Reference: Poor
American
Ps 12:5; 41:1-3, especially cared for in the Jewish dispensation, Ex 23:6; Pr 14:31, and even more so under the gospel, Mt 25:42-45; Jas 2:5. The slight offerings required of them by the law were as acceptable as the hecatombs of the rich, Le 5:7-13; Mr 12:41-44. The gleanings of the fields, the olive-trees, and the vines, were to be left for them, Le 19:9; De 24:19; Ru 2:2. Every seventh year, the spontaneous products of the ground were free to all, Le 25:7; and in the Jubilee their alienated inheritance returned to their possession. Compare also Le 25; De 24. Neglect and oppression of the poor were severely reproved by the prophets, Isa 10:2; Jer 5:28; Am 2:6; but charity to the poor was an eminent virtue among primitive Christians, Mt 6:2-4; Lu 10:33-35; 19:8; Ac 9:36-39; 10:2; 11:29-30.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
'Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of thy needy one in his strife;
And if his hand reach not to the sufficiency of a lamb, then he hath brought in his guilt-offering -- he who hath sinned -- two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to Jehovah, one for a sin-offering, and one for a burnt-offering; and he hath brought them in unto the priest, and hath brought near that which is for a sin-offering first, and hath wrung off its head from its neck, and doth not separate it, read more. and he hath sprinkled of the blood of the sin-offering on the side of the altar, and that which is left of the blood is wrung out at the foundation of the altar; it is a sin-offering. 'And the second he maketh a burnt-offering, according to the ordinance, and the priest hath made atonement for him, because of his sin which he hath sinned, and it hath been forgiven him. And if his hand reach not to two turtle-doves, or to two young pigeons, then he hath brought in his offering -- he who hath sinned -- a tenth of an ephah of flour for a sin-offering; he putteth no oil on it, nor doth he put on it frankincense, for it is a sin-offering, and he hath brought it in unto the priest, and the priest hath taken a handful from it -- the fulness of his hand -- its memorial -- and hath made perfume on the altar, according to the fire-offerings of Jehovah; it is a sin-offering. And the priest hath made atonement for him, for his sin which he hath sinned against one of these, and it hath been forgiven him, and the remnant hath been to the priest, like the present.'
'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 to thy cattle, and to the beast which is in thy land, is all thine increase for food.
'When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
And Ruth the Moabitess saith unto Naomi, 'Let me go, I pray thee, into the field, and I gather among the ears of corn after him in whose eyes I find grace;' and she saith to her, 'Go, my daughter.'
Because of the spoiling of the poor, Because of the groaning of the needy, Now do I arise, saith Jehovah, I set in safety him who doth breathe for it.
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. Jehovah doth preserve him and revive him, He is happy in the land, And Thou givest him not into the will of his enemies. read more. Jehovah supporteth on a couch of sickness, All his bed Thou hast turned in his weakness.
An oppressor of the poor reproacheth his Maker, And whoso is honouring Him Is favouring the needy.
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.
They have been fat, they have shone, Yea, they have overpassed the acts of the evil, Judgment they have not judged, The judgment of the fatherless -- and they prosper, And the judgment of the needy they have not judged.
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.
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! 'But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth, read more. that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.
for I did hunger, and ye gave me not to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me not to drink; a stranger I was, and ye did not receive me; naked, and ye put not around me; infirm, and in prison, and ye did not look after me. read more. 'Then shall they answer, they also, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or infirm, or in prison, and we did not minister to thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these, the least, ye did it not to me.
And Jesus having sat down over-against the treasury, was beholding how the multitude do put brass into the treasury, and many rich were putting in much, and having come, a poor widow did put in two mites, which are a farthing. read more. And having called near his disciples, he saith to them, 'Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath put in more than all those putting into the treasury; for all, out of their abundance, put in, but she, out of her want, all that she had put in -- all her living.'
'But a certain Samaritan, journeying, came along him, and having seen him, he was moved with compassion, and having come near, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and having lifted him up on his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and was careful of him; read more. and on the morrow, going forth, taking out two denaries, he gave to the innkeeper, and said to him, Be careful of him, and whatever thou mayest spend more, I, in my coming again, will give back to thee.
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.'
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; and it came to pass in those days she, having ailed, died, and having bathed her, they laid her in an upper chamber, read more. and Lydda being nigh to Joppa, the disciples having heard that Peter is in that place, sent two men unto him, calling on him not to delay to come through unto them. And Peter having risen, went with them, whom having come, they brought into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing coats and garments, as many as Dorcas was making while she was with them.
pious, and fearing God with all his house, doing also many kind acts to the people, and beseeching God always,
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.
