Poor: Duty To

If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest. …

…but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’”

If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. …

Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. …

If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. …

At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and lay it up within your gates.

Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.

This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed. …

If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; …

When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.

Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments.

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble. …

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.

The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.

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

She opens her arms to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

“Give us counsel; render a decision. Shelter us at noonday with shade as dark as night. Hide the refugees; do not betray the one who flees.

Let my fugitives stay with you; be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.” When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased, and the oppressors have vanished from the land,

Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

…and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,

I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.

John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

But give as alms the things that are within you, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. …

On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

…if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.

…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly. …

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, faithful to her husband,

…and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.

Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. …

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?

Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? …