40 Bible Verses about Benevolence

When there cometh to be among you a needy person any one of thy brethren within any one of thy gates, in thy land, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; but thou shalt, open, thy hand unto him, - and, lend, him enough to meet the poverty which doth impoverish him. Take thou heed to thyself lest there be something near thine abandoned heart, saying - Drawing nigh, is the seventh year the year of release, and so thine eye be evil, against thy needy brother, and thou give not unto him, - and he cry out against thee unto Yahweh, and it become in thee a sin!read more.
Thou shalt, give, unto him, and thy heart shall not be evil when thou givest unto him, - for on account of this very thing, will Yahweh thy God bless thee, in all that thou doest and in all whereunto thou puttest thy hand. For the needy will not cease out of the midst of the land - for this cause, am I commanding thee, saying, Thou shalt open, thy hand unto thy brother to thy poor and to thy needy, in thy land. When thy brother a Hebrew man (or a Hebrew woman) selleth himself unto thee, then shall he serve thee six years, - and in the seventh year, shalt thou let him go out free from thee; and when thou lettest him go out free, from thee, thou shalt not let him go out empty: thou shalt, richly load, him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor and out of thy wine-vat, - of that wherewith Yahweh thy God hath blessed thee, shalt thou give unto him; and thou shalt remember that a servant, thou wast in the land of Egypt, and that Yahweh thy God, redeemed thee, - for this cause, am I commanding thee this thing, to-day.

But lo! an old man, coming in from his work, out of the field, in the evening, and, the man, was from the hill country of Ephraim, he himself, being a sojourner in Gibeah, - but, the men of the place, were Benjamites. So he lifted up his eyes, and saw a wayfaring man in the broadway of the city, - and the old man said - Whither goest thou? and from whence hast thou come? And he said unto him - We, are passing along, from Bethlehem-judah, unto the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, whence I am, but I have been as far as Bethlehem-judah, and now, unto the house of Yahweh, am I going, and there is no one minded to take me into a house.read more.
Nevertheless, straw and fodder too, is there for our asses, yea moreover, bread and wine, there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants, - there is lack, of nothing. And the old man said - Thou art welcome! only, all thy wants, be on me, - by no means, in the broadway, mayest thou lodge. So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses, - and they bathed their feet, and did eat and drink.

And David said to him - Do not fear, for I will, indeed shew, thee lovingkindness, for the sake of Jonathan thy father, and will restore unto thee all the land of Saul thy father, - but, thou thyself, shall eat bread at my table, continually.

But, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, thou wilt deal in lovingkindness, and they will be among them who eat at thy table, - for, so, drew they near unto me, when I fled from Absolom thy brother.

and I said unto them, We, have bought our brethren the Jews, who had sold themselves unto the nations, according to our ability, and will, ye, even sell your brethren, or shall they sell themselves unto us? And they were silent, and found no answer. Then said I, Not good, is the thing which ye are doing, - ought ye not, in the fear of God, to walk, because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? I too, then, my brethren and my young men, might be lending unto them on interest silver and corn! I pray you, let us leave off this lending on interest!read more.
Restore, I pray you, unto them this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, - also the hundredth of silver and corn, new wine and oil, for which ye have been lending to them. And they said, We will restore them, and, from them, will we require nothing, so, will we do, as thou, art saying. Then called I the priests, and put them on oath, to do according to this promise.

So 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 holy is the day, unto our Lord, - and be not grieved, for, the joy of Yahweh, is your strength. And, the Levites, were quieting all the people, saying - Hush! for, the day, is holy, - and be not grieved.

When, the ear, heard, then it pronounced me happy, When, the eye, saw, then it bare me witness; Because I used to deliver the oppressed who was crying out for aid, the fatherless also, and him that had no helper; The blessing of him that was ready to perish, upon me was wont to descend, and, the heart of the widow, caused I to sing for joy;read more.
Righteousness, I put on, and it clothed me, Like a robe and turban, was my, justice; Eyes, became I to the, blind, and, feet to the lame, was, I! A father, was, I, to the needy, and, as for the cause which I knew not, I used to search it out; And I shivered the fangs of the perverse, - and, out of his teeth, I tare the prey.

