Biblical Fact

Q:  What does the Old Testament say about the poor?

A:  161 Old Testament passages demand kindness and generosity to the poor, often referred to as 'the widow' or 'the orphan.'

Deuteronomy 15:11 
I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

Proverbs 17:5
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker.

1.  Exodus 22:22-24 
You shall not abuse any widow or orphan.  If you do abuse them I will surely heed their cry, my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.

2.  Exodus 23:6
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. 

3. Exodus 23:10-11 
For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that they poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat.  You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. 

4.  Leviticus 14:21 
But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil

5.  Leviticus 19:9-10 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

6.  Leviticus 23:22 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.

7.  Leviticus 25:25 
If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall redeem what the relative has sold.

8.  Leviticus 25:35-36 
If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.  Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.

9.  Leviticus 27:8 
If any cannot afford the equivalent, they shall be brought before the priest and the priest shall assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can afford.

10.  Deuteronomy 5:6-7 
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

11. Deuteronomy 10:17-18 
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing.

12. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 
Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you. 

13. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 
If there is among you anyone in need, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.  You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.  Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

14. Deuteronomy 22:1-3 
You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall take them back to their owner.  If the owner does not reside near you or you do not know who the owner is, you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until the owner claims it; then you shall return it.  You shall do the same with a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you shall do the same with anything else that your neighbor loses and you find.  You may not withhold your help.

15. Deuteronomy 24:10, 12-13 
When you make your neighbor a loan ... If the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the garment given you as the pledge.  You shall give the pledge back by sunset, so that your neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless you; and it will be to your credit before the Lord your God. 

16. Deuteronomy 24:14-15 
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.  You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.

17. Deuteronomy 24:17-21 
You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. ... When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.  When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.  When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.

18. Deuteronomy 26:12-13 
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the Lord your God:  “I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments ...”

19. Deuteronomy 27:19 
“Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.” 

20. Joshua 24:13 
I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.

21. 1 Samuel 2:8 
He [God] raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.

22. 1 Samuel 18:23 
And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?”

23. 2 Samuel 12:1-6 
and the Lord sent Nathan to David.  He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought.  He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.  Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.”  Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man.  He said to Nathan, “The man who has done this deserves to die.”

24. 1 Kings 17:10 
So he [Elijah] set out and went to Zarephath.  When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”  But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”  Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

25. Job 5:15-16 
But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

26. Job 6:14 
Those who withhold kindness from a friend forsake the fear of the Almighty.

27. Job 20:19 
For they [the wicked] have crushed and abandoned the poor, they have seized a house that they did not build.

28. Job 22:7-10 
You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.  The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it.  You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.  Therefore snares are around you, and terror overwhelms you.

29. Job 24:2-4 
The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them.  They drive away the donkey of the orphan; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.  They thrust the needy off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves.

30. Job 24:9
“There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast, and take as a pledge the infant of the poor.”

31. Job 24:14
The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief.

32. Job 24:21
“They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow.”

33. Job 29:12-16
Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper.  The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.  My justice was like a robe and a turban.  I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.  I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger. 

34. Job 30:24-25
Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help.  Did I not weep for those whose day was hard?  Was not my soul grieved for the poor?

35. Job 31:16-22
If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it -- for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow -- if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate; then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.

36. Job 34:28
so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted.

37. Job 36:6
He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.

38. Psalm 9:9, 12
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 

39. Psalm 9:18
For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. 

40. Psalm 10:2
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor – let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 

41. Psalm 10:8-9
They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent ... they lurk that they may seize the poor, they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.  They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might ...

42. Psalm 10:12,14
O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed ... the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the keeper of the orphan ...

43. Psalm 10:17-18
Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.   

44. Psalm 12:5
“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the Lord.

45. Psalm 14:1-6
Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good... They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers ... You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.