Hearken, my brethren beloved, did not God choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the reign that He promised to those loving Him?
Easton
The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Le 19:9-10; De 24:19,21).
(2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their share of the produce of the fields and the vineyards (Ex 23:11; Le 25:6).
(3.) In the year of jubilee they recovered their property (Le 25:25-30).
(4.) Usury was forbidden, and the pledged raiment was to be returned before the sun went down (Ex 22:25-27; De 24:10-13). The rich were to be generous to the poor (De 15:7-11).
(5.) In the sabbatical and jubilee years the bond-servant was to go free (De 15:12-15; Le 25:39-42,47-54).
(6.) Certain portions from the tithes were assigned to the poor (De 14:28-29; 26:12-13).
(7.) They shared in the feasts (De 16:11,14; Ne 8:10).
(8.) Wages were to be paid at the close of each day (Le 19:13).
In the New Testament (Lu 3:11; 14:13; Ac 6:1; Ga 2:10; Jas 2:15-16) we have similar injunctions given with reference to the poor. Begging was not common under the Old Testament, while it was so in the New Testament times (Lu 16:20-21, etc.). But begging in the case of those who are able to work is forbidden, and all such are enjoined to "work with their own hands" as a Christian duty (1Th 4:11; 2Th 3:7-13; Eph 4:28). This word is used figuratively in Mt 5:3; Lu 6:20; 2Co 8:9; Re 3:17.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
'If thou dost lend My poor people with thee money, thou art not to him as a usurer; thou dost not lay on him usury; if thou dost at all take in pledge the garment of thy neighbour, during the going in of the sun thou dost return it to him: read more. for it alone is his covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein doth he lie down? and it hath come to pass, when he doth cry unto Me, that I have heard, for I am gracious.
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.
'Thou dost not oppress thy neighbour, nor take plunder; the wages of the hireling doth not remain with thee till morning.
'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;
'When thy brother becometh poor, and hath sold his possession, then hath his redeemer who is near unto him come, and he hath redeemed the sold thing of his brother; and when a man hath no redeemer, and his own hand hath attained, and he hath found as sufficient for its redemption, read more. then he hath reckoned the years of its sale, and hath given back that which is over to the man to whom he sold it, and he hath returned to his possession. 'And if his hand hath not found sufficiency to give back to him, then hath his sold thing been in the hand of him who buyeth it till the year of jubilee; and it hath gone out in the jubilee, and he hath returned to his possession. And when a man selleth a dwelling-house in a walled city, then hath his right of redemption been until the completion of a year from its selling; days -- is his right of redemption; and if it is not redeemed until the fulness to him of a perfect year, then hath the house which is in a walled city been established to extinction to the buyer of it, to his generations; it goeth not out in the jubilee;
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, -- read more. then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back. For they are My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold with the sale of a servant;
And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth riches, and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him, read more. or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed. 'And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him. If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption money, from the money of his purchase. And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption money; as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
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.
'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. read more. 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. When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee. And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty; thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; of that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him, and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee; therefore I am commanding thee this thing to-day.
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 thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates.
'When thou liftest up on thy brother a debt of anything, thou dost not go in unto his house to obtain his pledge; at the outside thou dost stand, and the man on whom thou art lifting it up is bringing out unto thee the pledge at the outside. read more. 'And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge; thou dost certainly give back to him the pledge at the going in of the sun, and he hath lain down in his own raiment, and hath blessed thee; and to thee it is righteousness before Jehovah thy God.
'When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
'When thou cuttest thy vineyard, thou dost not glean behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is;
'When thou dost complete to tithe all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, the year of the tithe, then thou hast given to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within thy gates, and been satisfied, and thou hast said before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the separated thing out of the house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the sojourner, and to the orphan, and to the widow, according to all Thy command which Thou hast commanded me; I have not passed over from Thy commands, nor have I forgotten.
And he saith to them, 'Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for to-day is holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'
Happy the poor in spirit -- because theirs is the reign of the heavens.
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 he, having lifted up his eyes to his disciples, said: 'Happy the poor -- because yours is the reign of God.
but when thou mayest make a feast, be calling poor, maimed, lame, blind,
and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores, and desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.
