Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. | Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
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Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. | Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. |
As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. | Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. |
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. | The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. |
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. | John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” |
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. | This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. |
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. | Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. |
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. | In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. |
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? | Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? |
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. | For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. |
The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. | If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. |
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. | The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. |
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. | The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. |
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. | Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless! |