Bible Verses About Poverty
Throughout the Bible, we are called to take up the case of the poor and be an advocate for the oppressed. We are to act on behalf of the poor with the understanding that we are serving to further God’s work in the world.
Here are some Bible verses about poverty, along with commentary on how we are to respond to God’s Word.
God loves the poor and is their advocate
God’s Word has many Bible passages about poverty that present Him as a supporter of the poor and needy. An advocate is one who speaks up for and supports the rights of another. That’s what God does for the poor. He is their advocate.
“For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever”
Psalm 9:17-18
“I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy”
Psalm 140:12
“For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall”
Isaiah 25:4
We are to care for the poor and give freely to help
God gives His children great responsibility in caring for the poor, and He asks us to give freely with a heart of love and compassion. When we give to someone who cannot repay, we demonstrate God’s love. Shown below are many more Bible verses about helping the poor and orphans.
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be”
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you”
Leviticus 25:35-36
“Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor”
Proverbs 14:21
“He said also to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just’”
Luke 14:12-14
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you”
Luke 6:38
We are to seek justice for the oppressed
God instructs us to speak up for the rights of the poor and the needy. We are not to oppress them in court or in everyday life. When we defend the poor and give generously, we honor God.
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor”
Leviticus 19:15
“I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy”
Psalm 140:12
“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him”
Proverbs 14:31
“Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them”
Proverbs 22:22-23
Giving is an act of worship
The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to God and His Word. God promises blessing when we give with a heart of worship. When we show mercy to the needy, we are in a way ministering to God personally. So, it’s a good thing to feed the poor – the Bible says.
“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed”
Proverbs 19:17
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday”
Isaiah 58:9-10
“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth”
1 John 3:17-18
We are to proclaim the Christ’s love to the poor
God calls His children to give the greatest gift of all to the poor. If we give clean water, nutritious food, medical care and education, but do not share the good news of Christ’s love, we withhold eternity in heaven.
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound”
Isaiah 61:1
Through these Bible verses about poverty, we can learn that God has deep compassion for the poor and needy. At GFA World, we have been serving with compassion since 1979, bringing clean water, humanitarian aid, educational opportunities, community development and God’s love to the people of Asia. Motivated by what the Bible says about poverty, we aim to help the poorest communities in tangible ways and share Christ’s message with them.
