Kindness

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

General scriptures concerning

• Leviticus 19:34 You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
• Deuteronomy 22:1–4 If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother. If your brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, you are to take the animal home to remain with you until your brother comes seeking it; then you can return it to hi…
• Psalm 112:5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
• Proverbs 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.
• Proverbs 19:22 The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.
• Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
• Isaiah 11:13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor will Judah harass Ephraim.
• Zechariah 7:9–10 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
• Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
• Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Instances of

Pharaoh to Jacob

• Genesis 45:16–20 When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you t…
• Genesis 47:5–6 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

Pharaoh's daughter to Moses

• Exodus 2:6–10 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daug…

Rahab to the spies

• Joshua 2:6–16 (But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.) So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut. Before the spies lay down for the night…

David to Mephibosheth

• 2 Samuel 9:1–13 Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?” And there was a servant of the house of Saul named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king inquired, “Are you Ziba?” “I am your servant,” he replied. So the king asked, “Is t…

Joab to Absalom

• 2 Samuel 14:1–24 Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long tim…

Ahab to Ben-hadad

• 1 Kings 20:32–34 So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at…

Elisha to the woman whose son he restored to life

• 2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the LORD has decreed that a seven-year famine will come to the land.”

Evil-merodach to Jehoiachin

• 2 Kings 25:28–30 And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life. And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest…

Jehoshabeath to Joash

• 2 Chronicles 22:11 But Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, was Ahaziah’s sister, s…

The Jews to the people

• Nehemiah 5:8–19 and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say. So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you w…

Mordecai to Esther

• Esther 2:7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.

Nebuchadrezzar to Jeremiah

• Jeremiah 39:11–12 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”

Joseph to Mary

• Matthew 1:19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

Centurion to his servant

• Luke 7:2–6 There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, “This man is worthy to have You grant this, for he loves our nation an…

The Jews to Mary and Martha

• John 11:19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
• John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

John to Mary

• John 19:27 Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

Felix to Paul

• Acts 24:23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs.

Julius to Paul

• Acts 27:3 The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.
• Acts 27:43 But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul’s life , thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.

Onesiphorus to Paul

• 2 Timothy 1:16–18 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains. Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me. May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to m…