68 Bible Verses about Poverty, Attitudes Towards

If [there] is a poor [person] among you from [among] one of your brothers in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward {your brother who is poor}. But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and {you shall willingly lend} [to] him enough to meet his need, {whatever it is}.

He who mocks the poor insults him who made him; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all [people], and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.

If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, and one of you should say to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and {eat well}," but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what [is] the benefit?

But whoever has the world's material possessions and observes his brother {in need} and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him?

" 'You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute.

" 'And if your countryman becomes poor and {if he becomes dependent on you}, then you shall support him [like] an alien and [like] a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. You must not take interest or usury from him, but you shall revere your God, and your countryman shall live with you. You must not give your money to him with interest or give your food for profit.

"You shall not exploit a hired worker, [who is] needy and poor, from among your fellow men or from [among] your aliens who are in your land [and] in your {towns}. On his day you shall give his wage, and the sun shall not go {down}, because [he is] poor and {his life depends on it}; [do this] so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, {and you incur guilt}.

So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, "Two men were in a certain city; one [was] rich and the other [was] poor. The rich [man] had very many flocks and herds, but the poor [man] had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him.read more.
And a visitor came to the rich man, but he {was reluctant} to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

"Why are not times kept by Shaddai, and [why] do not [those who] know him see his days? They remove border [stones]; they seize flocks, and they pasture [them]. They drive away [the] donkey of orphans; they take [the] widow's ox as a pledge.read more.
They thrust [the] poor off the road; [the] needy of [the] earth hide themselves together.

Do not rob the poor because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate;

[The] righteous knows [the] case of the poor, but [the] wicked does not understand knowledge.

And you must say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through these gates. Thus says Yahweh, "Act [with] justice and righteousness, and deliver [the] one who has been seized from the hand of [the] oppressor. And you must not oppress [the] immigrant, [the] orphan, and [the] widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place.

"And [now] he has a son, a violent one, {who sheds blood} {and does any of these things} (though he did not do all of these [things]), for [the son] also eats on the mountains and he defiles the wife of his neighbor. He oppresses [the] needy and [the] poor, [and] {he commits robbery}, [and] he [does] not return pledge for a loan, [and] he lifts his eyes to the idols [so] he does a detestable thing.read more.
{He charges interest} and takes usury. Then, shall he live? He shall not live, [for] he did all of these detestable things. Surely he will die! His blood will be on him.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals! Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father {have sexual relations with} the same girl, so that [they] profane my holy name.

You must not oppress [the] widow, [the] orphan, [the] foreigner, and [the] needy. You must not devise evil in your heart {against one another}.'

For if someone enters into your assembly in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, "Be seated here in a good place," and to the poor person you say, "You stand or be seated there by my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

"At the end of three years you shall bring out all [of] the tithe of your yield for that year, and you shall store [it] in your {towns}. And [so] the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien [also may come] and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}, and {they may eat their fill}, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all [of] the work of your hand that you undertake."

But the seventh you will let it rest and leave it fallow, and the poor of your people will eat, and their remainder the animals of the field will eat. You will do likewise for your vineyard and for your olive trees.

" 'And at your reaping the harvest of your land you must not finish reaping the edge of your field, and you must not glean the remnants of your harvest. And you must not glean your vineyard, and you must not gather your vineyard's fallen grapes; you must leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I [am] Yahweh your God.

You must not reap your harvest's aftergrowth, and you must not harvest the grapes of your unpruned vines--it shall be {a year of complete rest} for the land. And a Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you: for you and for your slave and for your slave woman and for your hired worker and for your temporary residents who are dwelling as aliens with you;

He who lends to Yahweh [is] he who is kind to the poor, and his benefits he will repay to him.

Judge [on behalf of the] helpless and [the] orphan; provide justice [to the] afflicted and [the] poor. Rescue [the] helpless and [the] needy; deliver [them] from the hand of [the] wicked."

"When [the] ear heard and commended me, and [the] eye saw and testified in support of me because I saved [the] needy who cried for help, and [I saved] [the] orphan for whom [there was] no helper. [The] blessing of [the] wretched 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] like a robe and a headband. "I was eyes to the blind, and I [was] feet to the lame. I [was] a father to the poor, and I investigated {the stranger's} legal dispute. And I broke [the] evil one's jaw bones, and I made [his] prey drop from his teeth.

