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14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns.

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14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.(A)

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“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

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“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers,(A) adulterers(B) and perjurers,(C) against those who defraud laborers of their wages,(D) who oppress the widows(E) and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners(F) among you of justice, but do not fear(G) me,” says the Lord Almighty.

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16 A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor
    or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.

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16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
    and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

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Israel’s Failure to Learn

Listen to me, you fat cows[a]
    living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
    and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your husbands,
    “Bring us another drink!”

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Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Hebrew you cows of Bashan.

Israel Has Not Returned to God

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
    you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
    and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)

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31 Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
    but helping the poor honors him.

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31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,(A)
    but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.(B)

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Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

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Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.(A) Do not move around from house to house.

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Listen to this, you who rob the poor
    and trample down the needy!

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Hear this, you who trample the needy
    and do away with the poor(A) of the land,(B)

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They trample helpless people in the dust
    and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
    corrupting my holy name.

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They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.(A)

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Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.

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In you they have treated father and mother with contempt;(A) in you they have oppressed the foreigner(B) and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.(C)

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13 “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants
    when they brought their complaints to me,
14 how could I face God?
    What could I say when he questioned me?
15 For God created both me and my servants.
    He created us both in the womb.

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13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(A)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,(B)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(C)
    What will I answer when called to account?(D)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(E)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(F)

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10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.
    They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.
11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
    and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.

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10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(A)
    they carry the sheaves,(B) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
    they tread the winepresses,(C) yet suffer thirst.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Release for Hebrew Slaves

12 “If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant[a] and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.

13 “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. 14 Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

16 “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. 17 In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.

18 “You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the Lord your God will bless you in all you do.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:12 Or If a Hebrew man or woman is sold to you.

Freeing Servants(A)(B)

12 If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.(C) 13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor(D) and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves(E) in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.(F) That is why I give you this command today.

16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.

18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

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Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved

35 “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. 36 Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. 37 Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39 “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. 40 Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. 41 At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. 42 The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. 43 Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.

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35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor(A) and are unable to support themselves among you, help them(B) as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest(C) or any profit from them, but fear your God,(D) so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest(E) or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan(F) and to be your God.(G)

39 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.(H) 40 They are to be treated as hired workers(I) or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property(J) of their ancestors.(K) 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt,(L) they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly,(M) but fear your God.(N)

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