Ezekiel 18:8

18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, ¹  but refrains ²  from wrongdoing, promotes true justice ³  between men,

Job 29:16

29:16 I was a father ⁴  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

Proverbs 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ⁵  the poor insults ⁶  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ⁷  to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 29:7

29:7 The righteous person cares for ⁸  the legal rights ⁹  of the poor;

the wicked does not understand such ¹⁰  knowledge.

Proverbs 29:14

29:14 If a king judges the poor in truth, ¹¹ 

his throne ¹²  will be established forever.

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ¹³ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ¹⁴ 

Daniel 4:27

4:27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.” ¹⁵ 

Matthew 18:27-35

18:27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. 18:28 After ¹⁶  he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. ¹⁷  So ¹⁸  he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, ¹⁹  saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ²⁰  18:29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ²¹  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 18:30 But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 18:31 When ²²  his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 18:32 Then his lord called the first slave ²³  and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 18:33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 18:34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him ²⁴  until he repaid all he owed. 18:35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your ²⁵  brother ²⁶  from your heart.”

Luke 19:8

19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ²⁷  to the poor, and if ²⁸  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

[18:8]  ¹ sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.

[18:8]  ² tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “justice of truth.”

[29:16]  ⁴ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[14:31]  ⁵ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22.

[14:31]  ⁶ sn In the Piel this verb has the meaning of “to reproach; to taunt; to say sharp things against” someone (cf. NIV “shows contempt for”). By oppressing the poor one taunts or mistreats God because that person is in the image of God – hence the reference to the “Creator.” To ridicule what God made is to ridicule God himself.

[14:31]  ⁷ sn The phrase “shows favor” is contrasted with the term “oppresses.” To “show favor” means to be gracious to (or treat kindly) those who do not deserve it or cannot repay it. It is treatment that is gratis. This honors God because he commanded it to be done (Prov 14:21; 17:5; 19:17).

[29:7]  ⁸ tn The form is an active participle, יֹדֵעַ (yodea’); it describes the righteous as “knowing, caring for, having sympathetic knowledge for, or considering favorably” the legal needs of the poor. Cf. NAB “has a care for”; NASB “is concerned for.”

[29:7]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word used here is דִּין (din), which typically means “judgment,” but can also mean “strife” and “cause.” Here it refers to the “cause” of the poor (so KJV, ASV), their plea, their case, their legal rights. A righteous person is sympathetic to this.

[29:7]  ¹⁰ tn The term “such” is supplied in the translation for clarification. It is not simply any knowledge that the wicked do not understand, but the knowledge mentioned in the first colon. They do not understand the “sympathetic knowledge” or “concern” for the cause of the poor.

[29:14]  ¹¹ tn The king must judge “in truth” (בֶּאֱמֶת, be’emet). Some have interpreted this to mean “faithfully” (KJV, ASV) but that is somewhat unclear. The idea is that the poor must be treated fairly and justly (cf. NIV “with fairness”; NRSV “with equity”); “truth” is that which corresponds to the standard of the law revealed by God. There must be no miscarriage of justice for these people simply because they are poor.

[29:14]  ¹² sn The term “throne” is a metonymy of subject; it represents the dynasty, the reign of this particular king and his descendants. The qualification of the enduring administration is its moral character. The language of this proverb reflects the promise of the Davidic Covenant (e.g., Prov 16:12; 20:28; 25:5; 31:5).

[22:16]  ¹³ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[4:27]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”

[18:28]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:28]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “one hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be about three month’s pay.

[18:28]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so.” A new sentence was started at this point in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and he grabbed him and started choking him.”

[18:28]  ²⁰ tn The word “me” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:29]  ²¹ tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:31]  ²² tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[18:32]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:34]  ²⁴ tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery.

[18:35]  ²⁵ tn Grk “his.” The pronoun has been translated to follow English idiom (the last pronoun of the verse [“from your heart”] is second person plural in the original).

[18:35]  ²⁶ tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.

[19:8]  ²⁷ sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).

[19:8]  ²⁸ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.