46. Psalm 22:24-26
For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.  The poor shall eat and be satisfied. 

47. Psalm 34:6
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.

48. Psalm 35:10
“O Lord, who is like you?  You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

49. Psalm 37:14, 21
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy . . . The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving. 

50. Psalm 37:25-26
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.

51. Psalm 40:17
As for me, I am poor and needy.  You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

52. Psalm 41:1-3
Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them.  The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land.  You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.  The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.

53. Psalm 49:16-17
Do not be afraid when some become rich, when the wealth of their houses increases.  For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them.

54. Psalm 52:6-7
The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying, “See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!”

55. Psalm 68:5-6
Father of orphans and protector of widows is God.  God gives the desolate a home to live in ...

56. Psalm 68:9-10
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

57. Psalm 69:29
But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.

58. Psalm 69:32-33
Let the oppressed see it and be glad; let your hearts revive.  For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.

59. Psalm 70:5
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!  You are my help and deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!

60. Psalm 72:1-2, 4
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.  May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice . . . May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

61. Psalm 72:12-13
For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.  He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

62. Psalm 74:19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.

63. Psalm 74:21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

64. Psalm 82:1-4
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:  “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?  Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 

65. Psalm 86:1
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

66. Psalm 94:1-7
O God of vengeance, shine forth!  Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!  O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan, and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

67. Psalm 102:17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.

68. Psalm 103:6
The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

69. Psalm 107:39-41
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of distress. 

70. Psalm 109:21-22
But you, O Lord my Lord, act on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.  For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.

71. Psalm 109:30-31
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.  For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn him to death. 

72. Psalm 112:9
He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.

73. Psalm 113:5-8
Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?  He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes. 

74. Psalm 132:15
I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.

75. Psalm 140:12
I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.

76. Psalm 145:9,14
The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all.  The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. 

77. Psalm 146:5-9
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob ... who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry ... The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow.

78. Psalm 147:6
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.

79. Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

80. Proverbs 11:17
Those who are kind reward themselves, but the cruel do themselves harm.

81. Proverbs 11:24-26
Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want.  A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water  The people curse those who hold back grain, but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it.

82. Proverbs 13:8
Wealth is a ransom for a person’s life, but the poor get no threats.

83. Proverbs 13:23
The field of the poor may yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.

84. Proverbs 14:21
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor.

85. Proverbs 14:31
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him. 

86. Proverbs 15:25
The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but maintains the widow’s boundaries.

87. Proverbs 16:19
It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

88. Proverbs 17:5
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker.

89. Proverbs 18:23
The poor use entreaties, but the rich answer roughly.

90. Proverbs 19:1
Better the poor walking in integrity than one perverse of speech who is a fool. 

91. Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full. 

92. Proverbs 19:22
What is desirable in a person is loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a liar.

93. Proverbs 21:13
If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.

94. Proverbs 21:26
All day long the wicked covet, but the righteous give and do not hold back.

95. Proverbs 22:2-16
Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor ... Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. 

96. Proverbs 22:22-23
Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

97. Proverbs 28:3
A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

98. Proverbs 28:6 
Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.

99. Proverbs 28:11
The rich is wise in self-esteem, but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose.

100. Proverbs 28:15-16
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.  A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.

101. Proverbs 28:27
Who ever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.

102. Proverbs 29:7
The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding.

103. Proverbs 29:14
If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever.

104. Proverbs 30:14
there are those whose teeth are swords, whose teeth are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among the mortals.

105. Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak out for those who cannot, for the rights of the destitute.  Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

106. Proverbs 31:10, 20
A capable wife who can find?  She is more precious than jewels ... She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out to the needy.

107. Ecclesiastes 4:1
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun.  Look, the tears of the oppressed -- with no one to comfort them! 

108. Ecclesiastes 4:13
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice.

109. Ecclesiastes 5:10
The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain.

110. Ecclesiastes 9:15-16
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city.  Yet no one remembered that poor man.  So I said, “Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

111. Isaiah 1:10-17
Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!  Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams ... bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me ... I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.  Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.  When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

112. Isaiah 1:21-23
How the faithful city has become a whore!  She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her -- but now murderers!  Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.  Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.  They do not defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause does not come before them.

