I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. ¹  They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. ²  They do not know what their God requires of them. ³ 

“‘See here – this was the iniquity ¹  of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help ²  the poor and needy.

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹  who live on Mount Samaria! You ²  oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your ³  husbands, “Bring us more to drink!” ⁴ 

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money ¹  to the poor, and you will have treasure ²  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money ¹  to the poor, and you will have treasure ²  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ¹  and give the money ²  to the poor, ³  and you will have treasure ⁴  in heaven. Then ⁵  come, follow me.”

But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ¹  to the poor, and if ²  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

(Now Judas ¹  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ²  he used to steal what was put into it.) ³ 

Some thought that, because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him to buy whatever they needed for the feast, ¹  or to give something to the poor.) ² 

For you know the grace ¹  of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.

He also caused ¹  everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave ² ) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.

He delivers the afflicted by ¹  their ²  afflictions, he reveals himself to them ³  by their suffering.

“If you lend money to any of ¹  my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender ²  to him; do not charge ³  him interest. ⁴ 

“‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. ¹ 

The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord; the poor among humankind will take delight ¹  in the Holy One of Israel. ² 

You pierce the heads of his warriors ¹  with a spear. ²  They storm forward to scatter us; ³  they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. ⁴ 

You must not pick your vineyard bare, ¹  and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites ¹  or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. ² 

You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately ¹  to David. David replied, “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!”