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Statements on and about poverty, hunger, helping and charity from the Tanakh |
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(For anyone who may not be familiar with the Tanakh,
it
is the larger work which includes The Torah, the Prophets (Nevi'im) and
The Writings (Kethuvim).) You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. - Exodus 22:20 You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me, and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans. - Exodus 22:21-23 You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. - Exodus 23:9 Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves. - Exodus 23:10-11 If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority, and you hold him as though a resident alien, let him live by your side: do not exact from him advance or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let him live by your side as your kinsman. Do not lend him money at advance interest, or give him your food at accrued interest. I the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God. - Leviticus 25:35-38 For the LORD your God is God supreme and LORD supreme, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who shows no favor and takes no bribe, but upholds the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing him with food and clothing. You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. - Deuteronomy 10:17-19 But do not neglect the Levite in your community, for he has no hereditary portion as you have. Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your yield of that year, but leave it within your settlements. Then the Levite, who has no hereditary portion as you have, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your settlements shall come and eat their fill, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the enterprises you undertake. - Deuteronomy 14:27-29 There shall be no needy among you--since the LORD your God will bless you in the land that the LORD your God … - Deuteronomy 15:4 If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsman
in any of your settlements in the land that the LORD your God is giving
you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman.
Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever
he needs. Beware lest you harbor the base thought, "The seventh
year, the year of remission, is approaching," so that you are mean
to your needy kinsman and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD
against you, and you will incur guilt. Give to him readily and have no
regrets when you do so, for in return the LORD your God will bless you
in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never
cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open
your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land. - You shall rejoice before the LORD your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name. - Deuteronomy 16:11 You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities.- Deuteronomy 16:14 No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the LORD; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt… - Deuteronomy 23:4-5 You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land. - Deuteronomy 24:14 You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take a widow's garment in pawn. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment. - Deuteronomy 24:17-18 When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow--in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. - Deuteronomy 24:19 When you beat down the fruit of your olive trees, do not go over them again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not pick it over again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment. - Deuteronomy 24:20-22 When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield - in the third year, the year of the tithe - and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your settlements, you shall declare before the LORD your God: "I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments: I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not cleared out any of it while I was unclean, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done just as You commanded me. Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers." - Deuteronomy 26:12-15 Cursed be he who subverts the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,-And all the people shall say, Amen. - Deuteronomy 27:19 A man came from Baal-shalishah and he brought the man of God some bread of the first reaping--twenty loaves of barley bread, and some fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." His attendant replied, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give it to the people and let them eat. For thus said the LORD: They shall eat and have some left over." So he set it before them: and when they had eaten, they had some left over, as the LORD had said. - I Kings 4:42-44 …When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "Father, shall I strike them down?" "No, do not," he replied, "Did you take them captive with your sword and bow that you would strike them down? Rather, set food and drink before them, and let them eat and drink and return to their master." So he prepared a lavish feast for them and, after they had eaten and drunk, he let them go, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean bands stopped invading the land of Israel. - II Kings 6:21-23 Learn to do good. Hail the just man, for he shall fare well; The LORD stands up to plead a cause, Against the elders and officers of His people: Ha! Thus he shall judge the poor with equity-- The first-born of the poor shall graze No more shall a villain be called noble, He forges plots For the work of the righteous shall be peace, The poor and the needy No, this is the fast I desire: Then shall your light burst through like the dawn
Then, when you call, the LORD will answer, As a cage is full of birds, - says the LORD - Shall I not bring retribution Don't put your trust in illusions and say, "The Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD are these [buildings]." No, if you really mend your ways and your actions; if you execute justice between one man and another; if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place, if you do not follow other gods, to your own hurt--then only will I let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers for all time. - Jeremiah 7:4 -7 Thus said the LORD But only in this should one glory: In his earnest devotion to Me. Thus saith the LORD: Do what is just and right; rescue from the defrauder
him who is He upheld the rights of the poor and needy - "
