40 Bible Verses about Benevolence

If there shall be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD the God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thy hand wide to 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 thy eye shall be evil against thy poor brother, and thou shalt give him naught; and he shall cry to the LORD against thee, and it shall be sin to thee.read more.
Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest to him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thy hand to. For the poor shall never cease from the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand wide to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, shall be sold to 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 depart empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that with which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give to him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing this day.

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also of mount Ephraim; and he dwelt in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjaminites. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a way-faring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? And he said to him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-Judah towards the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me into his house.read more.
Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing: And the old man said, Peace be with thee; however, let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street. So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses: and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

And David said to him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

And I said to them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold to us? Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. Also I said, That is not good which ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.read more.
Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise.

Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our Lord: neither be ye sad; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.

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.read more.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. 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. And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

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 of it; (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)read more.
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 hath not been 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 my arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and my arm be broken from the bone. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in the time of trouble.

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. Say not to thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

If thy enemy shall hunger, give him bread to eat; and if he shall thirst, give him water to drink:

He that giveth to the poor shall not want: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they met with their bread him that fled.

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou shouldst bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou shouldst cover him; and that thou shouldst not hide thyself from thy own flesh?

And if thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath stripped none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment:

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.

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

For I was hungry, and ye gave me food: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came to 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.
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came to thee? And the king will answer and say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me. Then will he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no food: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then will they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? Then will he answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

For whoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

He answereth and saith to them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath provisions, let him do likewise.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came were he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said to him, Take care of him: and whatever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and behold, all things are clean to you.

And Zaccheus stood, and said to the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold.

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart,

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power the apostles gave testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that was in want: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,read more.
And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made to every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, who by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and alms-deeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom, when they had washed, they laid in an upper chamber. And as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent to him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.read more.
Then Peter arose, and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.

A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.

And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Thy prayers and thy alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren who dwelt in Judea.

For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints who are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in carnal things.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality to Jerusalem.

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; That in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded to the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear testimony, and even beyond their power, they were willing of themselves;read more.
Praying us with much entreaty, that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God: So that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And in this I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore finish the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. For I mean not that other men should be eased, and you burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no want.

Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

For as concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: