Deuteronomy 15:11

Deuteronomy 15:11 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

Context of Deuteronomy 15:11

9Be careful not to think this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year will happen soon. That is the year when I must forgive people's debts. So I will not lend money to people at this time.’ Do not be cruel like that to another Israelite who is poor. Do not refuse to lend him anything. He might complain about you to the Lord. Then the Lord would say that you are guilty of a sin. 10Instead, you should certainly lend money to him. Do not feel upset about it. If you are generous, the Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do. There will always be some poor people among you in the land where you are going. So I command you to be generous to other Israelites who are poor. Help them with the things that they need. 12You may buy another Israelite to be your servant, a man or a woman. Let that servant work for you for six years. Then in the seventh year, you must let him go free. 13When you let him go, you must not send him away with nothing to take with him.

Deuteronomy 15:11 word by word

כִּ֛י לֹא־יֶחְדַּ֥ל אֶבְי֖וֹן מִקֶּ֣רֶב הָאָ֑רֶץ עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר פָּ֠תֹחַ תִּפְתַּ֨ח אֶת־יָדְךָ֜ לְאָחִ֧יךָ לַעֲנִיֶּ֛ךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּאַרְצֶֽךָ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the poorאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
• shall never ceaseחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
• out ofקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• therefore I commandצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• thee, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Thou shalt openפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• thine handיָדyâd · handH3027
• unto thy brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
• to thy poorעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 15:11

• Proverbs 22:2This is true about rich people and poor people: The Lord created them all.
• Matthew 26:11You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you.
• Mark 14:7You will always have poor people with you. You can help them at any time that you want. But you will not always have me with you.
• John 12:8You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you.’
• Deuteronomy 15:8Instead, be generous. Lend him the money that he needs.
• Matthew 5:42When people ask you for something, you should give it to them. If they ask you to lend them something, then you should not refuse.
• Luke 12:33So sell what you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have valuable things in heaven. That is like keeping your money in a bag that will never have any holes in it. There, the value of your things will never become less. There, nobody can take them from you. Insects cannot destroy them.
• Acts 2:45They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to any believers who needed it.
• Acts 4:32All the believers agreed completely with each other about how they should live. They wanted to help each other. Nobody kept anything only for themselves. They let the other believers use it.
• Acts 11:28One of these men was called Agabus. The Holy Spirit gave him a message from God. He stood up and he said to the people there, ‘Soon people will be very hungry all over the world because there will be no food.’ (That happened when Claudius ruled the Roman world.)
• 2 Corinthians 8:2They have had bad troubles, but they continued to be very happy. As a result, they gave a lot of money to other people. They themselves are very poor, but they still helped other people a lot.
• 1 John 3:16This is how we know what true love is: Jesus Christ gave his own life on the cross. He died on our behalf. So we too ought to give our lives for other believers.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 15:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11For the poor shall never cease out of the land - To this passage our Lord appears to allude Mark 14:7; : For ye have the poor with you always. God leaves these in mercy among men to exercise the feelings of compassion, tenderness, mercy, etc. And without occasions afforded to exercise these, man would soon become a Stoic or a brute.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-11Verses 1-11 The year of release is no doubt identical with the sabbatical year of the earlier legislation (Exodus 23:10 ff, and Leviticus 25:2 ff), the command of the older legislation being here amplified. The release was probably for the year, not total and final, and had reference only to loans lent because of poverty (compare Deuteronomy 15:4, Deuteronomy 15:7). Yet even so the law was found to be too stringent for the avarice of the people, because…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11The fact that some people will always be poor in an imperfect world is not an excuse to ignore their struggles. Instead, it emphasizes the need for wealthy individuals to help improve the lives of the poor (Matthew 26:6–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-117-11. If there be among you a poor man ... thou shalt not harden thine heart--Lest the foregoing law should prevent the Israelites lending to the poor, Moses here admonishes them against so mean and selfish a spirit and exhorts them to give in a liberal spirit of charity and kindness, which will secure the divine blessing (Ro 12:8; 2Co 9:7).Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 15:11

• Alms
• Beneficence
• Fraternity
• Lending
• Liberality
• Poor
• Reward

In the dictionaries

• Beg
• Bless
• Cease
• Debt
• Debtor
• Firstling
• Necromancer
• Poor
• Release
• Sabbatical year

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings