Deuteronomy 15:6–14

¹²The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

¹³And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

²¹And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

³⁵But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

²⁷Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

⁷The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

²⁰There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.

²¹The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

⁵A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

²⁶He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

²⁶¶ And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

⁴⁴He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

⁹Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.

¹⁶Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

¹³Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

¹⁵If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

¹⁶And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

³⁰And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

³⁴And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

⁴²Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

¹⁵At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.

¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

²³If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

⁹Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

¹⁰I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

²²Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

⁷¶ And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

⁴Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

²⁸So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.

¹⁹For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

⁶Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:

²²He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

¹⁵Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

⁹Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

¹AT the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

⁵⁴So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

⁵⁵So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

⁵⁶The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

¹⁷Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

⁵Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

¹³Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

⁹The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

²³¶ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

¹²When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

⁸But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

⁹For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

⁹He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

¹⁶But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

¹⁸That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

¹⁹Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

²⁹And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

¹⁰And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

¹BLESSED is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

¹⁹¶ When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

⁸But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

¹⁸But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

¹⁹But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

²⁴There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

³⁵I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye 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.

⁴Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

¹¹If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.

⁶But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

⁷Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

⁹(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

¹⁰Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

¹¹Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

⁴⁰And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

¹⁹And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

⁷For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

¹¹For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

⁸For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

⁸But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.

¹⁶Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

²The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.

³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Neither 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,

³⁵And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

³³Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

²How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

³For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;

⁴Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

⁵And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

⁶Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.

⁷Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.

⁸I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.

⁹For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

⁴⁵And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

⁴²Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

²⁸And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar.

²⁹Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judæa:

³⁰Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

¹⁴At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

²If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

³If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

⁵And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

⁶Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

³⁹¶ And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

⁴⁰But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:

⁴¹And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

¹AT the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

³⁵And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

³⁶If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

¹³¶ Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

⁵And I will come near to you to 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 stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

²⁷¶ Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

²⁸Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

¹MASTERS, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

²¹And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

⁴²Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

⁴²For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

⁴³Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

⁴⁴Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

²Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

³⁵I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye 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.

¹⁰Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

²²The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

¹⁰Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.