Isaiah 1: 17: “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless; defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” According to Isaiah, doing good involves taking care of the helpless. Not only should the widow and orphan be defended and given justice, but those who show them no mercy (pretty much the definition of ‘ruthless’) must be reproved. As Jesus said, only the merciful obtain mercy (Matthew 5: 7).
