“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.
But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends. Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
“You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.
He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
“If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.