For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.
- KJV For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
- NKJV For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
- NASB For the poor will not cease to exist in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’
- NLT There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because poverty would never fully disappear, God commanded ongoing open-handedness toward the poor. Need will persist, so generosity must be a settled way of life.
Overview
This realistic counterpart to verse 4 acknowledges that human sin means the poor will always be present. Rather than excusing neglect, it grounds a permanent obligation to give. Jesus quotes this verse to affirm both that the poor remain with us and that devotion to him does not cancel but informs our care for them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 26:11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
- Mark 14:7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- John 12:8The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
- Deut 15:8Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
- 1 Jn 3:16–18By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- Prov 22:2The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
- Acts 4:32–35The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
- Luke 12:33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
- Acts 2:45Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.
- 2 Cor 8:2–9In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.
- Matt 5:42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
- Acts 11:28–30One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 15:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.