This list gives you Bible verses about tithing, grouped by the situations where giving tends to feel hardest or most meaningful: when money is tight, when you are deciding how much to give, and when generosity becomes a daily habit rather than an annual decision. It is written for Christians who want Scripture to shape the way they handle their income and their trust in God. What these verses share is a simple conviction: everything we have comes from God, and returning a portion of it is an act of worship, faith and gratitude.
Verses for a Month When the Budget Feels Too Tight
When every dollar seems spoken for, tithing can feel like a leap rather than a habit. The verses in this section speak to that tension directly, reminding you that God sees the gap between what you have and what you give, and that he has not asked you to manage his provision alone.
Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says the LORD of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for.
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This is the most direct invitation to tithe in the Old Testament, and it is framed as a test God welcomes. Before you pay bills this month, set aside the tenth first and write the amount on the envelope or in your notes app as a small act of trust.
Proverbs 3:9-10
9 Honor the LORD with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase: 10 so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
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Proverbs links honoring the Lord with your wealth to the first fruits of your income. Read these verses while you look at your budget, and let them move you to give the first portion, not whatever is left at the end of the month.
Luke 21:1-4
1 He looked up, and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, 4 for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”
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Jesus notices a widow who gives two small coins, and he says she gave more than the rich. When your offering feels small, remember that God measures generosity by what is kept back for yourself, not by the total. Give what you can and let that be enough for now.
Verses for Deciding How Much to Give
Many Christians wonder whether a tenth is required, a starting point, or a ceiling. These verses are less a rulebook than a window into the heart behind giving, which is where the decision really takes shape.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
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Paul insists that giving must come from a settled choice, not reluctance or pressure. Before you decide on a number, ask yourself whether you are giving freely or out of guilt, and write one sentence that names your real motive.
Genesis 14:18-20
18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
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Abram gives a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek, long before the law of Moses existed. This early example shows tithing as a response to God’s blessing. Think of one specific good thing you received this year and let it shape the amount you set aside.
Matthew 23:23
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
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Jesus rebukes people who tithe carefully but neglect justice, mercy and faith. Use this verse as a check: review your giving alongside how you treat others, and let the two grow together rather than letting generosity with money excuse neglect of people.
Hebrews 7:8
Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives.
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The writer of Hebrews notes that tithes are received by mortal men in one case and by one who lives on in the other, pointing toward Christ as the greater priest. Let this remind you that your giving is offered to the living Lord, not only to an institution or a habit.
Verses for Giving Joyfully as an Ongoing Practice
Tithing is not meant to be a grudging monthly chore. These verses describe giving as an overflow of gratitude, a way of trusting God that grows over time and eventually brings real delight.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23
22 You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year. 23 You shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he chooses, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
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Israel is told to set apart the tithe and then eat it in the presence of the Lord, celebrating before him. Find a way to mark your giving with thanks, perhaps by naming one answered prayer each time you give.
Psalm 116:12-14
12 What will I give to the LORD for all his benefits toward me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the LORD’s name. 14 I will pay my vows to the LORD, yes, in the presence of all his people.
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The psalmist asks how he can repay the Lord and answers by lifting the cup of salvation and keeping his vows. Treat your tithe as one way of keeping a vow of gratitude, and let each payment become a small, cheerful answer to that question.
Proverbs 11:24-25
24 There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty. 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
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These verses observe that the generous person prospers and the one who refreshes others is refreshed. Consider where your giving already brings life to someone else, and notice how it shapes your own sense of abundance.
1 Chronicles 29:14
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
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David acknowledges that everything comes from God and that the people’s offerings are only what they have received from his hand. Let this verse soften any sense of ownership, and say aloud, before you give, that the money was never really yours to begin with.
Acts 20:35
In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
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Paul recalls the words of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive. When you feel tempted to hold back, think of one gift you have given that brought you more joy than the thing you kept, and let that memory shape your next offering.
How to Use These Verses
Write the verses you return to most on a card and keep it in your wallet, beside your checkbook, or set it as your phone’s lock screen. Reading a single verse just before you pay bills or give turns a routine transaction into a moment of worship, and it keeps the reason for giving in view when the numbers feel uncomfortable.
Read one verse slowly each week, and pray it back to God before you decide on your giving. Ask him to show you where your trust is strongest and where it needs to grow, and let each verse become a conversation rather than a rule you have to meet.
A Short Prayer for Tithing
Lord, you have given me everything I have, and I thank you for every provision, large and small. Help me to honor you with the first portion of what I receive, and let my giving come from trust rather than fear. Where my budget feels tight, remind me that you see the gap and that you are faithful to supply what I need. Teach me to give cheerfully, to notice the people my generosity serves, and to rest in the joy of giving back what was always yours to share. Amen.
