Primary Verses:

1. Exodus 22:22-24

   • "Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;  And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."

Supporting Verses:

2. Deuteronomy 10:18

   • "He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment."

3. Deuteronomy 27:19

   • "Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen."

4. Job 31:16-23

   • "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;  Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;  (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)  If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;  If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;  If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:  Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.  For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure."

5. Proverbs 21:13

   • "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard."

6. Proverbs 28:27

   • "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse."

7. Malachi 3:5

   • "And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith YHVH of hosts."

8. James 2:2-5

   • "For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"