Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner;
remember that you were foreigners in Egypt. 22Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. 23If you do,
I, the Lord, will answer them when they cry out to me for help, 24and I will
become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your
children will be fatherless.
You will not oppress the alien; you know how an
alien feels, for you yourselves were once aliens in Egypt.
When you reap the harvest of your
land, you will not reap to the very edges of the field,
nor will you gather the gleanings of the
harvest;10nor will you strip your vineyard bare, nor pick
up the fallen grapes. You will leave them for the poor and the
stranger. I am Yahweh your God.
You will not curse the dumb or put an
obstacle in the way of the blind, but will fear your God.
When a foreigner resides among you in
your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The
foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as
yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
When
you reap the harvest in your country, you will not reap to the very edges of your
field, nor will you gather the gleanings of the harvest.
You will leave them for the poor and the
stranger. I am Yahweh your God
He makes sure that orphans and widows
are treated fairly; he loves the foreigners who live with our people, and gives
them food and clothes. (Love the stranger then, for you were once strangers in
Egypt.)
At the end of every three years, you
must take all the tithes of your harvests for that year and collect them in your community.29Then
… the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your community, will come
and eat all they want. And so Yahweh your God will bless
you in all the labors that you undertake.'
If there is among you a poor man, one of
your brethren, in any of your towns within your land which the Lord your God
gives you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor
brother, 8but you
shall open your hand to him, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it
may be. 9Take heed
lest there be a base thought in your heart, and you say, ‘The seventh year, the
year of release is near,’ and your eye be hostile to your poor brother, and you
give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and it be sin in you. 10You
shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to
him; because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in
all that you undertake. 11For
the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall
open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.
You will then
celebrate the feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the gift of a voluntary offering proportionate to the degree
in which Yahweh your God has blessed you. 11You
must rejoice in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place where Yahweh your God chooses to give his name a home, you,
your son and your daughter, your serving men and women, the Levite living in
your community, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living among you.
You must celebrate the feast of
Shelters for seven days, at the time when you gather in the produce of your
threshing-floor and winepress. 14You must rejoice at
your feast, you, your son and your daughter, your serving men and women, the
Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your community.
You must not infringe the rights of the
foreigner or the orphan; you must not take a widow's clothes in pledge.
If, when reaping the harvest in your
field, you overlook a sheaf in that field, do not go back for it. The
foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have it, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your
undertakings. 20When you beat your olive tree, you
must not go over the branches twice. The foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have the rest.21When
you harvest your vineyard, you must not pick it over a second time. The
foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have the rest.
When you are harvesting in your field
and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner,
the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all
the work of your hands.
In the third year, the tithing year,
when you have finished taking the tithe of your whole income and have given it
to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow so that, in your towns, they may eat
to their heart's content, 13in the presence of Yahweh your God, you must say: "I have
cleared my house of what was consecrated. Yes, I have given it to the Levite,
the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in accordance with all the
commandments you have imposed on me, neither going beyond your commandments nor
neglecting them.
Cursed is anyone who withholds justice
from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall
say, “Amen!”
Give alms from your possessions. Do not
turn your face away from any of the poor, so that God’s face will not be turned
away from you. 8Give
in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your
abundance; if you have but little, do not be afraid to give alms even of that
little. 9You
will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity.
10For
almsgiving delivers from death and keeps one from entering into Darkness. 11Almsgiving
is a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who practice it.
Almsgiving with righteousness is better
than wealth with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold
He rescues the bankrupt from their
jaws, and the needy from the grasp of the mighty.16Hope
springs afresh for the weak, and wickedness must shut its mouth.
You have exacted unearned pledges
from your brothers, stripped people naked of their clothes,7failed
to give water to the thirsty and refused bread to the hungry; 8handed
the land over to a strong man, for some favored person to move in,9sent
widows away empty-handed and crushed the arms of orphans. 10No
wonder, then, if snares are all around you, and sudden terrors make you afraid;11if
light has turned to darkness, so that you cannot see, and you have been
submerged in the flood.
On hearing me, people congratulated me,
on seeing me, people deferred to me, 12because I freed the poor in distress and
the orphan who had no helper. 13The dying man's blessing rested on me and I
gave the widow's heart cause to rejoice.14Uprightness I wore as a garment, fair
judgement was my cloak and my turban.15 I was eyes for the blind, and feet for
the lame.16Who but me was father of the poor? The stranger's case had a hearing
from me.
Have I been insensible to the needs
of the poor, or let a widow's eyes grow dim? 17Have I
eaten my bit of bread on my own without sharing it with the orphan?18I, whom God has
fostered father-like from childhood, and guided since I left my mother's womb,19have I ever seen a wretch in need of clothing, or the
poor with nothing to wear, 20without his having cause to bless me from his heart, as he felt
the warmth of the fleece from my lambs?
