"John McLaughlin's new book, Justice in the Balance, is a very readable and relevant offering for our times. Each chapter offers a religious message tied into each biblical passage discussed. Divided into nineteen chapters, this handy volume would make a good textbook for an undergraduate course or for church study on the prophets and justice."
- Mark S. Smith, Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary

"John McLaughlin has done some serious thinking about a crucially important topic--justice in the biblical prophets, starting chronologically with discussions of Samuel, Nathan, and Elijah. McLaughlin has thus written a wonderful selection of discussions and meditations on primary texts dealing with prophets and justice. Informed by good scholarship, the book's format makes the work especially helpful for a sermon series and adult education (and older youth) courses."
- Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, Professor of Theological Studies (Old Testament), Director of New Zealand Study Abroad, and Coordinator of Special Projects in Theological Studies Loyola Marymount University

"Dr. John McLaughlin has written a very readable book that connects the legal traditions in the Old Testament as well as the prophetic traditions with the larger concept of justice. This book dispels many Christian characterizations of the Old Testament as legalistic and compellingly demonstrates that the laws and the prophets were deeply rooted in the covenant understandings of justice. The short chapters which focus on individual texts make this book a perfect resource for undergraduate classrooms and adult Bible study."
- Corrine Carvalho, Professor of Theology, University of St. Thomas