'Poor' in the Bible

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens.

"blind eyes receive sight, and cripples walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf ears hear; the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them;

"If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

"for this might have been sold for a considerable sum, and the money given to the poor."

The poor you always have with you, but me you have not always.

Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "One thing is lacking in you: go, sell all you possess and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven; and come and be a follower of mine."

But there came one poor widow and dropped in two farthings, equal in value to a halfpenny.

So He called His disciples to Him and said, "In solemn truth I tell you that this widow, poor as she is, has thrown in more than all the other contributors to the Treasury;

For that ointment might have been sold for fifteen pounds or more, and the money have been given to the poor." And they were exceedingly angry with her.

For you always have the poor among you, and whenever you choose you can do acts of kindness to them; but me you have not always.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war and recovery of sight to the blind: to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed,

Then fixing His eyes upon His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.

Then He answered the messengers, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, deaf persons hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.

But when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind;

"So the servant came and brought these answers to his master, and they stirred his anger. "'Go out quickly,' he said, 'into the streets of the city--the wide ones and the narrow. You will see poor men, and crippled, blind, lame: fetch them all in here.'

On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

Zacchaeus however stood up, and addressing the Lord said, "Here and now, Master, I give half my property to the poor, and if I have unjustly exacted money from any man, I pledge myself to repay to him four times the amount."

He also saw a poor widow dropping in two farthings,

and He said, "In truth I tell you that this widow, so poor, has thrown in more than any of them.

"Why was not that perfume sold for 300 shillings and the money given to the poor?"

The reason he said this was not that he cared for the poor, but that he was a thief, and that being in charge of the money-box, he used to steal what was put into it.

For the poor you always have with you, but you have not me always."

Some, however, supposed that because Judas had the money-box Jesus meant, "Buy what we require for the Festival," or that he should give something to the poor.

Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,

for Macedonia and Greece have kindly contributed a certain sum in relief of the poor among God's people, in Jerusalem.

And if I distribute all my possessions to the poor, and give up my body to be burned, but am destitute of Love, it profits me nothing.

For we know that if this poor tent, our earthly house, is taken down, we have in Heaven a building which God has provided, a house not built by human hands, but eternal.

as sad, but we are always joyful; as poor, but we bestow wealth on many; as having nothing, and yet we securely possess all things.

For you know the condescending goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ--how for your sakes He became poor, though He was rich, in order that you through His poverty might grow rich.

As it is written, "He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor, his almsgiving remains for ever."

Only they urged that we should remember their poor--a thing which was uppermost in my own mind.

But, as we know, a writer has solemnly said, "How poor a creature is man, and yet Thou dost remember him, and a son of man, and yet Thou dost come to him!

For suppose a man comes into one of your meetings wearing gold rings and fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man wearing shabby clothes,

and you pay court to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say, "Sit here; this is a good place;" while to the poor man you say, "Stand there, or sit on the floor at my feet;"

Listen, my dearly-loved brethren. Has not God chosen those whom the world regards as poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those that love Him?

But *you* have put dishonour upon the poor man. Yet is it not the rich who grind you down? Are not they the very people who drag you into the Law courts? --

You say, I am rich, and have wealth stored up, and I stand in need of nothing; and you do not know that if there is a wretched creature it is *you* -- pitiable, poor, blind, naked.

And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,