And he answered [and] said to them, "The one who has two tunics must share with the one who does not have [one], and the one who has food must do likewise."

Now in Joppa there was a certain female disciple {named} Tabitha (which translated means "Dorcas"). She was full of good deeds and charitable giving which she was constantly doing.

{Take care} so that there will not be {a thought of wickedness} in your heart, {saying}, 'The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,' {and you view your needy neighbor with hostility}, and [so] you [do] not give to him, and he might cry [out] against you to Yahweh, and {you would incur guilt against yourself}. By all means you must give to him, and {you must not be discontented} at your giving to him, because on account of this [very] thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and {in all that you undertake}. For the poor will not cease to be {among you} [in] the land; therefore I [am] commanding you, {saying}, 'You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor [that are] in your land.'

And [so] the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien [also may come] and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}, and {they may eat their fill}, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all [of] the work of your hand that you undertake."

And Boaz said to her {at mealtime}, "Come here and eat from the bread and dip your morsel in the wine vinegar." So she sat beside the gleaners, and he offered to her roasted grain. And she ate and was satisfied, and she had some left over.

{He gives lavishly} to the needy; his righteousness endures forever. His horn rises high in honor.

And some of the poor people, {who had nothing}, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.

And Zacchaeus stopped [and] said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am paying [it] back four times [as much]!"

devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God {continually}.

Each one [should give] as he has decided in his heart, not {reluctantly} or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

And Jesus summoned his disciples [and] said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way."

In those days there was again a large crowd, and they did not have anything they could eat. Summoning the disciples, he said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes they will give out on the way, and some of them have come from far away."

"The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

For some were thinking because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him, "Purchase {what we need} for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.)

Jesus of Nazareth--how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.

And all who believed were in the same [place], and had everything in common. And they began selling [their] possessions and property, and distributing these [things] to all, to the degree that anyone had need.

Now the group of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no one said anything of what belonged to him was his own, but all [things] were theirs in common. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony [to] the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. For there was not even anyone needy among them, because all those who were owners of plots of land or houses were selling [them] [and] bringing the proceeds of the things that were soldread more.
and placing [them] at the feet of the apostles. And it was being distributed to each as anyone had need.

So from the disciples, {according to their ability to give}, each one of them determined to send [financial aid] for support to the brothers who lived in Judea, which they also did, sending [the aid] to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

I have shown you [with respect to] all [things] that [by] working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

So after many years, I came to practice charitable giving and offerings to my people,

But now I am traveling to Jerusalem, serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. For they were pleased [to do so], and they are obligated to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual [things], they ought also to serve them in material [things].

For [this is] not that for others [there may be] relief, [and] for you difficult circumstances, but [as a matter] of equality. At the present time your abundance [will be] for their need, in order that their abundance may also be for your need, so that there may be equality, just as it is written, "The [one] who [gathered] much did not have too much, and the [one] who [gathered] little did not have too little."

[They asked] only that we should remember the poor, the very thing I was also eager to do.

Blessed [is the one who] has regard for [the] poor; in [the] day of disaster, Yahweh delivers him.

[For] he who gives to the poor, there is no lacking, but [for] he who turns his eyes, [there are] many curses.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me."

Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, [you] who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! For I was hungry and you gave me [something] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me [something] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in [my] name because you are Christ's, truly I say to you that he will never lose his reward.

And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

[And he] executes justice for the orphan and widow, and [he is] one who loves [the] alien, to give to them food and clothing.

[But] you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief to take [it] into your hand. The helpless abandons [himself] upon you; you have been [the] helper [for the] orphan.

Yahweh protects [the] strangers. He helps up [the] orphan and [the] widow, but [the] way of [the] wicked he {thwarts}.

Do not remove an ancient boundary marker, and on the fields of orphans do not encroach;

to guide [the] needy away from legal claims, and to rob the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; and they plunder orphans.

And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.

And Boaz said, "On the day of your acquiring the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead [man], [in order] to raise up [for] the name of the dead his inheritance."

A certain woman from the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead. Now you know that your servant was a fearer of Yahweh, but the creditor came to take two of my children for himself as slaves.

You have sent widows away empty-handed, and [the] arms of orphans were crushed.

"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.

Now in these days, [as] the disciples were increasing [in number], a complaint arose by the {Greek-speaking Jews} against the {Hebraic Jews} because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution [of food].

Honor widows [who are] truly widows.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unstained by the world.