113. Isaiah 3:14-15
The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people; It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.

114. Isaiah 10:1-3
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment? 

115. Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

116. Isaiah 14:30
The firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety.

117. Isaiah 14:32
What will one answer the messengers of the nation?  “The Lord has founded Zion, and the needy among his people will find refuge in her.”

118. Isaiah 21:14
Bring water to the thirsty, meet the fugitive with bread. 

119. Isaiah 25:1, 4
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name ... For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.

120. Isaiah 29:19
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

121. Isaiah 32:6-8
For fools speak folly, and their minds plot iniquity; to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.  The villainies of the villains are evil; they devise wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.  But those who are noble plan noble things, and by noble things they stand. 

122. Isaiah 32:11
Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones.

123. Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.

124. Isaiah 41:17
When the poor and needy seek water, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I will not forsake them.

125. Isaiah 49:13-15
The Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.  But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.”  Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?  Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

126. Isaiah 54:4-5
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.  For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

127. Isaiah 55:1
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! 

128. Isaiah 58:6-9
Is not this the fast that I choose:  to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. 

129. Isaiah 58:10-11
if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.  The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 

130. Isaiah 61:1
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. 

131. Jeremiah 2:34
Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in.

132. Jeremiah 5:28-29
They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the needy.  Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord, and shall I not bring retribution on a nation such as this? 

133. Jeremiah 7:5-7
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood on this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. 

134. Jeremiah 8:19-22
Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land ... For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.  Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

135. Jeremiah 20:13
Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!  For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

136. Jeremiah 22:3
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed.  And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow.

137. Jeremiah 22:15-16
Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?  Then it was well with him.  He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well.  Is not this to know me?  says the Lord.

138. Jeremiah 49:11
Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.

139. Lamentations 2:11-12
My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out on the ground because the destruction of my people, because infants and babes faint in the streets of the city.  They cry to their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?” as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mother’s bosom.

140. Lamentations 4:3-4
Even the jackals offer the breast and nurse their young, but my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.  The tongue of the infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives them anything.

141. Ezekiel 16:49
This was the guilt of Sodom:  she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 

142. Ezekiel 18:5-9
If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right -- if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not take advance or accrued interest, executes true justice between contending parties, and is careful to observe my ordinances, acting faithfully – such a one is righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God.

143. Ezekiel 18:10, 12-13
If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood . . . oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, takes advance or accrued interest; shall he then live?  He shall not.

144. Ezekiel 18:14, 16-17
But if this man has a son who sees all the sins that his father has done, considers, and does not do likewise ... does not wrong anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no advance or accrued interest, observes my ordinances, and follows my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live.

145. Ezekiel 22:7
Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.

146. Ezekiel 22:23-25
The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, say to it: You are a land that is not cleansed.  Its princes within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.

147. Ezekiel 22:29-31
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress ... therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath ...

148. Ezekiel 34:2-4
Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!  Should not shepherds feed the sheep?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.  You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.

149. Ezekiel 34:15-16
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, says the Lord God.  I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy.

150. Daniel 4:27
“Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”

151. Amos 2:7
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way … So I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves.

152. Amos 4:1-2
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy ... The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:  The time is surely coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.

153. Amos 5:11-12
Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.  For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins -- you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.

154. Amos 8:4, 7
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land ... The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:  Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

155. Micah 3:5-6
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.  Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation.

156. Micah 6:8
He has told you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

157. Micah 7:3
Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.

158. Habakkuk 2:5
Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure. 

159. Zephaniah 3:19
I will deal with all your oppressors at that time.  And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise.

160. Zechariah 7:9-10
Thus says the Lord of hosts:  Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.

161. Malachi 3:5
Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me.