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,
only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.
whoso is stealing let him no more steal, but rather let him labour, working the thing that is good with the hands, that he may have to impart to him having need.
and to study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we did command you,
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?
because thou sayest -- I am rich, and have grown rich, and have need of nothing, and hast not known that thou art the wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,
Fausets
The considerate provisions of the law for the poor (based on principles already recognized by the patriarchs: Job 20:19; 24:3-4,9-10; especially Job 29:11-16; 31:17) were:
(1) The right of gleaning; the corners of the field were not to be reaped, nor all the grapes to be gathered, nor the olive trees to be beaten a second time; the stranger, fatherless, and widow might gather the leavings; the forgotten sheaf was to be left for them (Le 19:9-10; De 24:19,21; Ru 2:2).
(2) They were to have their share of the produce in sabbatical years (Ex 23:11; Le 25:6).
(3) They recovered their land, but not town houses, in the Jubilee year (Le 25:25-30).
(4) Usury, i.e. interest on loans to an Israelite, was forbidden; the pledged raiment was to be returned before sundown (Ex 22:25-27; De 24:10-13); generous lending, even at the approach of Jubilee release, is enjoined: (De 15:7-11) "thou shalt open thy hand wide to THY poor"; God designs that we should appropriate them as our own, whereas men say "the poor."
(5) Lasting bondservice was forbidden, and manumission, with a liberal present, enjoined in the sabbatical and Jubilee years (De 15:12-15; Le 25:39-42,47-54); the children were not enslaved; an Israelite might redeem an Israelite who was in bondage to a rich foreign settler.
(6) Portions from the tithes belonged to the poor after the Levites (De 14:28-29; 26:12-13).
(7) The poor shared in the feasts at the festivals of weeks and tabernacles (De 16:11,14; Ne 8:10).
(8) Wages must be paid at the day's end (Le 19:13); yet partiality in judgment must not be shown to the poor (Ex 23:3; Le 19:15).
In the New Testament, Christ lays down the same love to the poor (Lu 3:11; 14:13; Ac 6:1; Ga 2:10; Jas 2:15; Ro 15:26), the motive being "Christ, who was rich, for our sake became poor that we through His poverty might be rich" (2Co 8:9). Begging was common in New Testament times, not under Old Testament (Lu 16:20-21; 18:35; Mr 10:46; Joh 9:8; Ac 3:2.) Mendicancy in the ease of the able bodied is discouraged, and honest labour for one's living is encouraged by precept and example (1Th 4:11; Eph 4:28; 2Th 3:7-12).
The prophets especially vindicate the claims of the poor: compare Eze 18:12,16-17; 22:29; Jer 22:13,16; 5:28; Isa 10:2; Am 2:7, "pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor," i.e., thirst after prostrating the poor by oppression, so as to lay their heads in the dust; or less simply (Pusey) "grudge to the poor debtor the dust which as a mourner he strewed on his head" (2Sa 1:2; Job 2:12). In De 15:4 the creditor must not exact a debt in the year of release, "save when there shall be no poor among you," but as De 15:11 says "the poor shalt never cease out of the land," translated "no poor with thee," i.e. release the debt for the year except when no poor person is concerned, which may happen, "for the Lord shall greatly bless thee": you may call in a loan on the year of release, when the borrower is not poor. Others regard the promise, De 15:11, conditional, Israel's disobedience frustrating its fulfillment. Less costly sacrifices might be substituted by the poor (Le 5:7,11).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
'If thou dost lend My poor people with thee money, thou art not to him as a usurer; thou dost not lay on him usury; if thou dost at all take in pledge the garment of thy neighbour, during the going in of the sun thou dost return it to him: read more. for it alone is his covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein doth he lie down? and it hath come to pass, when he doth cry unto Me, that I have heard, for I am gracious.
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 if his hand reach not to the sufficiency of a lamb, then he hath brought in his guilt-offering -- he who hath sinned -- two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to Jehovah, one for a sin-offering, and one for a burnt-offering;
And if his hand reach not to two turtle-doves, or to two young pigeons, then he hath brought in his offering -- he who hath sinned -- a tenth of an ephah of flour for a sin-offering; he putteth no oil on it, nor doth he put on it frankincense, for it is a sin-offering,
'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.
'Thou dost not oppress thy neighbour, nor take plunder; the wages of the hireling doth not remain with thee till morning.
'Ye do not do perversity in judgment; thou dost not lift up the face of the poor, nor honour the face of the great; in righteousness thou dost judge thy fellow.
