The term "widow" in the Bible refers to a woman whose husband has died and who has not remarried. Widows are frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, often in the context of God's care and concern for them, as well as the community's responsibility towards them. The following are unclassified scriptures relating to widows, highlighting various aspects of their lives and the biblical teachings concerning them.

1. God's Compassion for Widows: The Bible consistently emphasizes God's special concern for widows. In Exodus 22:22-23, God commands, "You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry." This passage underscores the divine protection afforded to widows and the severe consequences for those who oppress them.

2. Provision for Widows: The Mosaic Law includes specific provisions to ensure the welfare of widows. Deuteronomy 14:29 states, "Then the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands." This law reflects the community's obligation to support widows, ensuring they have access to food and resources.

3. Justice for Widows: The prophets frequently call for justice on behalf of widows. Isaiah 1:17 exhorts, "Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow." This call to action highlights the importance of advocating for the rights and needs of widows within society.

4. Widows in Worship and Service: In the New Testament, widows are recognized for their role in the early Christian community. 1 Timothy 5:3-5 instructs, "Honor the widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to show godliness to their own household and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers." This passage acknowledges the spiritual contributions of widows and the importance of family support.

5. Examples of Widows in Scripture: Several widows are highlighted in the Bible for their faith and actions. The widow of Zarephath, who provided for the prophet Elijah during a famine, is commended for her obedience and trust in God (1 Kings 17:8-16). In the New Testament, Jesus praises a poor widow for her sacrificial giving, saying, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the others" (Luke 21:3).

6. Warnings Against Exploiting Widows: Jesus condemns those who exploit widows, as seen in Mark 12:40, where He warns against the scribes who "devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely." This denunciation reflects the seriousness of exploiting vulnerable individuals, particularly widows.

7. Widows as a Symbol of Dependence on God: Widows often symbolize reliance on God's provision and faithfulness. In Lamentations 1:1, Jerusalem is personified as a widow, emphasizing her desolation and need for divine intervention: "How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She has become like a widow, once great among the nations, a princess among the provinces, now a slave."

These scriptures collectively illustrate the biblical perspective on widows, emphasizing God's compassion, the community's responsibility, and the spiritual significance of widows in the faith narrative.Exodus 22:22-24
You shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
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Deuteronomy 10:18
He does execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
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Deuteronomy 14:28,29
At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates:
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Deuteronomy 16:11-14
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD your God has chosen to place his name there.
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Deuteronomy 24:17,19-21
You shall not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:
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Deuteronomy 25:5-10
If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother to her.
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Deuteronomy 27:19
Cursed be he that perverts the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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Job 22:5,9
Is not your wickedness great? and your iniquities infinite?
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Job 24:3,21
They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
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Job 29:13
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came on me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
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Job 31:16,22
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
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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 94:6
They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
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Psalm 146:9
The LORD preserves the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
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Proverbs 15:25
The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
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Isaiah 1:17,23
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
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Isaiah 10:1,2
Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
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Jeremiah 7:6,7
If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
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Jeremiah 22:3
Thus said the LORD; Execute you judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
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Jeremiah 49:11
Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.
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Ezekiel 22:7
In you have they set light by father and mother: in the middle of you have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in you have they vexed the fatherless and 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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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, said the LORD of hosts.
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Matthew 23:14
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.
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Mark 12:40
Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
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Luke 20:47
Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
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1 Corinthians 7:8,9
I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
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1 Timothy 5:3-6,9-12,16
Honor widows that are widows indeed.
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