He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- BSB Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- 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 28:27He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
- Heb 6:10For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
- Luke 6:38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
- 2 Cor 9:6–8But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
- Matt 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
- Eccl 11:1Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
- Matt 10:41–42He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
- Prov 11:24–25There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
- Isa 58:7–11Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
- Prov 14:21He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
- Deut 15:7–14If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
- Prov 14:31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
- Phil 4:17Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
- Prov 28:8He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
- 2 Sam 12:6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
- Prov 12:14A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto 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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