21Have I
raised my hand against an orphan, presuming on my credit at the gate? 22If so, let
my shoulder fall from its socket, let my arm break off at the elbow!
23For the terror of God would fall on me and I could not then
stand my ground before his majesty.
He does accord fair judgement to the afflicted
May Yahweh be a stronghold for the oppressed, a
stronghold in times of trouble! 10Those who revere your name can
rely on you, you never desert those who seek you, Yahweh.
11Sing to Yahweh who dwells in Zion, tell the nations
his mighty deeds,12for the avenger of blood does not
forget them, he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
For the needy is not forgotten
forever, not for ever does the hope of the poor come to nothing.
The oppressed relies on you; you are the only
recourse of the orphan.
Yahweh, you listen to the laments of the poor,
you give them courage, you grant them a hearing,18to give judgement
for the orphaned and exploited, so that earthborn humans may strike terror no
more.
For
the poor who are plundered, the needy who groan, now will I act,' says Yahweh, 'I will grant salvation to those who sigh for it.
You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All
the race of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all the race of
Israel!' 24For he has not despised nor disregarded
the poverty of the poor, has not turned away his
face, but has listened to the cry for help.
A
pauper calls out and Yahweh hears, saves him from all his troubles.
My
very bones will all exclaim, Yahweh, who can compare
with you in rescuing the poor from the oppressor; the needy from the exploiter?
Though the wicked draw his sword and
bend his bow to slaughter the honest and bring down the poor and the needy,15his sword will pierce his own heart, and his bow will be
shattered.
Happy are those who are concerned for
the poor; the Lord
will help them when they are in trouble. 2 The
Lord will protect them and preserve their lives; he will make them happy in the
land; he will not abandon them to the power of their enemies. 3 The
Lord will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health.
God, who lives in his sacred Temple,
cares for orphans and protects widows, 6God
gives the lonely a home to live in, leads prisoners out into prosperity
The humble have seen and are glad.
Let your courage revive, you who seek God.33For God listens
to the poor, he has never scorned his captive people.
Teach the king to judge with your
righteousness, O God; share with him
your own justice, 2so
that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with
righteousness. 3May
the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness. 4May the king
judge the poor fairly; may he help
the needy and defeat their oppressors.
He rescues the poor who call to him, and
those who are needy and neglected. 13He has pity on the weak and poor; he
saves the lives of those in need.14He rescues them from oppression and
violence; their lives are precious to him.
Do not let the downtrodden retreat
in confusion, give the poor and needy cause to praise your name.
Let the weak and the orphan have
justice, be fair to the wretched and the destitute. 4Rescue
the weak and the needy, save them from the clutches of the wicked.
5Ignorant and uncomprehending, they wander in darkness, while the
foundations of the world are tottering.
He will turn to hear the prayer of the destitute, and will not treat their prayer with scorn.
Yahweh acts with uprightness, with justice to all who are oppressed
Lavishly he gives to the poor; his
righteousness shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in honor.
I
know that Yahweh will give judgement for the wretched, justice for the needy.
How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to
help him, his hope is in Yahweh his God 6 …
keeps faith for ever 7gives justice to the oppressed, gives food to the
hungry; Yahweh sets prisoners free.
He lifts those who have fallen; he loves
his righteous people. 9He
protects the strangers who live in our land; he helps widows and orphans, but
takes the wicked to their ruin.
Do not withhold good from those to whom
it is due, when it is in your power to act. 28Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back
tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you
If you want to be happy, be kind to the
poor; it is a sin to despise anyone.
To oppress the weak
insults the Creator, kindness to the needy honors the Creator.
To mock the poor is to
insult the Creator, no one who laughs at distress
will go unpunished.
He who is kind to the poor lends to the
Lord, and he will repay him for his deed
Whoever
refuses to listen to the cry of the weak, will in turn plead and not be heard.
The generous will be blessed, for they
share their food with the poor
He who gives to the poor will not want,
but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
The
upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit
to understand it.
Make your views heard, on behalf of the dumb, on behalf of all
the unwanted; 9make your views heard, pronounce an upright verdict,
defend the cause of the poor and the wretched.
Giving to the poor can make up for sin,
just as water can put out a blazing fire. 31Anyone who responds to others with acts
of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if he ever
falls on hard times.
4
1My
child, don't prevent the poor from making a living, or keep them waiting in
their need. 2Never
give a hungry person any cause for resentment or anger. 3Don't add to
the troubles of someone who is already desperate. If he is in need, don't put
off giving to him. 4-5Don't
refuse to help a beggar who is in distress. Don't turn your back on a poor
person or give him any reason to curse you. 6If he becomes so bitter that he does
curse you, his Creator will hear his prayer.