'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;
'When thy brother becometh poor, and hath sold his possession, then hath his redeemer who is near unto him come, and he hath redeemed the sold thing of his brother; and when a man hath no redeemer, and his own hand hath attained, and he hath found as sufficient for its redemption, read more. then he hath reckoned the years of its sale, and hath given back that which is over to the man to whom he sold it, and he hath returned to his possession. 'And if his hand hath not found sufficiency to give back to him, then hath his sold thing been in the hand of him who buyeth it till the year of jubilee; and it hath gone out in the jubilee, and he hath returned to his possession. And when a man selleth a dwelling-house in a walled city, then hath his right of redemption been until the completion of a year from its selling; days -- is his right of redemption; and if it is not redeemed until the fulness to him of a perfect year, then hath the house which is in a walled city been established to extinction to the buyer of it, to his generations; it goeth not out in the jubilee;
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, -- read more. then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back. For they are My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold with the sale of a servant;
And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth riches, and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him, read more. or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed. 'And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him. If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption money, from the money of his purchase. And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption money; as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
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.
only when there is no needy one with thee, for Jehovah doth greatly bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance to possess it.
'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. read more. 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.
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.
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. When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee. read more. And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty; thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; of that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him, and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee; therefore I am commanding thee this thing to-day.
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 thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates.
'When thou liftest up on thy brother a debt of anything, thou dost not go in unto his house to obtain his pledge; at the outside thou dost stand, and the man on whom thou art lifting it up is bringing out unto thee the pledge at the outside. read more. 'And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge; thou dost certainly give back to him the pledge at the going in of the sun, and he hath lain down in his own raiment, and hath blessed thee; and to thee it is righteousness before Jehovah thy God.
'When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
'When thou cuttest thy vineyard, thou dost not glean behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is;
'When thou dost complete to tithe all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, the year of the tithe, then thou hast given to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within thy gates, and been satisfied, and thou hast said before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the separated thing out of the house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the sojourner, and to the orphan, and to the widow, according to all Thy command which Thou hast commanded me; I have not passed over from Thy commands, nor have I forgotten.
And Ruth the Moabitess saith unto Naomi, 'Let me go, I pray thee, into the field, and I gather among the ears of corn after him in whose eyes I find grace;' and she saith to her, 'Go, my daughter.'
and it cometh to pass, on the third day, that lo, a man hath come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments are rent, and earth on his head; and it cometh to pass, in his coming in unto David, that he falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance.
And he saith to them, 'Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for to-day is holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'
and they lift up their eyes from afar and have not discerned him, and they lift up their voice and weep, and rend each his robe, and sprinkle dust on their heads -- heavenward.
For he oppressed -- he forsook the poor, A house he hath taken violently away, And he doth not build it.
The ass of the fatherless they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow, They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.
They take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge. Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry -- have taken away a sheaf.
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. read more. The blessing of the perishing cometh on me, And the heart of the widow I cause to sing. 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 do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,
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.
They have been fat, they have shone, Yea, they have overpassed the acts of the evil, Judgment they have not judged, The judgment of the fatherless -- and they prosper, And the judgment of the needy they have not judged.
Woe to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, On his neighbour he layeth service for nought, And his wage he doth not give to him.
He decided the cause of the poor and needy, Then it is well -- is it not to know Me? An affirmation of Jehovah.
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!
A man -- he hath not oppressed, A pledge he hath not bound, And plunder he hath not taken away, His bread to the hungry he hath given, And the naked he covered with a garment, From the afflicted he hath turned back his hand, Usury and increase he hath not taken, My judgments he hath done, In My statutes he hath walked, He doth not die for the iniquity of his father, He doth surely live.
The people of the land have used oppression, And have taken plunder violently away, And humble and needy have oppressed, And the sojourner oppressed -- without judgment.
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 they come to Jericho, and as he is going forth from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, a son of Timaeus -- Bartimaeus the blind -- was sitting beside the way begging,
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.'
but when thou mayest make a feast, be calling poor, maimed, lame, blind,
and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores, and desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.
