried unto him day and night for his deliverance: “He is slow to anger;” but he will punish. “He is plenteous in mercy,” and he will save. The persevering sinner shall be destroyed; the humble penitent shall be saved.
The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment - That is, “justice.” He sees that justice is done to the oppressed. He is on their side. His law, his commands, his judicial decisions, his providential interpositions, are in their favor. This does not mean that it will he done at once; or that there will never be any delay; or that they may not suffer even for a long time - for this occurs in fact; but the meaning is, that God has their true interest at heart; that at proper times, and whenever and whereever there are any dealings of his in the case, his acts are in favor of those that are oppressed; and that there will be sooner or later such interpositions in their behalf as shall entirely vindicate their cause. For all that are oppressed - By harsh laws; by unjust governments; by slavery; by unrighteous decisions in courts; by the pride and power of wicked people. Compare the notes at Isa 1:17, notes at Isa 1:23-27.

The words behind it

6 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • עֹשֵׂ֣ה[is] doing

    ʾosehH62132628 times

  • צְדָק֣וֹת<of> righteousness<es>

    tzedakotH6666157 times

  • יְהוָ֑הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • וּ֝מִשְׁפָּטִ֗יםand judgments

    umishpatimH4941422 times

  • לְכָל־for all

    lekholH36055413 times

  • עֲשׁוּקִֽים׃[those who] are oppressed

    ʾashukimH623136 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Psalms 12:5

    “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 34:6

      This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.

    • Proverbs 14:31

      Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

    • James 5:4

      Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

    • Psalms 146:7–8

      He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,

    • Isaiah 33:10

      “Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.

  • Through

    Psalms 9:9

    The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 18:10

      The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

    • Psalms 91:1–2

      He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

    • Nahum 1:7

      The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.

Where this verse is studied

About Psalms

Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba. Claude Lorrain, 1648. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba. Claude Lorrain, 1648. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 103; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.