Deuteronomy 15:11
9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
10 Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.
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.
12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
13 And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ASV
- For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
- DARBY
- For the needy shall never cease from within the land; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand bountifully unto thy brother, to thy poor and to thy needy, in thy land.
- BLB
- For the poor will never cease from the midst of the land; upon thus I command you, saying [that] you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your needy in your land.
- ÅB
- For fattige kommer det alltid til å være i landet; derfor befaler jeg deg og sier: Du skal lukke opp din hånd for din bror, for de trengende og fattige som du har i ditt land.
- OTB
- For de fattige vil aldri opphøre å være i landet; derfor befaler jeg deg å åpne din hånd fritt for din bror, for dine trengende og fattige i ditt land.
- B1930
- For fattige kommer det alltid til å være i landet; derfor byder jeg dig og sier: Du skal lukke op din hånd for din bror, for de trengende og fattige som du har i ditt land.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Mark 14:7
The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
Read in contextMatthew 26:11
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
Read in contextJohn 12:8
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
Read in contextDeuteronomy 15:8
Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
Read in context1 John 3:16–18
By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
Read in contextActs 4:32–35
The 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.
Read in contextProverbs 22:2
The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
Read in contextLuke 12:33
Sell 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.
Read in context