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30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again.(A)

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“If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.(A) You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.(B) Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor[a] might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.(C) 10 Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.9 Heb he

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.(A) Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.(B) And God is able to provide you with every blessing[a] in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.(C) As it is written,

“He scatters abroad; he gives to the poor;
    his righteousness[b] endures forever.”(D)

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.[c] 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us, 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you[d] glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your partnership with them and with all others,(E) 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.

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Footnotes

  1. 9.8 Gk gift or grace
  2. 9.9 Or benevolence
  3. 9.10 Or benevolence
  4. 9.13 Or they

12     And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.(A)

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For you know the generous act[a] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 8.9 Gk the grace or gift

35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”(A)

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22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money[a] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.22 Gk lacks the money

38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”(A)

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27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.

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Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gateway, were twenty-five men; among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.(A) He said to me, “Mortal, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;(B)

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Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?(A)
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[a] shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.(B)
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”

If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,(C)
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 58.8 Or vindication

26 All day long the wicked covet,[a]
    but the righteous give and do not hold back.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 21.26 Gk: Heb all day long one covets covetously

17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord
    and will be repaid in full.(A)

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Psalm 41

Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for Healing

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

Happy are those who consider the poor;[a]
    the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 41.1 Or weak

26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as guarantee, you shall restore it before the sun goes down, 27 for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as a cover. In what else shall that person sleep? And when your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.

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28 Those who steal must give up stealing; rather, let them labor, doing good work with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.

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33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.(A)

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41 So give as alms those things that are within and then everything will be clean for you.(A)

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35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

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42 Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.(A)

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’(B) 44 But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,(C) 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.(D) 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.(E)

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16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, how one’s eyes see sleep neither day nor night,

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Those who are generous are blessed,
    for they share their bread with the poor.(A)

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24 Some give freely yet grow all the richer;
    others withhold what is due and only suffer want.(A)
25 A generous person will be enriched,
    and one who gives water will get water.(B)

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They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever;
    their horn is exalted in honor.(A)

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Nehemiah Deals with Oppression

Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin.(A) For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.” And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax.(B) Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”(C)

I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. After thinking it over, I contended with the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.” And I called a great assembly to deal with them(D) and said to them, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations, but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.(E) So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?(F) 10 Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. 11 Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them take an oath to do as they had promised.(G) 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.(H)

The Generosity of Nehemiah

14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.(I) 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.(J) 16 Indeed, I devoted myself to the work on this wall and acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table one hundred fifty people, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.(K) 18 Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance, yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the heavy burden of labor on the people.(L) 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.(M)

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