Poverty and vulnerability take different forms in Scripture: a household lacking food, a widow without support, a child without a father’s protection, a stranger living among another people, or a person exposed to exploitation. Faithful care attends to the person and the particular need. Israel’s laws, the prophets’ appeals, Jesus’ teaching, and the churches’ practice explain both why this matters to God and how love becomes effective help.
Take people’s needs to heart before God
Attend to people whose needs can easily go unheard. James 1:22–27 calls believers to act on the word they receive and identifies care for the fatherless and widows in their distress as religion that is pure before God. In verse 27, to “visit” them means attending to them with care; their affliction is something to enter into and help relieve. James joins this concern to a disciplined tongue and a life kept from the world’s corruption. Compassion belongs within obedience to God in the whole of life.
God himself gives the reason for such concern. Deuteronomy 10:12–19 calls Israel to love and serve the Lord, then describes him as the mighty ruler who accepts neither favoritism nor bribes. He upholds the cause of the fatherless and widow and gives the stranger food and clothing. Therefore Israel is to love the stranger, remembering its own life as strangers in Egypt. The stranger here is someone residing among Israel, not simply a person whose name is unknown. God’s choice of Israel calls the people to reflect his care toward someone without the same place and protection among them.
Recognize the worth of the person you are helping. Proverbs 14:31 says that oppressing a poor person insults that person’s Maker, while mercy toward the poor honors him. Poverty does not lessen God’s claim on a human life. Respect, careful listening, and practical assistance therefore belong together: the person’s good matters because the person matters to God.
Further study: NET Bible translators and editors · Ishay Rosen-Zvi
Keep your hand open when help is costly
Let the need of your neighbor weigh more heavily than the prospect of getting everything back. Deuteronomy 15:7–10 commands an Israelite to open his hand to a poor brother and lend enough for what he lacks. The passage names a reason someone might refuse: the seventh-year release is approaching, so the loan may not be recovered. God calls that calculating refusal sinful. His instruction reaches the heart as well as the hand, requiring willing help rather than a gift resented as it is given.
These commands belong to Israel’s life in the land under its covenant. Deuteronomy 15:1–6 specifies a release among fellow Israelites and distinguishes the foreigner in verse 3. The promise of a land without poverty is joined to careful obedience; verses 7–11 then address poverty that the people will actually encounter. Its continuing presence leads to the command to keep helping. The chapter also requires generous provision when a Hebrew servant is released, recalling Israel’s own redemption from slavery (Deuteronomy 15:12–18). These particular laws are not an unchanged legal code for every later community. They reveal care that gives someone the means to live, rather than abandoning the person at the point of release.
Jesus’ words about the poor preserve this continuing responsibility. In Mark 14:3–9, some object when a woman uses costly ointment to anoint him. Jesus explains that she has prepared his body for burial: this opportunity to honor him precedes his approaching death. He also says that the poor will remain with his hearers and that they can do good to them whenever they will. His defense of her particular act is no dismissal of needy people. Continue responding to their needs while recognizing the unique moment his anointing served.
Provide food and a dependable place of care
Make provision with the intended recipients in view. Leviticus 19:9–10 tells Israel’s farmers to leave the edges and gleanings of the harvest for poor people and resident strangers. Deuteronomy 24:19–22 includes forgotten sheaves, olives, and grapes for the stranger, fatherless, and widow, again grounding the command in Israel’s release from Egypt. People who owned productive fields had a responsibility to leave food accessible to people who lacked that provision.
Gleaning was one provision among others. Deuteronomy 14:28–29 directs the third-year tithe into the towns so that Levites without a tribal inheritance, strangers, fatherless children, and widows can eat and be satisfied. The intended result is nourishment. Leviticus 19:33–34 also commands love for the stranger living in the land as for oneself. These covenant arrangements give substantial attention to people’s continued life in the community; their care cannot be reduced to a moment of sympathy.
Ruth 1:1–22 brings that concern into a particular household. Naomi has lost her husband and both sons, and Ruth, also widowed, accompanies her to Bethlehem. Ruth commits herself to Naomi, her people, and her God. In Ruth 2:1–13, she goes to glean and comes to Boaz’s field. Boaz knows of her care for Naomi, speaks kindly to her, directs her to remain with his women workers, gives access to water, and charges the men not to touch her. His kindness includes both what Ruth needs and how she is treated while receiving it.
Boaz’s help continues at the meal and through the harvest. He invites Ruth to eat, gives her grain, permits her to glean among the sheaves, and orders extra grain left for her without reproach (Ruth 2:14–16). Ruth works, carries food back to Naomi, and remains in his fields through the barley and wheat harvests (Ruth 2:17–23). Within these particular harvest arrangements, the narrative shows thoughtful generosity attending to food, safety, dignity, work, and family ties together. Seek the actual good of the person, including the conditions in which help is received.
