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God commands us to care for orphans and widows

The Bible and our Lord have much to say about caring for orphans and widows.  One of our favorites is Deut. 24:19.  God blesses all the works of those who give a portion of their income to help orphans, widows, and strangers.  Consider partnering with Big Family Mission in our outreach to Russian and Eastern European orphans:  http://www.bigfamilyministry.org/ .

Here are many of the verses in the Bible that talk about helping orphans.

Lam 5:3
We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers have become widows.
Joh 14:18
“I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you.
Job 22:9
you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms 1 of the orphans you crushed.
Jer 49:11
Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.”
Exo 22:22
“You must not afflict any widow or orphan.
Jam 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Job 24:3
They drive away the orphan’s donkey; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
Pro 23:10
Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless,
Job 31:17
If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans,
Psa 94:6
They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land, and they murder the fatherless.
Psa 109:9
May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow!
Deu 16:14
You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages.
Isa 10:2
to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.
Psa 10:18
You defend the fatherless and oppressed, so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.
Psa 68:5
He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows. God rules from his holy palace. Isa 9:17
So the sovereign master was not pleased with their young men, he took no pity on their orphans and widows; for the whole nation was godless and did wicked things, every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.
Psa 10:14
You have taken notice, for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering. The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; you deliver the fatherless.
Exo 22:24
and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless.
Deu 10:18
who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.
Deu 24:17
You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.
Psa 146:9
The Lord protects those residing outside their native land; he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, but he opposes the wicked.
Eze 22:7
They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.
Zec 7:10
You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.
Job 6:27
Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless, and auction off your friend.
Mal 3:5
“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
Jer 5:28
That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.
Jer 7:6
Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop paying allegiance to other gods. That will only bring about your ruin.
Job 29:12
for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him;
Job 31:18
but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow!
Psa 109:12
May no one show him kindness! May no one have compassion on his fatherless children!
Deu 14:29
Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.
Deu 16:11
You shall rejoice before him – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.
Deu 26:12
When you finish tithing all your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows so that they may eat to their satisfaction in your villages.
Deu 26:13
Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten your commandments.
Deu 24:21
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow.
Deu 27:19
‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
Jer 22:3
The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.
Deu 24:20
When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow.
Isa 1:23
Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.
Deu 24:19
Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do.


Learn how to help Russian orphans!