35 Bible Verses About Tithing and Giving

The collection plate passes by while internal conflict rages about whether tithing is Old Testament law or a New Testament principle. Your budget screams that you can’t afford to give ten percent when bills already exceed income, yet guilt about not tithing adds spiritual pressure to financial stress. Stories of miraculous provision after faithful giving inspire you while simultaneously creating expectations that God will immediately reimburse your obedience like a cosmic vending machine.

Churches preach tithing with varying emphasis from gentle encouragement to heavy-handed manipulation that questions your faith if you’re not giving generously. Meanwhile, skeptics dismiss tithing as a clergy enrichment scheme while financial advisors suggest you can’t afford charitable giving until debt disappears. The conflicting messages leave you uncertain whether tithing demonstrates faith or foolishness, whether generous giving honors God or ignores practical wisdom about meeting your own obligations first.

Scripture addresses giving extensively because how we handle money reveals our heart’s true priorities. The Bible establishes principles for generosity, commands for provision, and promises connected to faithful giving. These verses cut through confusion about tithing requirements and giving guidelines while addressing both the practical questions and spiritual resistance that keep wallets closed despite open hearts.

Bible Verses About Tithing and Giving

1. Malachi 3:10 – Bring the Whole Tithe into the Storehouse

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

New International Version (NIV)

2. 2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each of You Should Give What You Have Decided

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

English Standard Version (ESV)

3. Luke 6:38 – Give, and It Will Be Given to You

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

New Living Translation (NLT)

4. Proverbs 3:9-10 – Honor the Lord with Your Wealth

Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

New King James Version (NKJV)

5. Matthew 6:21 – For Where Your Treasure Is

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

6. Acts 20:35 – It Is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7. Proverbs 11:24-25 – One Gives Freely, Yet Grows All the Richer

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

King James Version (KJV)

8. 2 Corinthians 9:6 – The Point Is This: Whoever Sows Sparingly

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

9. Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever Is Kind to the Poor

Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.

The Message (MSG)

10. 1 Chronicles 29:14 – But Who Am I, and Who Are My People

But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given to You.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

11. Proverbs 22:9 – The Generous Will Themselves Be Blessed

A generous person will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.

New English Translation (NET)

12. Hebrews 13:16 – Do Not Neglect to Do Good

Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13. Matthew 23:23 – Woe to You, Teachers of the Law

You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

14. 1 Timothy 6:18 – Command Them to Do Good

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them.

Good News Translation (GNT)

15. Deuteronomy 14:22 – Be Sure to Set Aside a Tenth

Be sure to save one-tenth of all your crops each year.

New Century Version (NCV)

16. Mark 12:41-44 – Jesus Sat Down Opposite the Place

Then he sat down opposite the offering box and watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it. Many rich people were dropping in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small copper coins, worth less than a cent.

International Standard Version (ISV)

17. Leviticus 27:30 – A Tithe of Everything from the Land

All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.

Tree of Life Version (TLV)

18. 2 Corinthians 8:12 – For If the Eagerness Is There

For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

19. Matthew 6:3-4 – But When You Give to the Needy

But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

World English Bible (WEB)

20. Proverbs 28:27 – Those Who Give to the Poor

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

American Standard Version (ASV)

21. 1 Corinthians 16:2 – On the First Day of Every Week

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

22. Luke 12:33-34 – Sell Your Possessions and Give to the Poor

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

New American Bible (NAB)

23. Deuteronomy 15:10 – Give Generously to Them

Thou shalt geue him, and thy heart shall not be greeued therewith: because that for this thing, the Lorde thy God shall blesse thee in all thy workes, and in all that thou puttest thine hand vnto.

Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)

24. Acts 4:32 – All the Believers Were One in Heart and Mind

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

English Revised Version (ERV)

25. Proverbs 21:26 – All Day Long He Craves for More

All the day desiring he hath desired, And the righteous giveth, and withholdeth not.

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

26. Genesis 28:22 – And This Stone That I Have Set Up

And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou givest me I will without fail give the tenth unto thee.

Darby Translation (DARBY)

27. 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 – For I Testify That They Gave

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift.

Weymouth New Testament (WNT)

28. Numbers 18:21 – I Give to the Levites All the Tithes

Forsothe Y yaf to the sones of Leuy alle the tithis of Israel in to possessioun, for the seruyce bi whyche thei seruen me in the tabernacle of boond of pees.

Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

29. Luke 21:1-4 – And He Looked Up, and Saw

And he beheld, and sawe the riche men, that cast their giftes into the treasurie. And he sawe also a certaine poore widowe, which cast in thither two mites.

Geneva Bible (GNV)

30. Nehemiah 10:37 – We Will Also Bring

And that we should bryng the first fruites of our dowe, and of our heaue offerynges, and the fruite of all maner of trees, of wine also and of oyle, vnto the priestes to the chambers of the house of our God.

Bishop’s Bible

31. Matthew 10:8 – Heal the Sick, Raise the Dead

Heale the sicke, clense the lepers, rayse the deed, cast out the deuyls. Frely ye haue receaued, frely geue agayne.

Tyndale Bible

32. Proverbs 11:25 – A Generous Person Will Prosper

The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

The Living Bible (TLB)

33. 2 Corinthians 9:11 – You Will Be Enriched in Every Way

Everything you have will be enough, and you will have plenty left over to give joyfully to others.

The Passion Translation (TPT)

34. Deuteronomy 16:17 – Each of You Must Bring a Gift

Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Eternal your God has blessed you.

The Voice Bible (VOICE)

35. 1 John 3:17 – If Anyone Has Material Possessions

Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need. But the person doesn’t take pity on them. How can the love of God be in that person?

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)

Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Tithing and Giving

God’s invitation to test Him through tithing stands unique in Scripture as the only place He explicitly challenges people to prove His faithfulness. This isn’t manipulation but confidence. God knows that when we prioritize giving before personal spending, He can demonstrate provision in ways that build faith. The promised open heavens and overflowing blessing aren’t guaranteed financial windfalls but supernatural sufficiency that often manifests as contentment, unexpected provision, and freedom from money’s tyranny.

Paul’s teaching about cheerful giving shifts focus from mandatory percentages to heart posture. The widow’s two coins earned Jesus’ commendation not because of the amount but because she gave from devotion rather than duty. God measures generosity by the sacrifice required rather than the total donated. Someone giving millions from abundance may please accountants, but someone sharing their last twenty dollars with genuine joy moves God’s heart and demonstrates faith that trusts Him for tomorrow’s provision.

The early church’s radical generosity, where nobody claimed private ownership of possessions, reveals what happens when communities truly believe God owns everything. Tithing ten percent becomes the starting point rather than the ceiling when you recognize that the other ninety percent also belongs to God. This perspective transforms giving from obligation, robbing you opportunity to serve Kingdom purposes with resources God temporarily entrusted to your management.

Say This Prayer

Heavenly Father, giving challenges to my faith more than I want to admit. When finances feel tight, releasing money to You feels irresponsible, even though I know You command generosity. Help me trust that obedience in giving won’t leave me unable to meet obligations but will actually open doors for Your provision in unexpected ways.

Forgive my tendency to give from leftovers rather than firstfruits, to calculate percentages that protect my lifestyle rather than sacrificially trust You with my finances. Transform my heart so giving becomes joy rather than duty, worship rather than transaction, expecting immediate returns.

Show me specific ways to practice generosity beyond just writing checks, whether supporting individuals in need, funding Kingdom work, or creatively blessing others. Help me discern between genuine needs and manipulation disguised as spiritual obligation. Give me wisdom about where to give and courage to give generously even when circumstances suggest holding tighter.

Let my giving reflect the belief that everything I have ultimately belongs to You anyway. Help me hold money with open hands, generous toward others because You’ve been generous toward me, trusting that You’ll provide what I need as I prioritize Kingdom purposes over personal comfort.

In Jesus’ generous name, Amen.