Leave your orphans with me, Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquillity; yet she did not support the poor and the needy. - Ezekiel 16:49 If he has not wronged anyone; if he has returned debtor's pledge to him and has taken nothing by robbery; if he has given bread to the hungry and clothed the naked; if he has not lent at advance interest or exacted accrued interest, if he has abstained from wrongdoing and executed true justice between man and man; if he has followed My laws and kept My rules and acted honestly- he is righteous. Such a man shall live- declares the LORD God. - Ezekiel 18:7-9 He has not wronged anyone; he has not seized a pledge or taken anything by robbery; he has given his bread to the hungry and clothed the naked; he has refrained from oppressing the poor; he has not exacted advance or accrued interest; he has obeyed My rules and followed My laws - he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall live. - Ezekiel 18:16-17 Listen, O House of Israel: Is My way unfair? It is your ways that are unfair! When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, he shall die for it; he shall die for the wrong he has done. And if a wicked person turns back from the wickedness that he practiced and does what is just and right, such a person shall save his life.- Ezekiel 18:25-27 And the people of the land have practiced fraud and committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy, have defrauded the stranger without redress. And I sought a man among them to repair the wall or to stand in the breach before Me in behalf of this land, that I might not destroy it; but I found none. I have therefore poured out My indignation upon them; I will consume them with the fire of My fury. I will repay them for their conduct - declares the Lord GOD. - Ezekiel 22:29-31 When a righteous man turns away from his righteous deeds and commits iniquity, he shall die for it. And when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and does what is just and right, it is he who shall live by virtue of these things. And will you say, "The way of the LORD is unfair"? I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O House of Israel! - Ezekiel 33:18-20 Practice goodness and justice. Seek good and not evil, Spare Me the sound of your hymns, Listen to this, you who devour the needy, annihilating the poor of the land, saying, "If only the new moon were over, so that we could sell grain; the Sabbath, so that we could offer wheat for sale, using an ephah that is too small, and a shekel that is too big, tilting a dishonest scale, and selling grain refuse as grain! We will buy the poor for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals." The LORD swears by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget any of their doings. " Shall not the earth shake for this He has told you, O man, what is good, And what the LORD requires of
you: Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Execute true justice; deal loyally and compassionately with one another. Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and do not plot evil against one another. - Zechariah 7: 9-10 But [first] I will step forward to contend against you, and I will act as a relentless accuser against those who have no fear of Me: Who practice sorcery, who commit adultery, who swear falsely, who cheat laborers of their hire, and who subvert [the cause of] the widow, orphan, and stranger, said the LORD of Hosts. - Malachi 3:5 The LORD seeks out the righteous man, but loathes the wicked one who loves injustice. For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; "
Because of the groans of the plundered poor and needy, I will now act," says the LORD. Trust in the LORD and do good, abide in the land and remain loyal. - Psalms 37:3 The wicked draw their swords, bend their bows, The wicked man borrows and does not repay; Shun evil and do good, Happy is he who is thoughtful of the wretched; Sing to God, chant hymns to His name; Your tribe dwells there; But I am poor and needy For he saves the needy who cry out, Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed; Judge the wretched and the orphan, For the LORD has built Zion; Let them praise the LORD for His steadfast love, He pours contempt on great men My mouth shall sing much praise to the LORD; All goes well with the man who lends generously, Who is like the LORD our God, I know that the LORD will champion The LORD supports all who stumble, Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, The LORD watches over the stranger; So follow the way of the good Do not withhold good from one who deserves it The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, The path of the righteous is like radiant sunlight, Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath, A kindly man benefits himself; What the righteous desire can only be good; The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; The purposes of the righteous are justice, A man gets his fill of good from the fruit of his speech; He who despises his fellow is wrong; He who withholds what is due to the poor affronts his Maker; Righteous exalts a nation; The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, Better a meal of vegetables where there is love The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, He who mocks the poor affronts his Maker; A joyful heart makes for good health; - Proverbs 17:22 He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to the LORD; Bread gained by fraud may be tasty to a man, Put your hope in the LORD and He will deliver you. - Proverbs 20:22 Who stops his ears at the cry of the wretched, He who strives to do good and kind deeds He who sows injustice shall reap misfortune; To profit by withholding what is due to the poor Do not rob the wretched because he is wretched; If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; A poor man who withholds what is due to the wretched He who gives to the poor will not be in want, A righteous man is concerned with the cause of the wretched; Give me neither poverty nor riches, Wine is not for kings, O Lemuel; She gives generously to the poor; Then Job arose, tore his robe, cut off his hair, and threw himself on the ground and worshipped. He said, Naked came I out of my mothers womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." - Job 1:20-21 You know that your wickedness is great, For I saved the poor man who cried out,
I received the blessing of the lost; Did I not weep for the unfortunate? Did I deny the poor their needs, I never saw an unclad wretch, When (Ruth) got up again to glean, Boaz gave orders to his workers, "You
are not only to let her glean among the sheaves, without interference,
but you must also pull some [stalks] out of the heaps and leave them
for her to glean, and not scold her." - Ruth 2:15-16 "Redeem your sins by beneficence and your iniquities by generosity to the poor; then your serenity may be extended." - Daniel 4:24 He further said to them, "Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is holy to our Lord. - Nehemiah 8:10 The chief priest Azariah, of the house of Zadok, replied to him, saying, "Ever since the gifts began to be brought to the House of the LORD, people have been eating to satiety and leaving over in great amounts, for the LORD has blessed His people; this huge amount is left over! - II Chronicles 31:10 |