Sacred Text on the Poor

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Luke 18:21-23 (in Context) Luke 18

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Luke 14:12-14 (in Context) Luke 14


Proverbs 22

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The LORD is the Maker of them all.
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.
9 The generous will themselves be blessed,
for they share their food with the poor.
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,
23 for the LORD will take up their case
and will exact life for life.
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Proverbs 28

3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor
amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good—
yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
25 The greedy stir up conflict,
but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.
27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.


He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 28

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Proverbs 29


He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Proverbs 19

A poor man is shunned by all his relatives— how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.
Proverbs 19

Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him.
Proverbs 19

A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.
Proverbs 18:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 18
A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.
Proverbs 13:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 13

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-10 (in Context) Proverbs 31 (Whole Chapter)

Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41:16-18 (in Context) Isaiah 41


Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:16-18 (in Context) Isaiah 1

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
Zechariah 7:9-11 (in Context) Zechariah 7