But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.
Parallel translations
- WEB But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.
- KJV But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.
- NKJV But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
- NASB But give that which is within as a charitable gift, and then all things are clean for you.
- NLT So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
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
Jesus says to give from the heart in mercy to the needy, and all will be clean. Genuine inward charity reflects a truly cleansed heart.
Overview
In contrast to ritual washing, Jesus commends generosity flowing from a renewed inner life. Mercy toward the poor expresses the purity God desires. Such love is the fruit, not the cause, of a heart cleansed by God's grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 35
- 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.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- Jas 1:27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Heb 13:16And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Luke 16:9I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
- Acts 10:15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
- Matt 6:1–4“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
- Isa 58:7–11Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
- 2 Cor 8:7–9But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
- Prov 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Dan 4:27Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”
- Prov 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Jas 2:14–16What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
- Ps 41:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
- Heb 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- Luke 18:22On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Matt 5:42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
- Deut 15:8–10Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
- 1 Jn 3:16–17By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- Matt 25:34–40Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- Luke 19:8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
- 2 Cor 9:6–15Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Acts 9:36–39In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
- Luke 14:12–14Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.
- Ps 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Eccl 11:1–2Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
- Acts 10:31–32and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
- 1 Tim 4:4–5For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
- Acts 11:29So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
- Eph 4:28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
- Job 13:16–20Moreover, this will be my salvation, for no godless man can appear before Him.
- Matt 26:11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
- Acts 24:17After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings.
- Rom 14:14–18I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 11:41 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
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