Further study: Ishay Rosen-Zvi · Kathryn M. Schifferdecker
Protect people from the wrongs that deepen their need
Care includes refusing to profit from someone’s vulnerability. Exodus 22:21–27 forbids afflicting strangers, widows, and fatherless children and says that God hears their cries. A poor Israelite’s pledged garment must be returned by sunset because it is his covering for sleep. The Lord’s stated reason is his graciousness. The person who holds a claim over another person still answers to God for whether that neighbor can live and rest.
Deuteronomy 24:6, 10–15 protects the means of life in similar ways: a millstone must not be taken as security, a creditor must wait outside the borrower’s house for the pledge, and a poor worker must receive the day’s wages before sunset because he depends on them. Verse 14 expressly includes workers from Israel and resident strangers. Verse 17 protects the legal cause of the stranger and fatherless and forbids taking a widow’s clothing as a pledge. Give people what is due, respect their household, and preserve the necessities on which they depend.
Defending someone’s cause requires truthful judgment. Leviticus 19:15 forbids favoring either the poor or the powerful in court. Jeremiah 22:13–19 contrasts King Jehoiakim’s impressive cedar house, built through unpaid labor, with his father Josiah’s defense of poor and needy people. God identifies that just conduct as knowing him. These royal responsibilities are addressed to Judah’s rulers; their application follows the responsibility a person actually holds. Use whatever authority you have to secure fair treatment and relief from wrong. James 5:1–6 carries the accountability into its own setting: withheld wages cry out, and the laborers’ cries reach the Lord.
Let worship lead into that practical obedience. Isaiah 58:3–7 confronts people who fast while pressing their workers and fighting. The Lord calls for the release of oppressive burdens, bread for the hungry, shelter for the displaced poor, and clothing for the naked. Verses 9–12 join this care to the removal of threatening gestures and harmful speech and to the renewal of a devastated community. These are promises and commands addressed to God’s covenant people in that setting. Their argument exposes the contradiction of seeking God while continuing to harm the people whose needs he names. Put oppressive conduct right and give the help you are able to give.
Further study: Marty Lockshin
Become a neighbor through merciful action
Respond to the person before you with mercy. In Luke 10:25–29, a lawyer correctly identifies love for God and neighbor, then asks who counts as his neighbor. Jesus answers with a man robbed, wounded, and left half dead. A priest and a Levite pass by, while a Samaritan has compassion. The story shifts attention from defining the limits of someone else’s claim to recognizing the conduct of a neighbor.
The Samaritan’s compassion takes several forms. He approaches the injured man, binds his wounds, uses his own animal to transport him, cares for him at an inn, and pays for continued care, promising to meet further costs (Luke 10:30–35). Jesus then asks which traveler became a neighbor to the wounded man. When the lawyer answers that it was the one who showed mercy, Jesus tells him to do likewise (Luke 10:36–37). His command directs the hearer to practice the mercy the story has made visible. Give the time, attention, and resources that help sustain another person’s life.
Extend that concern beyond people who can return your kindness. Luke 6:27–36 calls Jesus’ hearers to love enemies, give, and lend without making repayment the reason for helping. He reasons that even sinners love those who love them; his disciples are to resemble the Father, who is kind to the unthankful and evil. Galatians 6:9–10 directs believers to do good to all while giving particular attention to the household of faith. Special responsibilities within family and church belong alongside this wider mercy, rather than drawing a boundary beyond which a person’s need ceases to matter.
Let love supply what the body needs
Christ’s love gives your care its pattern. First John 3:16–18 reasons from his laying down his life for us to our responsibility toward fellow believers. John then brings that costly love into an ordinary material question: if someone possesses resources, sees a brother in need, and closes his compassion, how can God’s love dwell in him? The call to love in deed and truth follows. Use what you actually possess to respond to the need you can see; a willing heart expresses itself through help.
James 2:14–17 presses the same connection between profession and action. A brother or sister lacks clothing and daily food. Someone wishes them peace, warmth, and fullness but supplies none of the bodily necessities. James asks what good that does and calls faith without works dead. His concern continues through the examples of Abraham and Rahab to the comparison of a body without its spirit in James 2:21–26: living faith acts. Words of blessing should accompany care that gives a hungry or inadequately clothed person something useful.
John the Baptist likewise makes generosity part of repentance. When the crowds ask what to do, he tells the person with two coats to share with someone who has none, and the person with food to do the same (Luke 3:10–14). He also tells tax collectors and soldiers to stop exploiting others. Repentance therefore affects both the resources available to share and the way another person is treated. Begin with the food, clothing, and other means already entrusted to you.
Jesus’ own care embraces both teaching and hunger. In Mark 6:30–44, he sees the crowd as sheep without a shepherd and teaches them. When it grows late, he also feeds them, giving bread and fish to the disciples to distribute until all eat and are satisfied. The miraculous abundance reveals his authority and provision; it is not a promise that a helper can repeat the event at will. The narrative does make clear that the people’s bodily need remains worthy of attention while they receive his teaching.
