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. 11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Psalm 12:5
Hebrew Bible
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts! 4 They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?” 5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the Lord.“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” 6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground, where it is thoroughly refined. 7 You, Lord, will protect them; you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... We find similar pictures in the law (Leviticus 18:18; Deuteronomy 15:9; 19:18) and wisdom literature (Proverbs 17:17; 18:19) ... If joy and singing are the principal modes of human expression in heaven, then sighing and crying are their counterparts here on earth ... God is compassionate and responds to our groanings with kindness, and in this we have hope even as we sigh. Returning to the book of Exodus, we read that “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob” (Exodus 2:24). Likewise, during the years of the judges, God repeatedly had compassion on his people as they languished under one enemy after another (Judges 2:18). Even the psalmist, who is not afraid to ask God if his ears are stopped up (compare Psalm 22:1), is also ready to assert, “‘Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the Lord. ‘I will protect them from those who malign them’” (Psalm 12:5) ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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