| Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, 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 what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. | 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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| Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
| All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
| Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. | Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. |
| Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. | 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 sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. | The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. |
| John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” | John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” |
| This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ | 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 rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. | Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. |
| Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger 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? |
| This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. | In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. |
| Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
| A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
| What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
| If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain 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. |
| Because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. | 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 Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. | 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 Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. | 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, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. | Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless! |
