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15 The wealth of the rich is their powerful fortress;
    the poverty of the poor reduces them to rubble.

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24 One shares liberally and yet gains even more,
    while another hoards more than is right and still has need.
25 A giving person will receive much in return,
    and someone who gives water will also receive the water he needs.

Generosity places God’s gifts and blessings into circulation. The principle is simply stated: by giving we receive. This may seem counterintuitive, but it is how God’s economy works. As Jesus said, “Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give” (Luke 6:38).

26 Curses fall upon those who hoard food,
    but blessings come to those who sell food.

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23 Though the fields of the poor yield a bumper crop
    in a land without justice, it is stolen out from under them.

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25 The Eternal splinters the house of the haughty,
    but He secures the property of widows.

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Anyone who makes fun of the poor disparages his Maker,
    and those who celebrate another’s misfortune will not escape certain punishment.

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Wealth attracts many friends,
    but the poor are soon separated from theirs.

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If a poor man is hated by his relatives,
    it is even more likely his friends will avoid him too!
Anyone who is calling after them
    [is not to be found].[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 19:7 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

17 Whoever cares for the poor makes a loan to the Eternal;
    such kindness will be repaid in full and with interest.

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13 If you ignore the groans of the poor,
    one day your own cries for help will go unanswered.

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Generous people are genuinely blessed
    because they share their food with the poor.

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16 If you take advantage of the poor or coddle the rich to get ahead,
    you will end up destitute.

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22 Do not cheat poor people just because they are vulnerable
    or use shady tactics in court to crush those already suffering;
23 For the Eternal is ready to take their case,
    and He ruins anyone who is out to ruin them.

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11 Rescue everyone you can of those being taken away and killed,
    and hold on to those innocent souls staggering toward their own slaughter.
12 If you excuse yourself, saying, “Look, we didn’t know anything about this,”
    doesn’t God, who knows what you are really thinking, understand your motives?
Isn’t your Protector aware of why you aren’t protecting the innocent?
    Will He not repay you in kind?

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A poor person who oppresses others who are poor
    is like a driving rain that destroys the crops and leaves no food.

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27 Whoever gives to the poor will have what he needs,
    but the one who shuts his eyes to their plight will face curse after curse.

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    Speak out on behalf of those who have no voice,
        and defend all those who have been passed over.
    Open your mouth, judge fairly,
        and stand up for the rights of the afflicted and the poor.

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