Keep people who are imprisoned or mistreated within your concern. Hebrews 13:1–3 places hospitality and remembrance of prisoners within continuing brotherly love. It asks believers to remember prisoners as though sharing their bonds, and reminds them of their own bodily vulnerability as they remember those who are mistreated. That shared vulnerability supplies the reason to take another person’s suffering to heart. Remember those whose circumstances separate them from ordinary fellowship, and give the attention and practical support their need calls for.
Give people honor and a place among you
Welcome a poor person with the honor due a neighbor. James 2:1–9 describes an assembly giving a well-dressed rich visitor a desirable seat while telling a poorly clothed visitor to stand or sit at someone’s feet. James calls that partiality sinful. God has chosen poor people who are rich in faith and heirs of his promised kingdom, while the congregation has dishonored them. The royal law is to love your neighbor as yourself. Let that command govern attention, speech, and belonging as well as material assistance.
Include those who cannot repay an invitation. In Luke 14:12–14, Jesus tells his host to invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. His stated reason is that they cannot return the benefit; reward comes at the resurrection of the just. The invitation gives a place at the table to people easily excluded from an exchange of favors. Their welcome matters in itself before God. Physical disability and poverty are not identical, but this instruction names people whose exclusion the host must actively overcome.
A believer receiving help remains a member of Christ’s body. First Corinthians 12:12–27 teaches that different members belong together and that those who seem weaker are necessary. God gives honor where it is lacking so that the members care for one another, suffer together, and rejoice together. Paul is explaining the church’s unity and varied gifts, not making a classification of poor people. His argument nevertheless rules out treating a needy believer as dispensable. Christ’s message to poor and afflicted Smyrna calls that church rich and urges continued faithfulness (Revelation 2:8–11). Material need gives no warrant for assuming a person has nothing to contribute or lacks faith.
Honor widows through family and church responsibility
Take responsibility for a widow’s real support as well as her respectful treatment. First Timothy 5:1–4 places the instruction within relationships that treat older women as mothers and younger women as sisters. Children and grandchildren are to practice godliness within their own family and repay the care they have received. The KJV’s “nephews” in verse 4 refers here to grandchildren. This support pleases God; it is part of faith expressed at home.
Paul then identifies the widow who is genuinely alone and has set her hope on God, continuing in prayer (1 Timothy 5:5–8). Her need calls for the church’s attention. His severe rebuke of someone who fails to provide for his own household addresses the refusal of an existing responsibility. Verse 16 explains the purpose of family help: the church can then relieve widows who lack that support. Relatives should carry their duty, and the congregation should take the unsupported widow into its concern.
The passage also regulates a particular enrollment. First Timothy 5:9–10 requires a widow to be at least sixty, describes her as having been “the wife of one man,” and names a reputation for good works, including hospitality and relief of the afflicted. Verses 11–15 direct that younger widows not be enrolled and counsel marriage and household responsibility in response to the problems described. Paul takes both provision and faithful conduct seriously. The precise commitments attached to the list are debated, but the text plainly gives conditions for it. Apply those conditions to the enrollment while preserving the responsibility to meet bodily need expressed in James 2:15–16. A younger person’s need for food still calls for care.
Remember the women themselves throughout these arrangements. First Timothy 5:5 presents a widow as a person of prayer and hope, and verse 10 recalls women who have cared for others in distress. Their lives contain faith, service, and relationships as well as need. James 1:27 calls for attention to their affliction. Learn what support exists, honor the responsibilities of relatives, and help the church give dependable care where those resources are absent.
Further study: NET Bible translators and editors · Paul Jeon
Give as a fellow recipient of God’s grace
Approach another person’s need as someone who has also received from God. In 2 Corinthians 8:1–9, the Macedonian believers participate eagerly despite their own deep poverty. Paul calls this the grace of God at work among them and then points to Jesus Christ, who became poor for their sake so that through his poverty they might become rich. Christ’s generous self-giving supplies the reason and pattern for their generosity. Because the very believers being praised remain materially poor, these riches cannot mean that every faithful giver becomes financially prosperous.
Carry a willing purpose through to actual help. In 2 Corinthians 8:10–15, Paul asks the Corinthians to complete what they began, in keeping with what they have. He does not intend relief for others to become an oppressive burden on them. Present abundance is to meet present lack, with help able to flow in the other direction when circumstances change. His quotation of the manna account recalls provision in which the person gathering little had no lack (Exodus 16:16–18). The aim is that people have what they need. A receiver of help is a fellow participant in this shared life, not a permanent inferior.
This partnership crossed a significant boundary in Paul’s ministry. Romans 15:25–27 identifies the gift as relief for poor believers in Jerusalem. Gentile believers have shared in spiritual blessings and now owe material service in return. In that historical relationship, Paul shows how gratitude and fellowship take bodily form. Receive other believers’ need as a concern within the same family of faith.
Expect generosity to bear fruit in people’s lives and in thanksgiving to God. Second Corinthians 9:6–14 connects cheerful giving with God’s supply for good works, the relief of the saints, their praise of God, and their prayers for the givers. It is not merely the transfer of goods: both groups are drawn into gratitude and affection through God’s grace. Give thoughtfully and willingly, with confidence in his care, and value the restored provision and fellowship that the gift serves.
