Deuteronomy 15:11

Deu 15:11 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.

Ver. 11. For the poor.] {See Trapp on "Mat 26:11"} Aged and impotent poor, whose misery moves compassion without an orator; called here our poor, as well as our brethren.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 15:11. The poor shall never cease — God, by his providence, will so order it, partly for the punishment of your disobedience, and partly for the trial and exercise of your obedience to him, and charity to your brother.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:11 The reality that there will always be some . . . who are poor in a fallen world is no excuse for indifference to their plight. Instead, it should emphasize the need for the rich to contribute to the well-being of the poor (Matt 26:6-13).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

To try your charity, Matt. 26:11.

Thou shalt be liberal.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For the poor shall never cease out of the land--Although every Israelite on the conquest of Canaan became the owner of property, yet in the providence of God who foresaw the event, it was permitted, partly as a punishment of disobedience and partly for the exercise of benevolent and charitable feelings, that "the poor should never cease out of the land."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. For the poor shall never cease out of the land] To this passage our Lord appears to allude Mr 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, &c. And without occasions afforded to exercise these, man would soon become a Stoic or a brute.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) For the poor shall never cease.—There is no contradiction between this verse and Deu_15:4 above. There will always be some men falling into poverty; but it is our business to see that they do not remain in want. The poor will never cease, except by the provision made for them by their brethren. God will never make all men absolutely equal in this world.

Thy brother, thy poor, and thy needy.-According to Rashi, the word translated “needy” is stronger than the word for “poor.” The “poor” are in humble circumstances; the “needy” are actually in want. In commenting on this verse, Rashi asks a similar question to that of the lawyer in Luk_10:29, “Who is this brother? Thy poor man.” He might have added that “thy poor” and “thy needy” are expressions teaching the truth that we are “members one of another.” We may not pass by our poorer brethren, and say we have nothing to do with them. Jehovah calls them ours—“thy poor man,” and “thy needy man.” The words are both in the singular number in the Hebrew. We cannot shake off the relationship or the responsibility in any one case.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. For the poor shall never cease, etc.] See introd. note.

to thy needy, and to thy poor] Two of the three Hebrew synonyms for poor. The first is a passive form, forced, afflicted, then wretched, whether under persecution, poverty or exile, arid so also subdued, mild, meek. The second is the Lat. egenus, needy.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the poor shall never cease out of the land,.... There would be always such objects to exercise their charity and beneficence towards, Joh 12:8, which is no contradiction to Deu 15:4 for had they been obedient to the laws of God, they would have been so blessed that there would have been none; so the Targums; but he foresaw that they would not keep his commands, and so this would be the case, and which he foretells that they might expect it, and do their duty to them, as here directed:

therefore I command thee, saying, thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother; not give sparingly, but largely, in proportion to the necessities of the poor, and according to the abilities of the lender or giver; and this must be done to a brother, one that is near in the bonds of consanguinity, and to him a man must give or lend first, as Aben Ezra observes, and then "to thy poor"; the poor of thy family, as the same writer:

and to thy needy in the land; that are in very distressed circumstances, though not related, and particularly such as are in the same place where a man dwells; for, as the same writer remarks, the poor of thy land are to be preferred to the poor of another place,

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Needy. Hebrew expresses the order to be observed in giving alms, "open thy hand wide (give with profusion) to thy brother, (or relations,) to thy needy, (in extreme want,) and to thy poor in the land," whoever they may be. (Calmet) --- To exercise the charity of his people, God suffered some to be poor. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The poor shall never cease out of the land; God by his providence will so order it, partly for the punishment of your disobedience, and partly for the trial and exercise of your obedience to me, and charity to your brother, both which are best discovered by your performance of costly duties.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. The poor shall never cease out of the land — Our Lord says, “Ye have the poor with you always.” Mar_14:7. Here Moses lays down rules which the people were to observe in the case of Hebrew slaves. The earlier legislation is recorded in Exo_21:2-6.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They were to open their hand wide to their poorer brethren, for there should always be such in the land. This statement is not inconsistent with that in ver. 4, for there it is the prevention of poverty by not dealing harshly with the poor that is spoken of; here it is the continuance of occasion for the relief of the poor that is referred to.

The poor in the land.

The meaning is that there will always be greater or less scope for the exercise of the virtues of kindness and liberality, that it is vain to hope for a Utopian condition of society in which there shall be absolutely no poor.

I THIS DOES NOT IMPLY:

1. That many existing causes of poverty cannot be permanently removed.

2. That every attempt ought not to be made to reduce poverty within its narrowest limits. The saying, "Ye have the poor always with you", (Mat_26:11) is no utterance of fatalism. Much can be done to reduce poverty. With the growth of society, still more as a result of the spread of Christian principles, numbers of the causes of poverty now existing may be expected to disappear (idleness, intemperance, bad laws, merciless competition, class antagonisms, unfavorable sanitary conditions, etc.).

