Bible Verses About Poor: Duty to

"If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest.

If you take your neighbor's coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown,

because it is his only garment - he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.

But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

"'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters.

Likewise, don't gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am ADONAI your God.

"'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am ADONAI your God.'"

That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold.

If the seller has no one to redeem it but becomes rich enough to redeem it himself,

he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property.

If he hasn't sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year of yovel; in the yovel the buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property.

"'If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can't support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you.

Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you.

Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food.

"'If a member of your people has become poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him do the work of a slave.

Rather, you are to treat him like an employee or a tenant; he will work for you until the year of yovel.

Then he will leave you, he and his children with him, and return to his own family and regain possession of his ancestral land.

For they are my slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore they are not to be sold as slaves.

Do not treat him harshly, but fear your God.

At the end of every three years you are to take all the tenths of your produce from that year and store it in your towns.

Then the Levi, because he has no share or inheritance like yours, along with the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your towns, will come, eat and be satisfied - so that ADONAI your God will bless you in everything your hands produce.

Here is how the sh'mittah is to be done: every creditor is to give up what he has loaned to his fellow member of the community -he is not to force his neighbor or relative to repay it, because ADONAI's time of remission has been proclaimed.

You may demand that a foreigner repay his debt, but you are to release your claim on whatever your brother owes you.

In spite of this, there will be no one needy among you; because ADONAI will certainly bless you in the land which ADONAI your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess -

if only you will listen carefully to what ADONAI your God says and take care to obey all these mitzvot I am giving you today.