68 Bible Verses about Poverty, Attitudes Towards

If there be among you a poor man of one of your brethren within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother: But you shall open your hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he lacks.

Whosoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker: and he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.

Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; yet you give them not those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit?

But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his heart of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?

You shall not pervert the justice of your poor in his dispute.

And if your brother becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you; then you shall help him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with you. Take you no interest from him, or profit: but fear your God; that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor lend him your food for profit.

You shall not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of your brethren, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates: Each day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it: lest he cry against you unto the LORD, and it be sin unto you.

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own food, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.read more.
And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he refused to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and prepared it for the man that was come to him.

Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed on them. They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.read more.
They drive the needy off the road: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

The righteous considers the cause of the poor: but the wicked regards not such knowledge.

And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sits upon the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people that enter in by these gates: Thus says the LORD; Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

If he begets a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that does any one of these things, And that does not any of those duties, but even has eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife, Has oppressed the poor and needy, has robbed by violence, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,read more.
Has lent money for interest, and has taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That trample on the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maiden, to defile my holy name:

And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in fine apparel, and there come in also a poor man in shabby clothing; And you have respect to him that wears the fine clothing, and say unto him, Sit here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand there, or sit here under my footstool: Are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates: And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

But the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie still; that the poor of your people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard, and with your oliveyard.

And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

That which grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, neither gather the grapes of your untended vine: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be food for you; for you, and for your male and female servants, and for your hired man, and for your stranger that sojourns with you,

He that has pity upon the poor lends unto the LORD; and that which he has given will he pay him again.

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

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 justice was as a robe and a turban. 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 fangs of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

He answered and said unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise.

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

Beware that there be not a thought in your wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cries unto the LORD against you, and it be sin in you. You shall surely give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give unto him: because for this thing the LORD your God shall bless you in all your works, and in all that you put your hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, you shall open your hand wide unto your brother, to your poor, and to your needy, in your land.

And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he passed to her parched grain, and she did eat, and was satisfied, and left.

He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his strength shall be exalted with honor.

But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

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

Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.

Therefore when you give your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away without food, lest they faint in the way.

In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for some of them came from far.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all men, as every man had need.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: 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 unto every man according as he had need.

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren who dwelt in Judea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.

But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints who are at Jerusalem. It has pleased them greatly; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in material things.

For I mean not that other men 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 lack.

Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was eager to do.

[To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.] Blessed is he that considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

He that gives unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse.

Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me.

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

But to do good and to share forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and clothing.

You have seen it: for you behold mischief and spite, to repay it with your hand: the poor commits himself unto you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

The LORD preserves the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

To turn aside the needy from justice, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD your God has chosen to place his name there.

Then said Boaz, The day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead through his inheritance.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor has come to take unto him my two sons to be slaves.

You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

And I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, says the LORD of hosts.

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

Honor widows that are widows indeed.

Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.