Deuteronomy 15:9

Hebrew Bible

7 If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. 8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned. 10 You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.

Sirach 3:30

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon

27 A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles, and the sinner adds sin to sins. 28 When calamity befalls the proud, there is no healing, for an evil plant has taken root in him. 29 The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise. 30 As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sin.

 Notes and References

"... According to Ben Sira, wealth is a feature of the present age and should be used to help others ... Storing up almsgiving in one’s storehouse meets with favor in the eyes of God (Sirach 17:20–3) and atones for sin (Sirach 3:30). The idea that one should appoint their goods to friends and relatives denotes some degree of negotiating wealth to their own benefit. While Ben Sira’s rhetoric may well be sincere, the idea of ‘storing up almsgiving’ seems somewhat oxymoronic. Moreover, while he exhorts his students to give ‘according to the command’ he also offers some personal benefits for doing so. The background for this command is probably Deuteronomy 15:7–11, in which verse 10 states, ‘Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.’ Thus, the references, ‘it will profit you more than gold’ and ‘it will save you from every evil’ have a this-worldly perspective. What is in mind here is the promise of material blessing for obedience, which giving to the poor reflects ..."

Mathews, Mark D. Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John (p. 67) Cambridge University Press, 2013

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