Proverbs 19:17

19:17 The one who is gracious ¹  to the poor lends ²  to the Lord,

and the Lord ³  will repay him ⁴  for his good deed. ⁵ 

Matthew 6:4

6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ⁶ 

Matthew 10:41-42

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ⁷  receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ⁸  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 25:34-40

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁹  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ¹⁰  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ¹¹  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹²  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹³  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹⁴  of mine, you did it for me.’

Philippians 4:18-19

4:18 For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God. 4:19 And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches ¹⁵  in Christ Jesus.

¹ sn The participle חוֹנֵן (khonen, “shows favor to”) is related to the word for “grace.” The activity here is the kind favor shown poor people for no particular reason and with no hope of repayment. It is literally an act of grace.

² tn The form מַלְוֵה (malveh) is the Hiphil participle from לָוָה (lavah) in construct; it means “to cause to borrow; to lend.” The expression here is “lender of the Lord.” The person who helps the poor becomes the creditor of God.

³ tn Heb “he.” The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular pronoun is “the Lord” in the preceding line, which has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn The promise of reward does not necessarily mean that the person who gives to the poor will get money back; the rewards in the book of Proverbs involve life and prosperity in general.

⁵ tn Heb “and his good deed will repay him.” The word גְּמֻלוֹ (gÿmulo) could be (1) the subject or (2) part of a double accusative of the verb. Understanding it as part of the double accusative makes better sense, for then the subject of the verb is God. How “his deed” could repay him is not immediately obvious.

⁶ tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë^1,13 33 al).

¹¹ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

²¹ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³⁶ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

³⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

³⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

⁴¹ tn Or “according to the riches of his glory.” The phrase “of his glory” is treated as an attributive genitive in the translation.