Isaiah 58:7

58:7 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 

Deuteronomy 15:7-10

The Spirit of Liberality

15:7 If a fellow Israelite ⁴  from one of your villages ⁵  in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive ⁶  to his impoverished condition. ⁷  15:8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend ⁸  him whatever he needs. ⁹  15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ¹⁰  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ¹¹  and you do not lend ¹²  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ¹³  15:10 You must by all means lend ¹⁴  to him and not be upset by doing it, ¹⁵  for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.

Psalms 41:1

Psalm 41 ¹⁶ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

41:1 How blessed ¹⁷  is the one who treats the poor properly! ¹⁸ 

When trouble comes, ¹⁹  the Lord delivers him. ²⁰ 

Psalms 112:5-9

112:5 It goes well for the one ²¹  who generously lends money,

and conducts his business honestly. ²² 

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ²³ 

112:7 He does not fear bad news.

He ²⁴  is confident; he trusts ²⁵  in the Lord.

112:8 His resolve ²⁶  is firm; he will not succumb to fear

before he looks in triumph on his enemies.

112:9 He generously gives ²⁷  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ²⁸ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ²⁹ 

Proverbs 11:24-25

11:24 One person is generous ³⁰  and yet grows more wealthy, ³¹ 

but another withholds more than he should ³²  and comes to poverty. ³³ 

11:25 A generous person ³⁴  will be enriched, ³⁵ 

and the one who provides water ³⁶  for others ³⁷  will himself be satisfied. ³⁸ 

Proverbs 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ³⁹  the poor insults ⁴⁰  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ⁴¹  to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 28:27

28:27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack, ⁴² 

but whoever shuts his eyes to them ⁴³  will receive ⁴⁴  many curses. ⁴⁵ 

Luke 18:22

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ⁴⁶  and give the money ⁴⁷  to the poor, ⁴⁸  and you will have treasure ⁴⁹  in heaven. Then ⁵⁰  come, follow me.”

[58:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ² tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ³ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[15:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.

[15:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “gates.”

[15:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).

[15:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “from your needy brother.”

[15:8]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before both verbs. The translation indicates the emphasis with the words “be sure to” and “generously,” respectively.

[15:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “whatever his need that he needs for himself.” This redundant expression has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your eye.”

[15:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

[15:9]  ¹² tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

[15:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

[15:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”

[15:10]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.

[41:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 41. The psalmist is confident (vv. 11-12) that the Lord has heard his request to be healed (vv. 4-10), and he anticipates the joy he will experience when the Lord intervenes (vv. 1-3). One must assume that the psalmist is responding to a divine oracle of assurance (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 319-20). The final verse is a fitting conclusion to this psalm, but it is also serves as a fitting conclusion to the first “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the second, third, and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 72:19, 89:52, and 106:48 respectively).

[41:1]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[41:1]  ¹⁸ sn One who treats the poor properly. The psalmist is characterizing himself as such an individual and supplying a reason why God has responded favorably to his prayer. The Lord’s attitude toward the merciful mirrors their treatment of the poor.

[41:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the day of trouble” (see Ps 27:5).

[41:1]  ²⁰ tn That is, the one who has been kind to the poor. The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive of prayer (“may the Lord deliver,” see v. 2), but the preceding parallel line is a declaration of fact, not a prayer per se. The imperfect can be taken here as future (“will deliver,” cf. NEB, NASB) or as generalizing (“delivers,” cf. NIV, NRSV). The parallel line, which has a generalizing tone, favors the latter. At the same time, though the psalmist uses a generalizing style here, he clearly has himself primarily in view.

[112:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “man.”

[112:5]  ²² tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”

[112:6]  ²³ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

[112:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition and emotions (see Ps 108:1).

[112:7]  ²⁵ tn The passive participle בָּטֻחַ [בָּטוּחַ] (batuakh [batuakh]) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action. See Isa 26:3.

[112:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition.

[112:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[11:24]  ³⁰ tn Heb “There is one who scatters.” The participle מְפַזֵּר (mÿfazzer, “one who scatters”) refers to charity rather than farming or investments (and is thus a hypocatastasis). Cf. CEV “become rich by being generous”).

[11:24]  ³¹ tn Heb “increases.” The verb means that he grows even more wealthy. This is a paradox: Generosity determines prosperity in God’s economy.

[11:24]  ³² tn Heb “more than what is right.” This one is not giving enough, but saving for himself.

[11:24]  ³³ tn Heb “comes to lack.” The person who withholds will come to the diminishing of his wealth. The verse uses hyperbole to teach that giving to charity does not make anyone poor, and neither does refusal to give ensure prosperity.

[11:25]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the soul of blessing.” The genitive functions attributively. “Blessing” refers to a gift (Gen 33:11) or a special favor (Josh 15:19). The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.

[11:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “will grow fat.” Drawing on the standard comparison of fatness and abundance (Deut 32:15), the term means “become rich, prosperous.”

[11:25]  ³⁶ tn The verb מַרְוֶה (marveh, “to be saturated; to drink one’s fill”) draws a comparison between providing water for others with providing for those in need (e.g., Jer 31:25; Lam 3:15). The kind act will be reciprocated.

[11:25]  ³⁷ tn The phrase “for others” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the causative Hiphil verb which normally takes a direct object; it is elided in the Hebrew for the sake of emphasis. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[11:25]  ³⁸ tn This verb also means “to pour water,” and so continues the theme of the preceding participle: The one who gives refreshment to others will be refreshed. BDB 924 s.v. רָוָה lists the form יוֹרֶא (yore’) as a Hophal imperfect of רָוָה (ravah, the only occurrence) and translates it “will himself also be watered” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). But the verb looks very much like a Hiphil of the root יָרָא (yara’, “to shoot; to pour”). So the editors of BHS suggest יוּאָר (yu’ar).

[14:31]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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).

[28:27]  ⁴² sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.

[28:27]  ⁴³ tn Heb “hides his eyes”; “to them” is supplied in the translation to indicate the link with the poor in the preceding line. Hiding or closing the eyes is a metonymy of cause or of adjunct, indicating a decision not to look on and thereby help the poor. It could also be taken as an implied comparison, i.e., not helping the poor is like closing the eyes to them.

[28:27]  ⁴⁴ tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.

[28:27]  ⁴⁵ sn The text does not specify the nature or the source of the curses. It is natural to think that they would be given by the poor who are being mistreated and ignored. Far from being praised for their contributions to society, selfish, stingy people will be reviled for their heartless indifference.

[18:22]  ⁴⁶ sn See Luke 14:33.

[18:22]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:22]  ⁴⁸ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

[18:22]  ⁴⁹ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[18:22]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.