Then he will judge ¹  your people fairly, and your oppressed ones ²  equitably.

Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹  Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

The one who is lazy ¹  becomes poor, ²  but the one who works diligently ³  becomes wealthy. ⁴ 

The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.

The one who loves ¹  pleasure ²  will be ³  a poor person; ⁴  whoever loves wine and anointing oil ⁵  will not be rich.

Listen to this, you who trample ¹  the needy, and do away with ²  the destitute in the land.

“Blessed ¹  are the poor in spirit, ²  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ³  to them.

A deceiver’s methods are evil; ¹  he dreams up evil plans ²  to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right. ³ 

“‘You ¹  must not deal unjustly in judgment: ²  you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. ³  You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ⁴ 

who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of ¹  the rich more than the poor, because all of them are the work of his hands?

The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich ¹  – both end up only in poverty.

The one who gives to the poor will not lack, ¹  but whoever shuts his eyes to them ²  will receive ³  many curses. ⁴ 

A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.

So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? ¹  And what advantage ²  does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? ³ 

So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, ¹  but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens ²  to his advice. ³ 

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ¹ 

You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

It ¹  could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins ²  and the money ³  given to the poor!” So ⁴  they spoke angrily to her.

For you will always have the poor with you, and you can do good for them whenever you want. But you will not always have me! ¹ 

for the needy are not permanently ignored, ¹  the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ²