'Needy' in the Bible

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.

but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the Lord your God.’”

For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.

“He raises the poor from the dust,He lifts the needy from the ash heapTo make them sit with nobles,And inherit a seat of honor;For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,And He set the world on them.

“They push the needy aside from the road;The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

“The murderer arises at dawn;He kills the poor and the needy,And at night he is as a thief.

“I was a father to the needy,And I investigated the case which I did not know.

“Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering,

For the needy will not always be forgotten,Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him,And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bowTo cast down the afflicted and the needy,To slay those who are upright in conduct.

Since I am afflicted and needy,Let the Lord be mindful of me.You are my help and my deliverer;Do not delay, O my God.

For the Lord hears the needyAnd does not despise His who are prisoners.

But I am afflicted and needy;Hasten to me, O God!You are my help and my deliverer;O Lord, do not delay.

May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,Save the children of the needyAnd crush the oppressor.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,And the lives of the needy he will save.

Let not the oppressed return dishonored;Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

Rescue the weak and needy;Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

A Prayer of David.Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;For I am afflicted and needy.

But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,And makes his families like a flock.

Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,But persecuted the afflicted and needy man,And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.

For I am afflicted and needy,And my heart is wounded within me.

For He stands at the right hand of the needy,To save him from those who judge his soul.

He raises the poor from the dustAnd lifts the needy from the ash heap,

“I will abundantly bless her provision;I will satisfy her needy with bread.

He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swordsAnd his jaw teeth like knives,To devour the afflicted from the earthAnd the needy from among men.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

She extends her hand to the poor,And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

So as to deprive the needy of justiceAnd rob the poor of My people of their rights,So that widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the orphans.

“Those who are most helpless will eat,And the needy will lie down in security;I will destroy your root with famine,And it will kill off your survivors.

For You have been a defense for the helpless,A defense for the needy in his distress,A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;For the breath of the ruthlessIs like a rain storm against a wall.

The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;He devises wicked schemesTo destroy the afflicted with slander,Even though the needy one speaks what is right.

“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,And their tongue is parched with thirst;I, the Lord, will answer them Myself,As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!For He has delivered the soul of the needy oneFrom the hand of evildoers.

“He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;Then it was well.Is not that what it means to know Me?”Declares the Lord.

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but lifts up his eyes to the idols and commits abomination,

The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.

Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Israel and for fourI will not revoke its punishment,Because they sell the righteous for moneyAnd the needy for a pair of sandals.

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,Who say to your husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land,

So as to buy the helpless for moneyAnd the needy for a pair of sandals,And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”