What Does the Bible Say About Poor?

“If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.”

“If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:”

“For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.”

“Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.”

“Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.”

“But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. oliveyard: or, olive trees”

“The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. give more: Heb. multiply give less: Heb. diminish”

“And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. he be: Heb. his hand cannot reach to the sufficiency of a lamb”

“And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean. she be: Heb. her hand find not sufficiency of”

“And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; cannot: Heb. his hand reach not to be: Heb. for a waving”

“And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get ; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.”

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.”

“And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”

“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.”

“If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.”

“And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; himself: Heb. his hand hath attained and found sufficiency”

“Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.”

“But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.”

“And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. fallen: Heb. his hand faileth relieve: Heb. strengthen”

“Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.”

“Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.”

“And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: compel: Heb. serve thyself with him with the service, etc”

“But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:”

“And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.”

“For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. as: Heb. with the sale of a bondman”

“Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.”

“At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:”

“And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.”

“And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release. creditor: Heb. master of the lending of his hand”

“Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;”

“Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: Save: or, To the end that there be no poor among you”

“Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.”

“For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.”

“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:”

“But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.”

“Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. thought: Heb. word wicked: Heb. Belial”

“Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.”

“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”

“And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.”

“And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:”

“Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.”

“And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:”

“In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.”

“Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:”

“At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. setteth: Heb. lifteth his soul unto it”

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:”

“But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.”

“When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.”

“When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. go: Heb. bough it after thee”

“When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. afterward: Heb. after thee”

“When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;”

“Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:”

“And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.”

“So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.”

“The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.”

“And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.”

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

“And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.”

“As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.”

“But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.”

“So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.”

“Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; oppressed: Heb. crushed”

“For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. the naked: Heb. the clothes of the naked”

“Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.”

“Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.”

“They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.”

“They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.”

“When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:”

“Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.”

“The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.”

“I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.”

“I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.”

“Did not I weep for him that was in trouble ? was not my soul grieved for the poor? in trouble: Heb. hard of day?”

“Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? did not one: or, did he not fashion us in one womb?”

“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;”

“Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;”

“(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;) her: that is, the widow”

“If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;”

“If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;”

“If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:”

“Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. bone: or, chanelbone”

“If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; complain: Heb. weep”

“Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?”

“How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.”

“So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.”

“He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor. poor: or, afflicted”

“He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression. poor: or, afflicted”

“For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.”

“The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. The wicked: Heb. In the pride of the wicked he doth persecute”

“He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. are: Heb. hide themselves”

“Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. committeth: Heb. leaveth”

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. puffeth: or, would ensnare him”

“Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.”

“This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

“All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”

“The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. such: Heb. the upright of way”

“A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.”

“The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.”