7Make
yourself popular in the synagogue. Bow your head to men of authority. 8Listen to
what the poor have to say, and answer them politely. 9Protect
people from those who want to wrong them, and be firm in your judgments. 10Be like a
father to orphans, and provide widows with the help their husbands can no
longer give them. Then you will be like a child of the Most High, and he will
love you more than your own mother does.
Stretch forth your hand to the poor, so
that your blessing may be complete.
33Give
graciously to all the living, and
withhold not kindness from the dead.
34Do
not fail those who weep, but
mourn with those who mourn. 35Do not shrink from visiting a sick man, because for such deeds
you will be loved.
Be patient with a man in humble
circumstances, and do not make him wait for your alms. 9Help a poor
man for the commandment’s sake, and because of his need do not send him away
empty.10Lose
your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under
a stone and be lost. 11Lay
up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will
profit you more than gold. 12Store up almsgiving in your treasury,
and it will rescue you from all affliction
The Lord is
a judge who is utterly impartial. He never shows partiality to the detriment of
the poor, he listens to the plea of the injured party. He does not
ignore the orphan's supplication, nor the widow's as she pours out her
complaint.
Learn to do good, search for justice,
discipline the violent, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow.
Your princes are rebels, accomplices
of brigands. All of them greedy for presents and eager for bribes, they show no justice to the orphan, and the widow's cause never reaches them. 24Hence,
the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth, the Mighty One of Israel,
says this, 'Disaster, I shall get the better of my enemies, I shall avenge
myself on my foes.
By
what right do you crush my people and grind the
faces of the poor?' says the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth.
Woe to those who enact unjust
decrees, who compose oppressive legislation 2to deny justice to the weak and to cheat the humblest
of my people of fair judgement, to make widows their prey and to rob the
orphan.
He will judge the poor fairly and defend
the rights of the helpless.
Yahweh founded Zion and there the poor of his
people will find refuge.
For you have been a refuge for the weak, a
refuge for the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm, shade from the
heat; for the breath of the pitiless is like a winter storm.
The
lowly will find ever more joy in Yahweh and the poorest of people will delight in the Holy One of Israel
The oppressed and needy search for
water, and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, shall
answer them, I, the God of Israel, shall not abandon them. 18I
shall open up rivers on barren heights and water-holes down in the ravines; I
shall turn the desert into a lake and dry ground into
springs of water.
Shout for joy, you heavens; earth,
exult! Mountains, break into joyful cries! For Yahweh has consoled his people, is taking
pity on his afflicted ones.
Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you
have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money, free!
Is not this the sort of
fast that pleases me: to break unjust fetters, to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free, and to break all yokes? 6Is it not
sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see
someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin?
8Then your light light blaze out like the dawn and your wound be
quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh's glory
come behind you. 9Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer;
you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the
clenched fist and malicious words, 10if you deprive yourself for the
hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the
darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon. 11Yahweh will
always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give
strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing
spring whose waters never run dry. 12Your ancient ruins will be
rebuilt; you will build on age -- old foundations. You will be called
“Breach-mender,” “Restorer of streets to be lived in.”
The spirit of Lord Yahweh is on me for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to
bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted, 2to
proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of
favor from Yahweh and a day of vengeance for our God, to
comfort all who mourn
Yes, there are wicked men among my
people who watch like fowlers on the alert; they set traps and they catch human
beings. 27Like a cage full of birds so are their
houses full of loot; they have grown rich and powerful because of it, 28they are
fat, they are sleek, in wickedness they go to any lengths: they have no respect
for rights, for orphans' rights, and yet they succeed! They have not upheld the cause of the needy 29Shall I fail
to punish this, Yahweh demands, or on such a nation to exact
vengeance?
Do not put your faith in delusive words, such as: This is
Yahweh's sanctuary, Yahweh's sanctuary, Yahweh's sanctuary! 5But if
you really amend your behavior and your actions, if you really treat one
another fairly, 6if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and
the widow, if you do not shed innocent blood in this place and if you do not
follow other gods, to your own ruin,7then I shall let you stay in this place, in
the country I gave for ever to your ancestors of old.
House
of David! Yahweh says this: Each morning give fair
judgement, rescue anyone who has been wronged from the hands of his oppressor,
or else my wrath will leap out like a fire, it will burn and no one will be able to quench it, because of the
wickedness of your actions.
