Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- KJV He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
- NKJV He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
- NASB One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord, And He will repay him for his good deed.
- NLT If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!
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
Showing kindness to the poor is like lending to the LORD, who will repay. God Himself rewards generosity to the needy.
Overview
This beautiful proverb declares that pity shown to the poor is a loan to Yahweh, who will surely repay the giver. It assures the generous that God notices and rewards mercy to the needy. Jesus echoes this when He identifies acts of kindness to 'the least of these' with service to Himself (Matt. 25:40), grounding Christian compassion in the certainty of God's gracious reward.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Prov 28:27Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
- 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 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- 2 Cor 9:6–8Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Matt 25:40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
- Eccl 11:1Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
- Matt 10:41–42Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
- Prov 11:24–25One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
- 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?
- Prov 14:21He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.
- Deut 15:7–14If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.
- Prov 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Phil 4:17Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.
- Prov 28:8He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- 2 Sam 12:6Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”
- Prov 12:14By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 19:17 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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