Further study: Jason B. Hood
Serve faithfully before the Father and the King
Let the Father’s knowledge be enough when care brings no recognition. Matthew 6:1–4 speaks of alms, gifts for the needy, and exposes giving performed to obtain people’s praise. Jesus directs his disciples toward generosity so free from display that one hand is pictured as unaware of what the other does. The Father sees in secret and rewards. The person receiving help should receive your care for his or her good, without being made the means of displaying your virtue.
Jesus also teaches that such bodily acts have lasting significance before him. In Matthew 25:31–46, the Son of Man gathers the nations and distinguishes those who gave food, drink, welcome, clothing, and attention in sickness and imprisonment from those who withheld them. Both groups ask when they had encountered him in those conditions. The King answers that their conduct toward the least of his brethren was conduct toward him. The judgment concerns concrete acts and omissions; people who seem insignificant are not insignificant to him.
The words “my brethren” deserve their place in that teaching. Jesus identifies his disciples as his family in Matthew 12:46–50, and Matthew 10:40–42 links receiving his messengers, even with a cup of water, to receiving him. These connections make it probable that Matthew 25 particularly concerns his needy followers, including those carrying his message. The group can also be understood more broadly as vulnerable people in general. The passage gives weight to caring for those with whom Christ identifies; the wider duty to do good to all is explicit in Galatians 6:10. Serve both the needy believer and the neighbor beyond the church, receiving Christ’s words as a summons to attentive mercy.
Take that accountability seriously and receive its hope. The King calls the righteous blessed by his Father and invites them to inherit the kingdom prepared for them (Matthew 25:34); he also names the neglect of his brethren as neglect of himself (Matthew 25:41–46). The account gives neither a price for purchasing the kingdom nor a reason to treat mercy as unimportant. Let Christ’s judgment govern what you notice and value. Food, welcome, clothing, and faithful presence are work he remembers.
Further study: Craig S. Keener · Warren Carter
Continue with patience and wise attention
Match your response to the person’s actual condition. First Thessalonians 5:14–15 calls for warning the unruly, encouragement for the fainthearted, support for the weak, and patience toward everyone. Its different verbs matter: every difficulty is not the same difficulty. The KJV’s “feebleminded” here refers to those who are discouraged or fainthearted. Seek understanding so that your help includes the encouragement, material support, or truthful correction the person needs.
Where someone refuses a responsibility he can carry, faithful care includes correction. Second Thessalonians 3:6–12 addresses people unwilling to work, living disorderly lives as busybodies. Paul recalls his own labor as an example and repeats the rule in verse 10: someone who will not work should not eat. He commands these people to work quietly and provide their own food. The church is therefore to stop supporting a willful refusal of work. The stated condition is unwillingness; people unable to work are not the group Paul is rebuking.
Paul also gives the community a definite corrective response in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14–15. Believers are to withdraw from a brother who persists in conduct contrary to the apostolic teaching. If someone disobeys the letter, they must take note of him and stop associating with him, so that he becomes ashamed of his disobedience. This withdrawal is meant to bring the wrong home to him and call him back to faithful conduct. Verse 15 governs its spirit: continue to admonish him as a brother rather than regard him as an enemy. Together with the command to keep doing good in verse 13, these instructions join a real boundary on support and fellowship to the purpose of correcting a fellow believer.
Persevere in the good that is yours to do. Galatians 6:1–10 joins gentle restoration, bearing one another’s burdens, examining one’s own work, and continuing to do good as opportunity is given. Its promise of a harvest gives reason not to lose heart. Help need not end with one gift when the need continues; nor must one person carry the whole community’s work alone. Take your part faithfully in the shared responsibilities these passages describe.
Keep your confidence in the Lord whose care you are learning to reflect. Psalm 146:3–10 contrasts the limited help of mortal rulers with the Creator who remains faithful, gives food to the hungry, upholds the oppressed, and sustains the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The psalm is praise and an invitation to trust, not a promise that every hardship ends immediately. Prayerful dependence and practical help belong together. Continue honoring people, meeting need, and seeking their good before the God who sees them.
Further study: NET Bible translators and editors · Jason B. Hood
Read the passages
Scripture in context
42 contextual selections for this subject, including the passages cited above and further related reading. Every selected range is reproduced in full from the KJV. Context notes identify the setting and kind of evidence.
Provision narrative 1 selections
Exodus 16:1–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: Israel’s complaint, God’s promise, and the first provision and gathering of manna explain the sufficiency saying later quoted by Paul; Sabbath arrangements continue afterward.
16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
16:5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
16:6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
16:7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
16:8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
16:9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
16:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
16:12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
16:13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
16:14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Israel’s covenant law 6 selections
Exodus 22:21–27 KJV · In this guide
Context: Israel is warned against afflicting strangers, widows, fatherless children, and poor borrowers; God hears their cries and names his graciousness.
