What Does the Bible Say About Helping the Poor — Meaning Explained

Scripture is emphatic about caring for the poor. Proverbs 19:17 declares, 'He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.' Jesus identified with the poor: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me' (Matthew 25:40). James 1:27 defines pure religion as visiting 'the fatherless and widows in their affliction.' Deuteronomy 15:11 commands, 'Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy.' Isaiah 58:6-7 connects fasting with practical justice: 'Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?' Galatians 2:10 records the apostles' exhortation that Paul 'should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.' Ignoring the poor is condemned: 'Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard' (Proverbs 21:13).