Yahweh says this: Act uprightly and
justly; rescue from the hands of the oppressor anyone who has been wronged, do
not exploit or ill-treat the stranger, the orphan, the widow; shed no innocent
blood in this place. 4For if you are scrupulous in obeying this
command, then kings occupying the throne of David will continue to make their entry
through the gates of this palace riding in chariots or on horseback, they,
their officials and their people. 5But if you do not listen to these
words, then I swear by myself, Yahweh declares, this palace shall become a
ruin!
Did your father go hungry or
thirsty? But he did what is just and upright, so all went well for him. 16He
used to examine the cases of poor and needy, then all went well. Is not that
what it means to know me? Yahweh demands.
I
shall give the weary all they need and satisfy all those whose strength has gone.
The crime of your sister Sodom was
pride, gluttony, calm complacency; such were hers and her daughters' crimes.
They never helped the poor and needy; 50they were
proud, and engaged in loathsome practices before me, and so I swept them away
as you have seen.
But if a man is
upright, his actions law-abiding and upright, and he … returns the pledge on a
debt, does not rob, gives his own food to the hungry, his clothes to those who
lack clothing
in you
people have despised their fathers and mothers; in you they have ill-treated
the settler; in you they have oppressed the widow and orphan.
You
must distribute it as a heritage for yourselves and the aliens settled among
you who have fathered children among you, since you must treat them as
citizens of Israel.
Yahweh says this: For the three
crimes, the four crimes of Israel, I have made my decree and will not relent: because they have sold …
the poor for a pair of sandals, 7because they have crushed the heads
of the weak into the dust and thrust the rights of the oppressed to one side
I know how many your crimes are and how
outrageous your sins, you oppressors of the upright, who hold people to ransom
and thrust the poor aside at the gates.
Listen to this, you who crush the needy and reduce the oppressed
to nothing, 5you who say, 'When will New Moon be over so that we can sell
our corn, and Sabbath, so that we can market our wheat? Then, we can make the
bushel-measure smaller and the shekel-weight bigger, by fraudulently tampering
with the scales. 6We can buy up the weak for silver and the poor for
a pair of sandals, and even get a price for the sweepings of the wheat. 'Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, 'Never will I forget anything they have done.'
'Yahweh Sabaoth says this. He said, "Apply the law fairly, and show faithful love and
compassion towards one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow and the orphan, the foreigner and the
poor, and do not secretly plan evil
against one another."
I am
coming to put you on trial and I shall be a ready witness against … those who oppress the
wage-earner, the widow and the orphan, and who rob the
foreigner of his rights and do not respect me, says Yahweh Sabaoth
So when you give something to a needy
person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of
worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I
assure you, they have already been paid in full. 3But when you
help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not
know about it. 4Then
it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private,
will reward you.
Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what
you hear and see;5the blind see again, and the lame walk, those
suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead
are raised to life and the good news
is proclaimed to the poor; 6and blessed is anyone who does not find
me a cause of falling.' See also Luke 7:22-23
Then the righteous will answer him,
“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
something to drink? 38When
did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39When
did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
40The
King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
And the multitudes asked him, “What then
shall we do?” 11And
he answered them, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none;
and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
they handed [Jesus] the scroll of
the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found
the place where it is written: 18The spirit of the Lord is
on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me
to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free,19to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord.20He
then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all
eyes in the synagogue were fixed
on him.21Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being
fulfilled today even while you are listening.'
Then fixing his eyes on his
disciples he said: How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is
yours.21Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your
fill. Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh.
“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do
not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors,
lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 13But when you
give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14and you will
be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the
resurrection of the just.”
God chose those who by human standards are
fools to shame the wise; he chose those who by human standards are weak to
shame the strong, 28those who by human standards are common and
contemptible -- indeed those who count for nothing -- to reduce to nothing all
those that do count for something
What God the Father considers to be pure
and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their
suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.
My brothers, do not let class
distinction enter into your faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord.2Now
suppose a man comes into your synagogue,
well-dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same time a
poor man comes in, in shabby clothes,3and
you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, 'Come this way to the best
seats'; then you tell the poor man, 'Stand over there' or 'You can sit on the
floor by my foot-rest.' 4In making this distinction among yourselves
have you not used a corrupt standard? 5Listen, my dear brothers: it
was those who were poor according to the world that God chose,
to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom
which he promised to those who love him.6You, on the other hand,
have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who lord it
over you? 7Are not they the ones who drag you into court, who insult
the honorable name which has been pronounced over you?8Well, the right thing to do is to keep the supreme Law of
scripture: you will love your neighbor as yourself; 9but
as soon as you make class distinctions, you are committing sin and
under condemnation for breaking the Law.
Suppose there are brothers or sisters
who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. 16What good is
there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”—if you
don't give them the necessities of life? 17So it is with faith: if it is alone and
includes no actions, then it is dead.
But if any one 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? 18Little
children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment