Proverbs 31:9

9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:9 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 31:9

Open thy mouth, judge righteously
Having heard the cause, pronounce a righteous sentence; deliver it freely and impartially, with all readiness and boldness, not caring for the censures of wicked and unjust men; and plead the cause of the poor and needy;
who are oppressed by the rich, cannot plead for themselves, nor fee others to plead for them; do thou do it freely and faithfully. Thus as Lemuel's mother cautions him against women and wine, she advises him to do the duties of his office in administering impartial justice to all, and particularly in being the advocate and judge of the indigent and distressed.

Proverbs 31:9 In-Context

7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

8 Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.

9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

10 A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.