22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
22:25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
22:26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
22:27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
Leviticus 19:9–18 KJV · In this guide
Context: A sequence of holiness laws joins harvest access, wages, treatment of disability, impartial judgment, and love of neighbor.
19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:33–37 KJV · In this guide
Context: Love of the resident stranger and accurate measures are grounded in the Lord’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
19:35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 14:22–29 KJV · In this guide
Context: Annual tithing and worshipful feasting are followed by third-year storage in the towns for named recipients without the same provision.
14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
14:23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
14:24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
14:25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
14:28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
14:29 And 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.
Deuteronomy 15:1–18 KJV · In this guide
Context: Debt release, aid despite its approaching cost, and provision at the release of Hebrew servants form Israel’s covenant instruction; verse 3 states a foreigner distinction.
15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
15:2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release.
15:3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;
15:4 Save 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:
15:5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.
15:6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
15:7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
15:8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
15:9 Beware 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.
15:10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
15:11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
15:12 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
15:13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
15:14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15:15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
15:16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;
15:17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
15:18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
Deuteronomy 24:6–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: These complete adjacent case laws protect livelihood, the borrower, wages, judicial standing, and access to harvest; their individual subjects are not one continuous story.
24:6 No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
24:7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
24:8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
24:9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
24:10 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
24:11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
24:12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
24:13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
24:14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
24:15 At 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.
24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
24:17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:
24:18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
24:19 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.
24:20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
24:21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
24:22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
Covenant exhortation 1 selections
Deuteronomy 10:12–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: Moses calls Israel to wholehearted obedience and humility, grounding love for the resident stranger in God’s impartial rule, his care, and Israel’s own history.
10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
10:13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
10:21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
10:22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Biblical narrative 1 selections
Ruth 1:1–2:23 KJV · In this guide
Context: Bereavement and Ruth’s loyalty lead to the return to Bethlehem, gleaning, Boaz’s protection and generosity, and continuing provision through two harvests.
1:1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
1:2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
1:3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
1:4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
1:5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
1:6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
1:7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
1:8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
1:9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
1:10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
1:11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
1:12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
1:13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
1:14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
1:15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
1:17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
1:18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
1:19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
1:20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
1:21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
2:4 And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.
2:5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
2:6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
2:7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
2:8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
2:9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
2:10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
2:11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
2:13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
2:15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:
2:16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
2:17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
2:18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
2:19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.
2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
2:21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
2:22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
2:23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
Praise and confidence 1 selections
Psalms 146:1–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: The complete praise psalm turns trust from mortal rulers to the faithful Creator and names those he sustains.
146:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
146:6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
146:7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
146:8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
146:10 The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
Complete wisdom saying 1 selections
Proverbs 14:31 KJV · In this guide
Context: This complete antithetical wisdom saying identifies oppression of the poor as an insult to their Maker and mercy as honoring him. It stands among independent sayings.
14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
Prophetic covenant exhortation 1 selections
Isaiah 58:1–14 KJV · In this guide
Context: The full oracle challenges fasting combined with oppression, commands relief and provision, promises restoration, and addresses Sabbath faithfulness.
58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
58:10 And 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:
58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Prophetic rebuke to rulers 1 selections
Jeremiah 22:1–19 KJV · In this guide
Context: An address to Judah’s royal house demands justice, explains covenant judgment, and contrasts Josiah’s concern for the needy with Jehoiakim’s unpaid building labor and coming humiliation.
22:1 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
22:2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
22:4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
22:5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
22:6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
22:7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
22:10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
22:11 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:
22:12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
22:13 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;
22:14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
22:15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
22:16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
22:17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
22:18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Jesus’ instruction 1 selections
Matthew 6:1–4 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus begins instruction about acts of devotion with almsgiving and the contrast between human praise and the Father’s sight.
6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Jesus’ mission instruction 1 selections
Matthew 10:40–42 KJV · In this guide
Context: The mission discourse closes by connecting reception of Jesus’ messengers, including a cup of water, with reception of Jesus and reward.
10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Gospel scene and teaching 1 selections
Matthew 12:46–50 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus answers the announcement of his natural family by identifying those doing the Father’s will as his family.
12:46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
12:47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
12:48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Jesus’ judgment teaching 1 selections
Matthew 25:31–46 KJV · In this guide
Context: The Son of Man’s judgment distinguishes responses to his least brethren, with food, welcome, clothing, sickness, and prison named.
25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
25:40 And 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.
25:41 Then 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:
25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
25:44 Then 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?
25:45 Then 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.
25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Gospel miracle narrative 1 selections
Mark 6:30–44 KJV · In this guide
Context: The apostles return; Jesus seeks rest with them, has compassion on the crowd, teaches, and feeds the people through the disciples.
6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
6:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
6:33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
6:36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
6:38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
6:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
6:43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
6:44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
Gospel narrative and Jesus’ explanation 1 selections
Mark 14:1–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: The woman’s anointing and Jesus’ explanation of burial stand between the plot against him and Judas’s agreement to betray him.
14:1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
14:2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
14:4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
14:6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
14:8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
14:10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.
14:11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
Narrative containing direct instruction 1 selections
Luke 3:1–18 KJV · In this guide
Context: John’s ministry calls for fruits of repentance, answers different groups, and points to the coming one.
3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
3:10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
3:12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
3:13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
3:15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
3:18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
Jesus’ direct instruction 1 selections
Luke 6:27–36 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus commands love, giving, and lending beyond reciprocal advantage, grounding mercy in the Father’s kindness.
6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
6:32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
6:33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
6:34 And 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.
6:35 But 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.
6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Jesus’ parable and command 1 selections
Luke 10:25–37 KJV · In this guide
Context: A lawyer’s question about eternal life and then the identity of a neighbor prompts Jesus’ story and command to show mercy.
10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Jesus’ instruction and parable 1 selections
Luke 14:7–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus teaches humility to guests, nonreciprocal welcome to a host, and the parable of the great supper.
14:7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
14:8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
14:9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
14:10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
14:12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
14:17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
14:18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
14:19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
14:20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
14:22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
14:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Church narrative 3 selections
Acts 4:32–5:11 KJV · In this guide
Context: United believers share and sell goods; Barnabas’s gift contrasts with Ananias and Sapphira’s false declaration and judgment.
4:32 And 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.
4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
4:34 Neither 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,
4:35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
4:37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Acts 6:1–7 KJV · In this guide
Context: Neglected widows prompt a complaint, a congregational response, and appointment of responsible men while the apostles continue prayer and word ministry.
6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6:6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Acts 11:27–30 KJV · In this guide
Context: Agabus predicts famine; Antioch’s disciples determine and deliver aid to Judean believers according to ability.
11:27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
11:28 And 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.
11:29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judæa:
11:30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Church narrative and miracle 1 selections
Acts 9:36–43 KJV · In this guide
Context: A disciple known for good works dies; grieving widows show her garments; Peter prays and she is restored, with many believing in the Lord.
9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
9:37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
9:38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
9:39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
9:41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
9:42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
9:43 And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
Apostolic travel explanation 1 selections
Romans 15:25–33 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul explains his present journey to serve poor Jerusalem believers and requests prayer for deliverance and acceptance of the gift.
15:25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
15:27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
15:28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.
15:29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
15:31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;
15:32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Apostolic analogy 1 selections
1 Corinthians 12:12–27 KJV · In this guide
Context: The body analogy explains unity amid different gifts, necessary weaker members, shared honor, and shared suffering.
12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
12:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
12:24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Apostolic appeal and arrangements 1 selections
2 Corinthians 8:1–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul urges completion of relief through Macedonian generosity, Christ’s grace, available means, equality, and trusted administration.
8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
8:3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
8:4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
8:5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
8:6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
8:7 Therefore, 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.
8:8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
8:9 For 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.
8:10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
8:11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
8:13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
8:14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
8:15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
8:16 But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
8:17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
8:18 And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;
8:19 And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:
8:20 Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:
8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
8:22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.
8:23 Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.
8:24 Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.
Apostolic appeal 1 selections
2 Corinthians 9:1–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: Preparation of the gift leads into cheerful giving, divine supply, relief, thanksgiving, and recipients’ prayer.
9:1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
9:3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
9:4 Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
9:5 Therefore 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.
9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
9:8 And 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:
9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
9:10 Now 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;)
9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
9:14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Apostolic instruction 4 selections
Galatians 6:1–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: Gentle restoration, burdens, personal accountability, sharing, sowing, and perseverance culminate in doing good to all, especially believers.
6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
1 Thessalonians 5:12–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: Closing community exhortations distinguish kinds of help and require patience and good toward all, followed by prayer and confidence in God.
5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
5:16 Rejoice evermore.
5:17 Pray without ceasing.
5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
James 1:19–27 KJV · In this guide
Context: Receiving and doing the word leads into speech, care for fatherless people and widows, and moral integrity.
1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 2:1–13 KJV · In this guide
Context: Favoritism to a rich visitor and humiliation of a poor one are judged against faith in Christ, neighbor-love, and mercy.
2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Apostolic correction 1 selections
2 Thessalonians 3:6–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: The apostles’ example addresses disorderly refusal of work, specifies a rule about food and withdrawal of association, and joins the corrective aim to continuing good and brotherly regard.
3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Apostolic household and church instruction 1 selections
1 Timothy 5:1–16 KJV · In this guide
Context: Respect across ages leads to family responsibility, the widow alone in prayerful hope, conditions of enrollment, younger-widow counsel, and preservation of church care.
5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
5:9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
5:11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Apostolic exhortation 1 selections
Hebrews 13:1–6 KJV · In this guide
Context: The opening sequence of closing exhortations joins brotherly love, hospitality, remembrance of prisoners and the mistreated, marital fidelity, contentment, and confidence in God’s presence.
13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Apostolic argument 2 selections
James 2:14–26 KJV · In this guide
Context: The question about a claimed faith without works moves through bodily need, Abraham, Rahab, and the body–spirit comparison.
