Deuteronomy 15
Lexham English Bible
15 “At the end of seven years you shall grant a remission of debt. 2 And this is the manner of the remission of debt: every creditor[a] shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment from his brother because there[b] a remission of debt has been proclaimed unto[c] Yahweh. 3 With respect to the foreigner you may exact payment, but you must remit[d] what shall be owed to you with respect to your brother. 4 Nevertheless, there[e] shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it. 5 If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God by observing diligently[f] all of these commandments[g] that I am commanding you today.[h] 6 When Yahweh your God has blessed you, just as he promised[i] to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow from them, and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. 7 If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your towns[j] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward your brother who is poor.[k] 8 But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and you shall willingly lend[l] to him enough to meet his need, whatever it is.[m] 9 Take care[n] so that there[o] will not be a thought of wickedness[p] in your heart, saying,[q] ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ and you view your needy neighbor with hostility,[r] and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and you would incur guilt against yourself.[s] 10 By all means you must give to him, and you must not be discontented[t] at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.[u] 11 For the poor[v] will not cease to be among you[w] in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying,[x] ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’
12 If your relative[y] who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out free.[z] 13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus today.[aa] 16 And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘I do not want to go out[ab] from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; 17 then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you a slave forever;[ac] and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. 18 It shall not be hard in your eyes when you send him forth free,[ad] because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you will do.[ae]
19 “Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock. 20 Rather before Yahweh[af] your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household. 21 But if there is a physical defect in it, such as lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22 In your towns[ag] you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together may eat it, just as they eat the gazelle and as they eat the deer. 23 But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:2 Literally “owner of the loan of his hand”
- Deuteronomy 15:2 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 15:2 Hebrew “for”
- Deuteronomy 15:3 Literally “your hand shall remit”
- Deuteronomy 15:4 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 15:5 Literally “to observe so as to do”
- Deuteronomy 15:5 Hebrew “commandment”
- Deuteronomy 15:5 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 15:6 Literally “spoke”
- Deuteronomy 15:7 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 15:7 Literally “from among your brothers, the poor one”
- Deuteronomy 15:8 Literally “lending you shall lend”
- Deuteronomy 15:8 Literally “whatever is lacking for him”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “Watch for yourself”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “a thing in your heart wickedness”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “is bad your eye against your brother who is needy”
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “it will be against you a sin”
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Literally “and not shall be bad/evil your heart at/when”
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Literally “in all of the sending/putting forth of your hand”
- Deuteronomy 15:11 Or “the needy person”
- Deuteronomy 15:11 Literally “from the midst of “
- Deuteronomy 15:11 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Or “brother”
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Literally “free from with you”
- Deuteronomy 15:15 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 15:16 Literally “I will not go out”
- Deuteronomy 15:17 Literally “a slave of eternity”
- Deuteronomy 15:18 Literally “in/at you to send him forth free from being with you”
- Deuteronomy 15:18 Literally “in all of that you will do”
- Deuteronomy 15:20 Literally “in the face of Yahweh”
- Deuteronomy 15:22 Literally “gates”
Deuteronomy 15
Common English Bible
Year of canceled debts
15 Every seventh year you must cancel all debts. 2 This is how the cancellation is to be handled: Creditors will forgive the loans of their fellow Israelites. They won’t demand repayment from their neighbors or their relatives because the Lord’s year of debt cancellation has been announced. 3 You are allowed to demand payment from foreigners, but whatever is owed you from your fellow Israelites you must forgive. 4 Of course there won’t be any poor persons among you because the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, 5 but only if you carefully obey the Lord your God’s voice, by carefully doing every bit of this commandment that I’m giving you right now. 6 Once the Lord your God has blessed you, exactly as he said he would, you will end up lending to many different peoples but won’t need to borrow a thing. You will dominate many different peoples, but they won’t dominate you.
7 Now if there are some poor persons among you, say one of your fellow Israelites in one of your cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don’t be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor fellow Israelites. 8 To the contrary! Open your hand wide to them. You must generously lend them whatever they need. 9 But watch yourself! Make sure no wicked thought crosses your mind, such as, The seventh year is coming—the year of debt cancellation—so that you resent your poor fellow Israelites and don’t give them anything. If you do that, they will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 10 No, give generously to needy persons. Don’t resent giving to them because it is this very thing that will lead to the Lord your God’s blessing you in all you do and work at. 11 Poor persons will never disappear from the earth. That’s why I’m giving you this command: you must open your hand generously to your fellow Israelites, to the needy among you, and to the poor who live with you in your land.
12 If any of your fellow Hebrews, male or female, sell themselves into your service, they can work for you for six years, but in the seventh year you must set them free from your service. 13 Furthermore, when you set them free from your service, you must not let them go empty-handed. 14 Instead, provide for them fully from your flock, food, and wine. You must give to them from that with which the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember how each of you was a slave in Egypt and how the Lord your God saved you. That’s why I am commanding you to do this right now. (16 Now if your male servant says to you: “I don’t want to leave your service” because he loves you and your family and because life is good for him in your service, 17 then you may take a needle and pierce his ear with it into the doorframe. From that point on, he will be your permanent servant. Do the same thing for female servants.) 18 Don’t consider it a hardship to set these servants free from your service, because they worked for you for six years—at a value double that of a paid worker. The Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do.
19 You must devote every oldest male animal from your herds or flocks to the Lord your God. Don’t plow with your oldest male ox and don’t shear your oldest male sheep. 20 Year after year, you and your family are allowed to eat these animals in the presence of the Lord your God, in the location the Lord selects. 21 But if there is any defect in it, lameness, blindness, any flaw whatsoever, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You are allowed to eat those in your own cities, whether you are polluted or purified, just as you would eat gazelle or deer. 23 Even so, don’t consume any blood. Pour it out on the ground, like water.
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