II IT DOES IMPLY:

1. That under the most favorable conditions of existence on earth a residuum of poverty is still to be looked for.

(1) There are diversities of talents. There will always be those whose abilities only fit them for the humblest positions in society. And these may be left friendless, or health may fail them, or they may live to old age, and become dependent.

(2) There are vicissitudes of fortune. These come to the most fortunate of men, reducing them oftentimes to great straits. And it is too much to expect that, even under millennial conditions, the causes of such vicissitudes will altogether cease to operate.

2. That while poverty lasts, it is our duty to help to bear its burden. Poverty, in a state of society such as we anticipate as the goal of history, need never be the painful thing it is now. With loving hearts, and hands ready to help, its sting will be taken away. J.O.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The poor shall never cease - God by his providence will so order it, partly for the punishment of your disobedience, and partly for the trial and exercise of your obedience to him and charity to your brother.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For the poor will never cease in the land, even the land that is richly blessed, because poverty is not only the penalty of sin, but is ordained by God for punishment and discipline.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

For the poor will never cease to exist in the land

This can be stated in positive form. AT: "For there will always be poor people in the land" (See: Double Negatives)

For the poor

The nominal adjective "the poor" can be stated as an adjective. AT: "For poor people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

I command you and say, 'You must surely open your hand ... in your land.'

This has a quotation within a quotation. A direct quotation can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "I command you to open your hand ... in your land" (See:Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)

open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor

A person who is willing to help someone else is spoken of as if his hand were open. AT: "help your fellow Israelite, those who are needy, and those who are poor" (See: Metaphor)

your brother, to your needy, and to your poor

The words "needy" and "poor" mean basically the same thing and emphasize that these are people who cannot help themselves. AT: "help your fellow Israelites who cannot help themselves" (See: Doublet)

translationWords

command

hand

brother

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

על כן means מפני כן BECAUSE OF THIS.

לאמר suggests: I give you good advice for your own benefit (Sifrei Devarim 118:2).

לאחיך לעניך [THOU SHALT SURELY OPEN THINE HAND] UNTO THY BROTHER, TO THY POOR — open thine hand to thy brother, to which brother? To the poor one.

לעניך written with one Jod denotes one poor man, but ענייך with two Jods denotes two (or many) poor, i.e. it is a plural form.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

FOR THE POOR SHALL NEVER CEASE OUT OF THE LAND. Commentators have said that the meaning thereof is that the poor shall never cease out of the Land at any of all times, for there will always be poor in the Land, for it was apparent before Him that they will not do [to make possible] what he said to them, But there shall be no needy among you, if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d to observe to do all this commandment. But it is not correct in my opinion, for the Torah may allude to what will be but it would not explicitly prophesy about them [the Israelites] that they will not fulfill the Torah, nor would he have commanded them [to observe the commandments while foretelling] that they would always transgress them. Forbid it! It is only by way of warning that he mentions [their transgressions].The correct interpretation is that he says that it is impossible for the poor to cease so that none should ever exist. He [Moses] mentioned this because, having assured them that there would be no needy if they observe all the commandments he said: “But I know that not all generations forever will observe all the commandments in which case there would be no need to charge you concerning the poor, for perhaps, at some time, there will exist poor and so I command you about him if he will be found.” He states out of the Land [for the poor shall never cease ‘out of the Land’] in order to allude to the entire habitation [anywhere on earth], for the promise that there would not be needy among us applies in the Land which the Eternal our G-d giveth us for an inheritance if we will fulfill there all the commandments. And now he said that it is possible that, at some period or at some place where you will have settled, there be found a poor man among you. For the meaning of the expression in thy Land [If there be among you a needy man … ‘in thy Land’] is like in all your habitations — within the Land of Israel and outside of the Land.

UNTO THY BROTHER, UNTO THY POOR, AND UNTO THY NEEDY IN THY LAND. The meaning thereof is as if he said: “to your poor brother, and to all the needy in your Land.” For because the commandment is addressed to Israel he mentions thy brother, and he joins in explanation “your brother and all the needy in your Land,” to command concerning the whole of Israel. And its homiletic interpretation is as follows: 116. “This teaches that [in giving charity] precedence be given to those nearer” [to you so that the poor of your own city or land have priority over the poor of distant places].He mentions that there is also a release for a [Hebrew] servant in his seventh year, for that release [of a servant] is also like the release [of loans in the Sabbatical year] mentioned [and hence the proximity of the subjects], all of them being to remember the days of old, as I have hinted in its place., p. 349. There it is alluded that the expression and he shall be thy bondman forever is to be taken in its plain sense. Now he repeated this commandment in order to explain in it the outfitting of the emancipated servant.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.