2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And 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?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
1 John 3:11–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: The command to love contrasts Cain with Christ’s self-giving and moves into sharing resources, assurance, faith, and obedience.
3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
3:16 Hereby 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.
3:17 But 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?
3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Apostolic prophetic rebuke and exhortation 1 selections
James 5:1–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: Judgment on oppressive wealth is followed by encouragement to patient believers awaiting the Lord.
5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
5:4 Behold, 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.
5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Prophetic address to a church 1 selections
Revelation 2:8–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: Christ’s complete message to Smyrna recognizes poverty and riches, warns of suffering, and promises life to the faithful.
2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Go deeper
Sources & interpretation
The teaching starts with the cited Scripture. These consulted works inform wording, context, and interpretive questions. No qualified human review has been recorded for this guide.
How do Israel’s provisions instruct Christians without erasing their setting?
Israel’s laws name its land, covenant brothers, resident outsiders, and particular cycles of provision. God’s character and Israel’s redemption supply explicit reasons. Jesus and the apostles independently command mercy beyond reciprocal advantage and good toward all.
- The legal provisions continue directly, with their institutions adapted to a new community.
- The provisions reveal enduring moral concerns, while their specific legal form is distinguished from the church’s explicit instructions.
STRONG: preserve each law’s actual audience and distinctions and derive Christian obligations through the direct teaching also provided. The guide does not settle a civil program or a universal giving percentage.
Further study: Ishay Rosen-Zvi · Marty Lockshin
Further examination: Which duties are directly addressed to Israel, which reasons are given for them, and which Christian instructions establish the wider application?
What kind of enrollment does 1 Timothy 5 regulate?
The unit requires family support, describes a widow alone who trusts God, and names age and character conditions for enrollment. It also distinguishes younger widows and refers to a first faith or pledge. Verse 16 explains the aim of preserving church support for widows indeed.
- An official list of widows receiving continuing support, probably with associated commitments.
- A smaller body of widows undertaking particular service within a broader group receiving aid.
PROBABLE: a formal support enrollment best fits the sustained concern with provision. UNCERTAIN: the precise promise and service attached to it. Both options must retain the text’s criteria. Neither establishes that all emergency aid to younger people is forbidden. The marital expression can mean one marriage or fidelity to a husband; the guide does not impose a remarriage rule from that expression alone.
Further study: NET Bible translators and editors · Paul Jeon
Further examination: How do verses 3–8 and 16 constrain the interpretation of verses 9–15, and what further evidence would be needed before identifying a later formal order of widows here?
Who are the least of Jesus’ brethren in Matthew 25?
The judgment explicitly identifies care for the least of the King’s brethren with care for him. Matthew 12 identifies disciples as Jesus’ family; Matthew 10 connects reception and even a cup of water to receiving him. The named needs themselves occur widely beyond disciples.
- Needy disciples, with particular force for vulnerable gospel messengers.
- All vulnerable people, whose treatment reveals a response to the King.
PROBABLE: the disciple connection best accounts for the family language and reception parallels. The wider interpretation remains substantial; a missionary-only restriction is not settled. The main article explains the judgment’s actual actions and grounds care for all independently in Galatians 6:10 and Luke 6.
Further study: Craig S. Keener · Warren Carter
Further examination: Does the family-and-reception language carry more interpretive weight than the generality of the needs, and has the explanation retained both accountability and the kingdom’s gift language?
What is commanded by the accounts of communal sharing?
Acts describes substantial sales and distribution by need. Peter still recognizes the owner’s authority over the property and proceeds in Acts 5:4. The letters prescribe generosity, available means, completion, and honorable administration rather than one identical ownership structure.
- Jerusalem provides the normal institutional pattern all congregations should reproduce.
- Jerusalem exemplifies obligatory concern and willing generosity whose institutional expression can differ.
STRONG: costly care and honesty are required; an identical arrangement of ownership or seven administrators is not made a universal rule. The narrative must not be diluted into permission to leave fellow believers without necessities.
Further study: Jason B. Hood
Further examination: Which details does Luke commend as actual care, and which additional argument would be required to make every administrative detail binding on all churches?
- James 1:19–27, translation and notes
NET Bible translators and editors · Biblical Studies Press / NET Bible · Undated online edition
Checks the practical sense of visit within doing the word.
What was reviewed
Translation of 1:19–27 and notes 21–32, especially the rendering of 1:27 as care for orphans and widows. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
No separate lexical treatise was inspected; the surrounding argument, not a standalone word gloss, supports the application.
- In the Torah, Is the Ger Ever a Convert?
Ishay Rosen-Zvi · TheTorah.com · 2019
Distinguishes a vulnerable resident outsider from the later technical category of convert and attends to differing legal settings.
What was reviewed
Sections “The Torah’s Many Gerim” through “The Deuteronomic Ger”, with the discussion of Deuteronomy 14:21 also inspected. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The article’s source-development reconstruction and its broad dependence claims are not premises of the guide. The range of ancient outsider categories does not determine a modern immigration policy.
- Commentary on Ruth 2:1–23
Kathryn M. Schifferdecker · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2026-06-07
Connects Boaz’s blessing with the concrete kindness he gives Ruth and Naomi.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body in the publisher’s print view, paragraphs beginning with Ruth’s gleaning and ending with Naomi’s renewed hope. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The grain-weight approximation and broader claim about recognizing miracles are not used. The main article stays with the narrated actions rather than supplying hidden motives.
- You Shall Not Ill-Treat Any Widow or Orphan: A Moral Value Made Law
Marty Lockshin · TheTorah.com · 2023-02-15
Argues that protection is addressed to the community broadly, not only officials.
What was reviewed
Complete article body, especially “All Israelites or Only Community Leaders?”, “Other Biblical Texts”, and “Ethical Obligations Apply to Everyone”; selected displayed notes. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Comparative claims about the unique origin of welfare were not independently verified and are not adopted. Hebrew/Jewish verse numbering differs from the pinned KJV. Cited books were not read.
- 1 Timothy 5:1–16, translation and notes
NET Bible translators and editors · Biblical Studies Press, displayed by Bible Gateway · NET copyright 1996–2017; current web display
Distinguishes respect and support and records both a support list and a smaller service group as possible explanations of enrollment.
What was reviewed
Verses 1–16 and footnotes a–ab: honor, relatives, enrollment, marital wording, first pledge, and the variant in verse 16. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Its preference and proposed vow are interpretations. Knight’s cited commentary was not read. The KJV remains unchanged, including its longer wording in verse 16.
- 1 Timothy: Instructions for Various Members in God’s Family
Paul Jeon · The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary · Undated online edition
Reads widow care through family responsibility and the church’s limited resources.
What was reviewed
Exposition of 5:1–2 and 5:3–16 under “Instructions for Various Members in God’s Family (5:1–6:2a)”. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The article does not adopt his automatic diagnostic conclusion about conversion. It retains Paul’s severe rebuke without treating incapacity as refusal or using enrollment to bar all immediate relief.
- Acts 6:1–7, translation and notes
NET Bible translators and editors · Biblical Studies Press, displayed by Bible Gateway · NET copyright 1996–2017; current web display
Checks the Greek-speaking Jewish setting of the group whose widows were overlooked.
What was reviewed
Entire displayed selection and notes a–y, especially the identification of the Grecians in note c. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Language is not the whole cultural distinction. The guide does not infer a precise ethnic composition for all seven administrators or a universal administrative pattern. Cited lexicons and Josephus were not independently read.
- Acts 6:1–7
New Living Translation translation team · Tyndale House Foundation, displayed by Bible Gateway · NLT copyright 1996, 2004, 2015; current web display
Checks the plain explanation of the Grecians and Hebrews as two language groups among the believers.
What was reviewed
Displayed verses 1–7 and the note identifying believers as disciples; focused review of the language-group distinction in verse 1. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
This is an explanatory translation, not a separate historical-language study. The NET cultural qualification remains relevant, and the pinned KJV is unchanged.
- Theology in Action: Paul, the Poor, and Christian Mission
Jason B. Hood · Southeastern Theological Review 2/2, pp. 127–142 · Winter 2011
Keeps material relief, grace, fellowship, and reciprocal need together; p. 133 also identifies limits that prevent idleness and undue burdens on churches.
What was reviewed
Printed pp. 127–133 and 139–142, freshly downloaded from the publisher and extracted; intervening pp. 134–138 not claimed as read. Printed p. 133 reread during the focused correction. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Historical reconstructions and modern political applications are not adopted. The isolated “1 Cor 16:4” thanksgiving locator on p. 140 appears mistaken and supplies no claim. Cited books were not inspected.
- Who are “the least of these” in Matthew 25?
Craig S. Keener · Bible Backgrounds, author’s website · 2024-07-23
Argues for needy emissaries of Jesus through the Gospel’s mission and family parallels.
What was reviewed
Complete article body and parallel table comparing Matthew 10, 12, and 24 with Matthew 25. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The guide judges a disciple referent probable while retaining the wider alternative; a missionary-only limitation is less certain. His full Matthew commentary was not inspected.
- Commentary on Matthew 25:31–46
Warren Carter · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2023-03-26
Presents the broad vulnerable-person reading and its strongest thematic arguments against a missionary limitation.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, including both recipient readings and the arguments for the wider interpretation; bibliography seen, cited books unread. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Population estimates and the controlling imperial reconstruction are not adopted. Different vocabulary alone does not disprove a conceptual parallel, and bare word totals cannot settle Jesus’ family language.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12–24, translation and notes
NET Bible translators and editors · Biblical Studies Press, displayed by Bible Gateway · NET copyright 1996–2017; current web display
Checks the older KJV term feebleminded against an inspected modern translation.
What was reviewed
Verses 12–24, including the rendering of verse 14 as comfort for the discouraged; corresponding notes n–p. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The displayed notes do not supply a separate lexical argument for this word; the guide claims a translation comparison, not an independent lexicon study.