If I withheld - from pleasure - the poor, or, the eyes of the widow, I dimmed; Or, used to eat my morsel alone, so that the fatherless did not eat thereof; Surely, from my youth, he grew up to me, as to a father, and, from my birth, I acted as guide to her:read more.
If I saw one perishing for lack of clothing, or that the needy had no covering; If his loins did not bless me, or if, with the fleece of my lambs, he did not warm himself; If I shook - against the fatherless - my hand, when I saw, in the gate, his need of my help, Let, my shoulder, from the shoulder-blade, fall, and, my arm, from the upper bone, be broken; For, a dread unto me, was calamity from GOD, and, from his majesty, I could not escape.

How happy is he that is attentive to the poor, In the day of calamity, will Yahweh deliver him:

He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the needy, His righteousness, standeth for aye, His horn, shall be exalted in honour.

Withhold not good from them who ask it, when it is in power of thy hand to do it: Do not say to thy neighbour, Go and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee.

The liberal soul, shall he enriched, and, he that refresheth, shall himself also be refreshed.

A benevolent eye, the same, shall be blessed, - because he hath given of his bread to the poor.

If he that hateth thee hunger, give him bread to eat, and, if he be thirsty, give him water to drink;

One who giveth to the poor, shall have no want, but, he that hideth his eyes, shall receive many a curse.

To meet the thirsty, bring ye water, - Ye dwellers in the land of Tema; With bread for him, get in advance of him that is in flight!

Is it not to break unto the hungry, thy bread, And the thrust-out oppressed, that thou bring into a home, - When thou seest one naked, that thou cover him, And from thine own flesh, shalt not hide thyself?

And shalt let thine own soul a go out to the hungry, And the soul of the oppressed, thou shalt satisfy, Then shall break forth in darkness thy light, And thy thick darkness, become as the splendour of noon;

And no man, hath treated with violence, But his debt-pledge, hath restored. Plunder, hath not seized, - His bread - to the famished, hath given, And the naked, hath covered with clothing;

To him who is asking thee, give; and, him who is desiring from thee to borrow, do not thou turn away.

Jesus said unto him - If thou desirest to be perfect, Withdraw! sell thy substance, and give to the destitute, - and thou shalt have treasure in the heavens; and come! be following me.

For I hungered, and ye gave me to eat, I thirsted, and ye gave me drink, a stranger, was I, and ye took me home, Naked, and ye clothed me, sick, and ye visited me, in prison, was I, and ye came unto me. Then, will the righteous answer him, saying: Lord! when, saw we thee - hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink?read more.
And, when, saw we thee - a stranger, and took thee home, or naked, and clothed thee? And, when, saw we thee - sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And, answering, the king will say unto them: Verily, I say unto you - Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my least brethren, unto me, ye did it. Then, will he say unto those also, on his left hand: Depart ye from me, accursed ones! Into the age-abiding fire, which hath been prepared for the adversary and his messengers; For I hungered, and ye gave me not to eat, and I was thirsty, and ye gave me not to drink, A stranger, was I, and ye took me not home, naked, and ye clothed me not, sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then, will, they also, answer, saying: Lord! when saw we thee - hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and ministered not unto thee? Then, will he answer them, saying: Verily, I say unto you - Inasmuch as ye did it not, unto one of these least, neither unto me, did ye it.

For, whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water, in name that, Christ's, ye are, Verily! I say unto you, in nowise, shall lose his reward.

And, answering, he said unto them - He that hath two tunics, let him share with him that hath none, and, he that hath food, in like manner, let him be doing.

But, a certain Samaritan, going on his journey, came down to him, and, seeing him, was moved with compassion; and, coming near, bound up his bruises, pouring thereon oil and wine, - and, setting him on his own beast, brought him into an inn, and took care of him. And, on the morrow, throwing out two denaries, he gave them to the inn-keeper, and said - Take care of him, and, whatsoever thou shall further spend, I, when on my way back, will duly pay thee.

Notwithstanding, as to the things within, give alms, and lo! everything, is, pure unto you.

But, taking his stand, Zacchaeus said unto the Lord - Lo! the half of my possessions, Lord, unto the destitute, I give; and, if, from anyone, I have taken aught by false accusation, I give back fourfold.

