Isaiah 1:17
Isaiah 1:1717Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
— "Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless; plead the cause of the widow" — is read by JWs as a general moral exhortation. The Watchtower's neutrality doctrine treats the verbs ("seek justice," "correct the oppressor," "plead the cause") as fulfilled through the preaching work and personal kindness; organised civic action — marches, voting, jury service, petitioning — is forbidden as participation in "Satan's world system."
commands more than preaching. The verbs are seek, correct, defend, plead the cause — civic and legal actions, not just sermons. defines pure religion as visiting (not just praying for) orphans and widows in their affliction. says do good to all people, not only speak to them. Pair with the civil-rights-movement-prohibited argument: the same Watchtower neutrality doctrine that explains Witnesses' "no wars" record also forbade Witnesses from marching at Selma, voting for the Voting Rights Act, or sitting on a jury convicting a Klansman in 1965 Alabama. is the Old Testament charter that the Watchtower's neutrality doctrine cannot fully obey, because the verbs are civic by nature.