31 Key Verses

(poor, foreigners, orphans, widows, afflicted, oppressed, helpless, fatherless)

1. “For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.” (Psalm 9:18, nasb)

2. “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted.” (Psalm 10:12, nasb)

3. “You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan.” (Psalm 10:14, nasb)

4. “O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.” (Psalm 10:17-18, nasb)

5. “‘Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he longs.’” (Psalm 12:5, nasb)

6. “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:6, nasb)

7. “And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; it shall exult in His salvation. All my bones will say, ‘LORD, who is like You, who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?’” (Psalm 35:9-10, nasb)

8. “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.” (Psalm 41:1-3, nasb)

9. “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalm 68:5, nasb)

10. “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4, nasb)

11. “The LORD performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6, nasb)

12. “He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor.” (Psalm 112:9, nasb)

13. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4, nasb)

14. “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” (Matthew 25:31-40, nasb)

15. “…the cry of the afflicted…” (Psalm 9:12b).

16. “For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever” (Psalm 9:18).

17. “Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted” (Psalm 10:12).

18. “You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You. You have been the helper of the orphan” (Psalm 10:14.

19. “O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror” (Psalm 10:17-18).

20. “’Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise’ says the Lord; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he long’” (Psalm 12:5).

21. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

22. “And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; It shall exult in His salvation. All my bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like You, who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?’” (Psalm 35:9-10).

23. “The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow to cast down the afflicted and the needy, to slay those who are upright in conduct. Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken” (Psalm 37:14-15).

24. “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health” (Psalm 41:1-3).

25. “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5).

26. “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).

27. “The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed” (Psalm 103:6).

28. “He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor” (Psalm 112:9).

29. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Psalm 6:1-4).

30. “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink…’” (Matthew 25:31-42).

31. “But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me’” (Matthew 26:10-11).