And, all who believed, with one accord, began to hold all things common; and, their possessions and goods, were they selling and distributing them unto all, in so far as anyone had need. And, daily giving attendance with one intent in the temple and, at home, breaking bread, they were partaking of food with exultation and singleness of heart;

And, the throng of them that believed, had one heart and soul, and not so much as one was saying that, aught of his goods, was, his own, but they had all things common. And, with great power, were the apostles giving forth their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; great favour also was upon them all. For there was not so much as anyone, lacking, among them; for, as many as were possessors of lands or houses, selling them, were bringing the prices of the things that were being sold,read more.
And laying them at the feet of the Apostles, while on the other hand they were distributing unto each one, in so far as any one had, need. And, Joseph, who had been surnamed Barnabas by the Apostles, which is to be translated Son of Exhortation, - a Levite, a Cyprian by nation, Having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the feet of the Apostles.

But, in these days, the disciples, multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, in that, their widows, were being overlooked in the daily ministry.

Now, in Joppa, there was a certain female disciple, by name Tabitha, which, being translated, means Dorcas a Gazelle . The same, was full of good works and alms which she was doing. And it came to pass in those days, that she, sickening, died; and, bathing her, they laid her in an upper room. Now, Lydda being nigh unto Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was therein, sent off two men unto him, beseeching him - Do not delay to come through unto us!read more.
And Peter, arising, went with them, - whom, when he arrived, they brought up into the upper room; and there stood by him all the widows, weeping, and showing the tunics and mantles - whatsoever things Dorcas was making while she was with them.

Devout, and fearing God with all his house, doing many alms unto the people, and supplicating God continually,

And he, looking steadfastly at him, and becoming full of fear, said - What is it, Lord? And he said unto him - Thy prayers and thine alms, have gone up for a memorial before God.

And, according as any one of the disciples was being prospered, they each one of them set apart something for ministering, to send unto the brethren, who dwelt in Jerusalem; -

For Macedonia and Achaia have been well-pleased to make a certain fellowship for the destitute of the saints who are in Jerusalem, - They have been well-pleased, indeed, - and, their debtors, they are; for, if, with their spiritual things the nations have come into fellowship, they are bound also with their own carnal things to minister publicly unto them.

And, though I morsel out all my goods, - and though I deliver up my body, that I may boast, and have not, love, I am profited, nothing.

Now, concerning the collection which is for the saints, just as I directed the assemblies of Galatia, so, also do, ye: - Upon the first of the week, let, each one of you, put, by itself, in store, as he may be prospering, - lest, as soon as I come, then, collections, should be in progress. And, as soon as I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve by letters, these, will I send, to bear away your favour unto Jerusalem:

Moreover we make known unto you, brethren, the favour of God which hath been given in the assemblies of Macedonia, - That, in a great testing of tribulation, the superabounding of their joy and their deep destitution, superabounded unto the riches of their liberality; That, according to power, I bear witness, and beyond power, of their own accord, they acted , -read more.
With much exhortation, entreating of us the favour and the fellowship of the ministry which was for the saints; - And, not merely as we hoped, but, themselves, gave they, first, unto the Lord and unto us through God's will, To the end we should exhort Titus, in order that, according as he before made a beginning, so, he should also complete unto you this favour also. But, just as, in everything, ye superabound, - in faith, and discourse, and knowledge, and all earnestness, and in the love among you which proceedeth from us, in order that, in this favour also, ye would superabound. Not by way of injunction, do I speak, but through, others', earnestness, and, the genuineness of your own love, putting to the test. For ye are taking knowledge of the favour of our Lord Jesus Christ, - how that, for your sakes, he became destitute - although he was, rich, in order that, ye, by his destitution, might be enriched. And, a judgment, herein, do I give, - for, this, unto you, is profitable, - who, indeed, not only of the doing, but of the desiring, made for yourselves a beginning a year ago; - Howbeit, now, the doing also, complete ye, in order that, even according to the forwardness of the desiring, so, may be the completing - out of what ye have. For, if the forwardness is set forth, according to what one may have, he is well approved, not according to what one hath not. For, not that unto others should be relief, and unto you distress do I speak , but, by equality, in the present season, your surplus for their deficiency, - In order that their surplus may come to be for your deficiency: that there may come about an equality: - Even as it is written - He that gathered the much, had not more than enough, and, he that gathered the little, had not less,

The proof of your love, therefore, and of our boasting in your behalf, shew ye, unto them, in the face of the assemblies.

For, indeed, concerning the ministry which is for the saints, it is, superfluous for me, to be writing to you;