Widows and orphans

Widows and orphans are named repeatedly in the Bible. This page lists verses on God's care for them, commands to protect them, care for widows in the church, and examples in Scripture.

God's care

• Psalm 68:5
  A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
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• Psalm 146:9
  The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
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• Deuteronomy 10:18
  He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
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• Psalm 10:14
  Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
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Commands to protect them

• Exodus 22:22-24
  ²²Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. ²³If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; ²⁴And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
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• Deuteronomy 24:19
  When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
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• Isaiah 1:17
  Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
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• Zechariah 7:10
  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
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Pure religion

• James 1:27
  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
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Widows in the church

• Acts 6:1
  And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
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• 1 Timothy 5:3-5
  ³Honour widows that are widows indeed. ⁴But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. ⁵Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
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• 1 Timothy 5:16
  If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
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Widows in the Gospels

• Mark 12:41-44
  ⁴¹And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. ⁴²And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. ⁴³And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: ⁴⁴For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
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• Luke 7:12-15
  ¹²Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. ¹³And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. ¹⁴And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. ¹⁵And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
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See also

• Poverty
• Justice
• Kindness
• Service

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.