The Corporal Works of Mercy are a set of charitable actions that Christians are encouraged to perform in order to show compassion and care for those in need.
These works are derived from various Bible verses that highlight the importance of helping others and meeting their physical needs.
By performing these works, believers strive to imitate the example set by Jesus and fulfill their calling to serve others.
Bible Verses For Corporal Works Of Mercy: Feed The Hungry
Matthew 25:35-36
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Proverbs 19 17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Isaiah 58:10
Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
Psalm 146:7
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free.
Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Proverbs 22:9
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
James 2:15-16:
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
Bible Verses For Giving Drink To The Thirsty
Matthew 10:42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.
Proverbs 25:21
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
Isaiah 58:10
And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.
Mark 9:41
Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
Romans 12:20
On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.
Hebrews 6:10
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Bible Verses For Shelter To The Homeless
Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Matthew 25 35
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.
Psalm 91:1
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Psalm 146:9
The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow but frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Bible Verses For Visiting The Sick
James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
Psalm 41:3
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.
Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Luke 10:33-34
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Bible Verses For Visiting The Imprisoned
Matthew 25:36
I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Hebrews 13:3
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Matthew 5:25
Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
Acts 16:25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Luke 4 18
The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Isaiah 42:7
To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Zechariah 9:11
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
Bible Verses For Bury The Dead
Ecclesiastes 12:7
and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Job 19:25-26
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
Psalm 115:17
It is not the dead who praise the LORD, those who go down to the place of silence;
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?
Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.
Deuteronomy 34:5-6
And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
2 Chronicles 16:14
They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.
Bible Verses For Clothing The Naked
Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them…
Matthew 25:36
I needed clothes and you clothed me…
James 2:15-16
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
Job 31:19-20
If I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep…
1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Romans 12:13
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Conclusion
The corporal works of mercy are acts of compassion and kindness towards the physical needs of others. These acts reflect our responsibility to care for those in need and to demonstrate love and mercy in tangible ways. By following these teachings, we can make a positive impact on the lives of others and fulfill our calling to be compassionate and selfless.