And it came to pass, in his coming nigh to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting beside the way begging,
the neighbours, therefore, and those seeing him before, that he was blind, said, 'Is not this he who is sitting and begging?'
and a certain man, being lame from the womb of his mother, was being carried, whom they were laying every day at the gate of the temple, called Beautiful, to ask a kindness from those entering into the temple,
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,
for it pleased Macedonia and Achaia well to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem;
for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that because of you he became poor -- being rich, that ye by that poverty may become rich.
only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.
whoso is stealing let him no more steal, but rather let him labour, working the thing that is good with the hands, that he may have to impart to him having need.
and to study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we did command you,
and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food,
Hastings
Morish
It was said in the O.T. that "the poor should never cease out of the land," and in the enactments of the law they were cared for by Jehovah. The Lord said, "Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good." Mr 14:7. "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." Ps 41:1. "The poor have the gospel preached unto them." Mt 11:5. "When thou makest a feast call the poor." Lu 14:13. "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord." Pr 19:17. Other passages show that the working of the love of God in the soul issues in a special regard for the poor. Ga 2:10. Of the Lord Jesus it is said, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. 2Co 8:9.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
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 lending to Jehovah is favouring the poor, And his deed He repayeth to him.
blind receive sight, and lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear, dead are raised, and poor have good news proclaimed,
for the poor always ye have with you, and whenever ye may will ye are able to do them good, but me ye have not always;
but when thou mayest make a feast, be calling poor, maimed, lame, blind,
for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that because of you he became poor -- being rich, that ye by that poverty may become rich.
only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.
Smith
Poor.
The general kindly spirit of the law toward the poor is sufficiently shown by such passages as
De 15:7
for the reason that (ver. 11) "the poor shall never cease out of the land." Among the special enactments in their favor the following must be mentioned:
1. The right of gleaning.
Le 19:9-10; De 24:19,21
2. From the produce of the land in sabbatical years the poor and the stranger were to have their portion.
3. Re-entry upon land in the jubilee year, with the limitation as to town homes.
4. Prohibition of usury and of retention of pledges.
Ex 22:25-27; 5/3/type/ylt'>Le 25:3,5,37
etc.
5. Permanent bondage forbidden, and manumission of Hebrew bondmen or bondwomen enjoined in the sabbatical and jubilee years.
Le 25:39-42,47-54; De 15:12-15
6. Portions from the tithes to be shared by the poor after the Levites.
De 14:28; 26:12-13
7. The poor to partake in entertainments at the feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles.
De 16:11,14
see Nehe 8:10
8. Daily payment of wages.
Principles similar to those laid down by Moses are inculcated in the New Testament, as
See Verses Found in Dictionary
'If thou dost lend My poor people with thee money, thou art not to him as a usurer; thou dost not lay on him usury; if thou dost at all take in pledge the garment of thy neighbour, during the going in of the sun thou dost return it to him: read more. for it alone is his covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein doth he lie down? and it hath come to pass, when he doth cry unto Me, that I have heard, for I am gracious.
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.
'Thou dost not oppress thy neighbour, nor take plunder; the wages of the hireling doth not remain with thee till morning.
'Six years thou dost sow thy field, and six years thou dost prune thy vineyard, and hast gathered its increase,
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.
'When thy brother becometh poor, and hath sold his possession, then hath his redeemer who is near unto him come, and he hath redeemed the sold thing of his brother; and when a man hath no redeemer, and his own hand hath attained, and he hath found as sufficient for its redemption, read more. then he hath reckoned the years of its sale, and hath given back that which is over to the man to whom he sold it, and he hath returned to his possession. 'And if his hand hath not found sufficiency to give back to him, then hath his sold thing been in the hand of him who buyeth it till the year of jubilee; and it hath gone out in the jubilee, and he hath returned to his possession. And when a man selleth a dwelling-house in a walled city, then hath his right of redemption been until the completion of a year from its selling; days -- is his right of redemption; and if it is not redeemed until the fulness to him of a perfect year, then hath the house which is in a walled city been established to extinction to the buyer of it, to his generations; it goeth not out in the jubilee;
thy money thou givest not to him in usury, and for increase thou givest not thy food;
'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, -- read more. then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back. For they are My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold with the sale of a servant;
And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth riches, and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him, read more. or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed. 'And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him. If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption money, from the money of his purchase. And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption money; as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
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;
'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;
When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years -- then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee. And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty; read more. thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; of that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him, and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee; therefore I am commanding thee this thing to-day.
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 thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates.
'When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
'When thou cuttest thy vineyard, thou dost not glean behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is;
'When thou dost complete to tithe all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, the year of the tithe, then thou hast given to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within thy gates, and been satisfied, and thou hast said before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the separated thing out of the house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the sojourner, and to the orphan, and to the widow, according to all Thy command which Thou hast commanded me; I have not passed over from Thy commands, nor have I forgotten.
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,
only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.
and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food,