“‘If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his near redeemer is to come to you and redeem what his brother sold. ¹ 

“‘If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers ¹  and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that ²  he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member ³  of a foreigner’s family,

“Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ¹  because of the painful cries ²  of the needy, I will spring into action,” ³  says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ⁴ 

I am oppressed and needy! ¹  May the Lord pay attention to me! ²  You are my helper and my deliverer! O my God, do not delay!

If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, ¹  but do not have love, I receive no benefit.

But he ¹  left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.

I am oppressed and suffering! O God, deliver and protect me! ¹ 

because he stands at the right hand of the needy, to deliver him from those who threaten ¹  his life.

But he ¹  left behind some of the poor ²  and gave them fields and vineyards.

But give from your heart to those in need, ¹  and ²  then everything will be clean for you. ³ 

They drive away the orphan’s donkey; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

They go about naked, without clothing, and go hungry while they carry the sheaves. ¹ 

He does not allow the wicked to live, ¹  but he gives justice to the poor.

Like ¹  wild donkeys in the desert they ²  go out to their labor, ³  seeking diligently for food; the wasteland provides ⁴  food for them and for their children.

How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ¹  Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure; the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers. ¹ 

He lifts the weak ¹  from the dust; he raises ²  the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. ³  The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.

But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. ¹  It used to ²  eat his food, ³  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ⁴  It was just like a daughter to him.

“When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ¹  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ²  the traveler who had come to visit him. ³  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁴  it for the man who had come to visit him.”

as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.