68 Bible Verses about Poverty, Attitudes Towards

'When there is with thee any needy one of one of thy brethren, in one of thy cities, in thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, thou dost not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; for thou dost certainly open thy hand to him, and dost certainly lend him sufficient for his lack which he lacketh.

Whoso is mocking at the poor Hath reproached his Maker, Whoso is rejoicing at calamity is not acquitted.

to the necessities of the saints communicating; the hospitality pursuing.

therefore, then, as we have opportunity, may we work the good to all, and especially unto those of the household of the faith.

and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food, and any one of you may say to them, 'Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what is the profit?

and whoever may have the goods of the world, and may view his brother having need, and may shut up his bowels from him -- how doth the love of God remain in him?

'Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of thy needy one in his strife;

'And when thy brother is become poor, and his hand hath failed with thee, then thou hast kept hold on him, sojourner and settler, and he hath lived with thee; thou takest no usury from him, or increase; and thou hast been afraid of thy God; and thy brother hath lived with thee; thy money thou givest not to him in usury, and for increase thou givest not thy food;

'Thou dost not oppress a hireling, poor and needy, of thy brethren or of thy sojourner who is in thy land within thy gates; in his day thou dost give his hire, and the sun doth not go in upon it, for he is poor, and unto it he is lifting up his soul, and he doth not cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee -- sin.

And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: 'Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor; The rich hath flocks and herds very many; And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;read more.
And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

Wherefore from the Mighty One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days. The borders they reach, A drove they have taken violently away, Yea, they do evil. The ass of the fatherless they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,read more.
They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.

Rob not the poor because he is poor, And bruise not the afflicted in the gate.

The righteous knoweth the plea of the poor, The wicked understandeth not knowledge.

Hear a word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who art sitting on the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, who are coming in at these gates, Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, ye do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood ye do not shed in this place.

And -- he hath begotten a son, A burglar -- a shedder of blood, And he hath made a brother of one of these, And he all those hath not done, For even on the mountains he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour he hath defiled, The afflicted and needy he hath oppressed, Plunder he hath taken violently away, A pledge he doth not return, And unto the idols he hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination he hath done!read more.
In usury he hath given, and increase taken, And he liveth: he doth not live, All these abominations he hath done, He doth surely die, his blood is on him.

Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their selling for silver the righteous, And the needy for a pair of sandals. Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name.

And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.

for if there may come into your synagogue a man with gold ring, in gay raiment, and there may come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye may look upon him bearing the gay raiment, and may say to him, 'Thou -- sit thou here well,' and to the poor man may say, 'Thou -- stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool,' -- ye did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges.

At the end of three years thou dost bring out all the tithe of thine increase in that year, and hast placed it within thy gates; and come in hath the Levite (for he hath no part and inheritance with thee), and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates, and they have eaten, and been satisfied, so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou dost.

and the seventh thou dost release it, and hast left it, and the needy of thy people have eaten, and their leaving doth the beast of the field eat; so dost thou to thy vineyard -- to thine olive-yard.

'And in your reaping the harvest of your land ye do not completely reap the corner of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather, and thy vineyard thou dost not glean, even the omitted part of thy vineyard thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I am Jehovah your God.

the spontaneous growth of thy harvest thou dost not reap, and the grapes of thy separated thing thou dost not gather, a year of rest it is to the land. 'And the sabbath of the land hath been to you for food, to thee, and to thy man-servant, and to thy handmaid, and to thy hireling, and to thy settler, who are sojourning with thee;

Whoso is lending to Jehovah is favouring the poor, And his deed He repayeth to him.

Judge ye the weak and fatherless, The afflicted and the poor declare righteous. Let the weak and needy escape, From the hand of the wicked deliver them.

For the ear heard, and declareth me happy, And the eye hath seen, and testifieth to me. For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who hath no helper. The blessing of the perishing cometh on me, And the heart of the widow I cause to sing.read more.
Righteousness I have put on, and it clotheth me, As a robe and a diadem my justice. Eyes I have been to the blind, And feet to the lame am I. A father I am to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out. And I break the jaw-teeth of the perverse, And from his teeth I cast away prey.

and he answering saith to them, 'He having two coats -- let him impart to him having none, and he having victuals -- in like manner let him do.'

And in Joppa there was a certain female disciple, by name Tabitha, (which interpreted, is called Dorcas,) this woman was full of good works and kind acts that she was doing;

Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart -- worthless, saying, Near is the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin; thou dost certainly give to him, and thy heart is not sad in thy giving to him, for because of this thing doth Jehovah thy God bless thee in all thy works, and in every putting forth of thy hand; because the needy one doth not cease out of the land, therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Thou dost certainly open thy hand to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy one, in thy land.

and come in hath the Levite (for he hath no part and inheritance with thee), and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates, and they have eaten, and been satisfied, so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou dost.

And Boaz saith to her, 'At meal-time come nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth.

He hath scattered -- hath given to the needy, His righteousness is standing for ever, His horn is exalted with honour.

And of the poor people, who have nothing, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left in the land of Judah, and he giveth to them vineyards and fields on the same day.

And Zaccheus having stood, said unto the Lord, 'Lo, the half of my goods, sir, I give to the poor, and if of any one anything I did take by false accusation, I give back fourfold.'

pious, and fearing God with all his house, doing also many kind acts to the people, and beseeching God always,

each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love,

whenever, therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men; verily I say to you -- they have their reward!

And Jesus having called near his disciples, said, 'I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they continue with me, and they have not what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.'

In those days the multitude being very great, and not having what they may eat, Jesus having called near his disciples, saith to them, 'I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they do continue with me, and they have not what they may eat; and if I shall let them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way, for certain of them are come from far.'

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'

for certain were thinking, since Judas had the bag, that Jesus saith to him, 'Buy what we have need of for the feast;' or that he may give something to the poor;

Jesus who is from Nazareth -- how God did anoint him with the Holy Spirit and power; who went through, doing good, and healing all those oppressed by the devil, because God was with him;

and all those believing were at the same place, and had all things common, and the possessions and the goods they were selling, and were parting them to all, according as any one had need.

and of the multitude of those who did believe the heart and the soul was one, and not one was saying that anything of the things he had was his own, but all things were to them in common. And with great power were the apostles giving the testimony to the rising again of the Lord Jesus, great grace also was on them all, for there was not any one among them who did lack, for as many as were possessors of fields, or houses, selling them, were bringing the prices of the thing sold,read more.
and were laying them at the feet of the apostles, and distribution was being made to each according as any one had need.

and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea, which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

all things I did shew you, that, thus labouring, it behoveth us to partake with the ailing, to be mindful also of the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

'And after many years I came, about to do kind acts to my nation, and offerings,

And, now, I go on to Jerusalem, ministering to the saints; for it pleased Macedonia and Achaia well to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem; for it pleased well, and their debtors they are, for if in their spiritual things the nations did participate, they ought also, in the fleshly things, to minister to them.

for not that for others release, and ye pressured, do I speak, but by equality, at the present time your abundance -- for their want, that also their abundance may be for your want, that there may be equality, according as it hath been written, 'He who did gather much, had nothing over; and he who did gather little, had no lack.'

only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.

To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. O the happiness of him Who is acting wisely unto the poor, In a day of evil doth Jehovah deliver him.

Whoso is giving to the poor hath no lack, And whoso is hiding his eyes multiplied curses.

Jesus said to him, 'If thou dost will to be perfect, go away, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.'

'Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye, the blessed of my Father, inherit the reign that hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I did hunger, and ye gave me to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye received me; naked, and ye put around me; I was infirm, and ye looked after me; in prison I was, and ye came unto me.

for whoever may give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because ye are Christ's, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward;

and of doing good, and of fellowship, be not forgetful, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased.

He is doing the judgment of fatherless and widow, and loving the sojourner, to give to him bread and raiment.

Thou hast seen, For Thou perverseness and anger beholdest; By giving into Thy hand, On Thee doth the afflicted leave it, Of the fatherless Thou hast been an helper.

Jehovah is preserving the strangers, The fatherless and widow He causeth to stand, And the way of the wicked He turneth upside down.

Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,

To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may spoil.

And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,

And Boaz saith, 'In the day of thy buying the field from the hand of Naomi, then from Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, thou hast bought it, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance.'

And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets hath cried unto Elisha, saying, 'Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou hast known that thy servant was fearing Jehovah, and the lender hath come to take my two children to him for servants.'

Widows thou hast sent away empty, And the arms of the fatherless are bruised.

And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, And against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration,

honour widows who are really widows;

religion pure and undefiled with the God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation -- unspotted to keep himself from the world.