3. What can be learned by considering the original-language words used in the Bible for justice and righteousness?

³ The breadth of God’s justice can better be understood by considering how the original-language words are used in the Bible.a Interestingly, in the Scriptures there is no significant difference between justice and righteousness. In fact, the Hebrew words are sometimes used in parallel, as we see at Amos 5:24, where Jehovah exhorts his people: “Let justice roll forth just like waters, and righteousness like a constantly flowing torrent.” Moreover, several times the terms “justice and righteousness” appear together for the sake of emphasis.—Psalm 33:5; Isaiah 33:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Ezekiel 18:21; 45:9.

4. What does it mean to exercise justice, and what is the ultimate standard of justice?

⁴ What sense is conveyed by these Hebrew and Greek words? To exercise justice in the Scriptural sense means to do what is right and fair. Since Jehovah is the one who establishes moral laws and principles, or what is right and fair, the way Jehovah does things is the ultimate standard of justice. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament explains that the Hebrew word rendered righteousness (tseʹdheq) “refers to an ethical, moral standard and of course in the O[ld] T[estament] that standard is the nature and will of God.” Thus, the way God applies his principles, and especially the way he deals with imperfect men, reveals the face of true justice and righteousness.