Evil men draw their swords and prepare their bows, to bring down ¹  the oppressed and needy, and to slaughter those who are godly. ² 

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!

I am oppressed and needy! ¹  O God, hurry to me! ²  You are my helper and my deliverer! O Lord, ³  do not delay!

For he never bothered to show kindness; ¹  he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened. ² 

But he ¹  left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.

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.

Yet he protected ¹  the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

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

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 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!”

I want you ¹  to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²  When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ³ 

The blind see, the ¹  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹  this poor widow has put more into the offering box ²  than all the others. ³ 

do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ¹  “You sit here in a good place,” ²  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ³ 

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, ¹  and need nothing,” but ²  do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, ³  poor, blind, and naked,

“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 

and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave, ¹  and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of year ²  for the first ripe grapes. ³