Scripture
Psalm 89:14 — “Righteousness [tzedek] and justice [mishpat] are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.”
I used to think righteousness was about being a good person. You know — don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t hurt people, read your Bible, say your prayers. Keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble.
But that’s not tzedek.
The Hebrew word tzedek (צדק) appears over 500 times in the Hebrew Bible, and every single time, it refuses to sit still. It won’t let you turn it into a checklist of personal morality. It won’t let you make it about individual behavior while ignoring the world around you.
Tzedek comes from a root that means “to be right, just, or righteous,” but here’s the thing: in Hebrew thinking, you can’t be right while things around you are wrong. You can’t be just while injustice flourishes. You can’t be righteous while your neighbor suffers.
One scholar sums it up like this.
“When those who have too much see those who have too little, and fix it.”
Tzedek is active. It’s relational. It’s about making things right, not just being right.
That’s why the Hebrew Bible pairs tzedek with mishpat (justice/judgment) so often. They’re dance partners. Tzedek is the vision of how things should be, and mishpat is the process of making it happen. Together, they create God’s idea of a world that works the way it’s supposed to work.
But here’s what we’ve lost in translation: Western thinking splits righteousness and justice into two separate categories. We make righteousness about personal morality and justice about social action. We act like you can be spiritually right with God while being socially wrong with your neighbors.
Hebrew doesn’t allow that split. Tzedek is both/and, not either/or.
Look at the related word tzedakah. We translate it as “charity,” but that misses the point entirely. Tzedakah isn’t about feeling generous and helping the less fortunate out of the goodness of your heart. Tzedakah is about justice. It’s about recognizing that when some people have too much while others don’t have enough, something is wrong with the system — and tzedek demands that we fix it.
A tzaddik — a righteous person — isn’t someone who follows all the rules perfectly. A tzaddik is someone who works to make the world more just, more equitable, more aligned with God’s vision for human flourishing.
This is why the prophets were so passionate about tzedek. They understood that God’s righteousness isn’t about moral perfection — it’s about making things right. When Amos cries out for justice to “roll on like a river” and righteousness like a “never-failing stream,” he’s not talking about two different things. He’s talking about tzedek — the unstoppable force of making things right.
So when Jesus talks about “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), he’s not talking about personal spiritual growth. He’s talking about tzedek hunger — the deep longing to see the world become more just, more fair, more aligned with God’s heart for human flourishing.
That hunger should make us restless. It should make us uncomfortable with the way things are. It should drive us to action.
Because tzedek won’t let us be passive. It won’t let us be individually righteous while collectively indifferent. It demands that we become righteousness makers — people who actively work to make things right.
Takeaway
Tzedek isn’t about being a good person — it’s about making things right. Hebrew righteousness is always active, always relational, always working toward justice.
Closing Prayer
God, give me tzedek eyes to see what’s wrong and tzedek hands to work for what’s right. Don’t let me settle for personal righteousness while the world around me suffers. Make me a righteousness maker, not just a rule keeper.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea