¹⁹ “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else.

²⁵ “If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.

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.

³⁴ And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

¹² There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁶ He does not exploit the poor, but instead is fair to debtors and does not rob them. He gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy. ¹⁷ He helps the poor,^[a] does not lend money at interest, and obeys all my regulations and decrees. Such a person will not die because of his father’s sins; he will surely live. ¹⁸ But the father will die for his many sins—for being cruel, robbing people, and doing what was clearly wrong among his people.

¹³ and lends money at excessive interest. Should such a sinful person live? No! He must die and must take full blame.

⁷ He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the items given as security by poor debtors. He does not rob the poor but instead gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy. ⁸ He grants loans without interest, stays away from injustice, is honest and fair when judging others,

Nehemiah Defends the Oppressed

5 About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. ² They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.”

³ Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.”

⁴ And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. ⁵ We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”

⁶ When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. ⁷ After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.