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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

  1. Deuteronomy 15:2 Literally “owner of the loan of his hand”
  2. Deuteronomy 15:2 Hebrew “it”
  3. Deuteronomy 15:2 Hebrew “for”
  4. Deuteronomy 15:3 Literally “your hand shall remit”
  5. Deuteronomy 15:4 Hebrew “it”
  6. Deuteronomy 15:5 Literally “to observe so as to do”
  7. Deuteronomy 15:5 Hebrew “commandment”
  8. Deuteronomy 15:5 Literally “the day”
  9. Deuteronomy 15:6 Literally “spoke”
  10. Deuteronomy 15:7 Literally “gates”
  11. Deuteronomy 15:7 Literally “from among your brothers, the poor one”
  12. Deuteronomy 15:8 Literally “lending you shall lend”
  13. Deuteronomy 15:8 Literally “whatever is lacking for him”
  14. Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “Watch for yourself”
  15. Deuteronomy 15:9 Hebrew “it”
  16. Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “a thing in your heart wickedness”
  17. Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “to say”
  18. Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “is bad your eye against your brother who is needy”
  19. Deuteronomy 15:9 Literally “it will be against you a sin”
  20. Deuteronomy 15:10 Literally “and not shall be bad/evil your heart at/when”
  21. Deuteronomy 15:10 Literally “in all of the sending/putting forth of your hand”
  22. Deuteronomy 15:11 Or “the needy person”
  23. Deuteronomy 15:11 Literally “from the midst of “
  24. Deuteronomy 15:11 Literally “to say”
  25. Deuteronomy 15:12 Or “brother”
  26. Deuteronomy 15:12 Literally “free from with you”
  27. Deuteronomy 15:15 Literally “the day”
  28. Deuteronomy 15:16 Literally “I will not go out”
  29. Deuteronomy 15:17 Literally “a slave of eternity”
  30. Deuteronomy 15:18 Literally “in/at you to send him forth free from being with you”
  31. Deuteronomy 15:18 Literally “in all of that you will do”
  32. Deuteronomy 15:20 Literally “in the face of Yahweh”
  33. Deuteronomy 15:22 Literally “gates”
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Deuteronomy 15
New English Translation

The Year of Debt Release

15 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation of debts.[a] 2 This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person;[b] he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite,[c] for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.” 3 You may exact payment from a foreigner, but whatever your fellow Israelite[d] owes you, you must remit. 4 However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord[e] will surely bless[f] you in the land that he[g] is giving you as an inheritance,[h] 5 if you carefully obey[i] him[j] by keeping[k] all these commandments that I am giving[l] you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; you will lend to many nations but will not borrow from any, and you will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you.

The Spirit of Liberality

7 If a fellow Israelite[m] from one of your villages[n] in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive[o] to his impoverished condition.[p] 8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend[q] him whatever he needs.[r] 9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude[s] be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite[t] and you do not lend[u] him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned.[v] 10 You must by all means lend[w] to him and not be upset by doing it,[x] for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. 11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open[y] your hand to your fellow Israelites[z] who are needy and poor in your land.

Release of Debt Slaves

12 If your fellow Hebrew[aa]—whether male or female[ab]—is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant[ac] go free.[ad] 13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. 14 You must supply them generously[ae] from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress—as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today. 16 However, if the servant[af] says to you, “I do not want to leave[ag] you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, 17 you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door.[ah] Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well). 18 You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice[ai] the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Giving God the Best

19 You must set apart[aj] for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks. 20 You and your household must eat them annually before the Lord your God in the place he[ak] chooses. 21 If one of them has any kind of blemish—lameness, blindness, or anything else[al]—you may not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. 22 You may eat it in your villages,[am] whether you are ritually impure or clean,[an] just as you would eat a gazelle or an ibex. 23 However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 15:1 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטִּת (shemittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”
  2. Deuteronomy 15:2 tn Heb “his neighbor,” used idiomatically to refer to another person.
  3. Deuteronomy 15:2 tn Heb “his neighbor and his brother.” The words “his brother” may be a scribal gloss identifying “his neighbor” (on this idiom, see the preceding note) as a fellow Israelite (cf. v. 3). In this case the conjunction before “his brother” does not introduce a second category, but rather has the force of “that is.”
  4. Deuteronomy 15:3 tn Heb “your brother.”
  5. Deuteronomy 15:4 tc After the phrase “the Lord” many mss and versions add “your God” to complete the usual full epithet.
  6. Deuteronomy 15:4 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “surely.” Note however, that the use is rhetorical, for the next verse attaches a condition.
  7. Deuteronomy 15:4 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  8. Deuteronomy 15:4 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess.”
  9. Deuteronomy 15:5 tn Heb “if listening you listen to the voice of.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “carefully.” The idiom “listen to the voice” means “obey.”
  10. Deuteronomy 15:5 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 15:4.
  11. Deuteronomy 15:5 tn Heb “by being careful to do.”
  12. Deuteronomy 15:5 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB); NAB “which I enjoin you today.”
  13. Deuteronomy 15:7 tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.
  14. Deuteronomy 15:7 tn Heb “gates.”
  15. Deuteronomy 15:7 tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).
  16. Deuteronomy 15:7 tn Heb “from your needy brother.”
  17. Deuteronomy 15:8 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before both verbs. The translation indicates the emphasis with the words “be sure to” and “generously,” respectively.
  18. Deuteronomy 15:8 tn Heb “whatever his need that he needs for himself.” This redundant expression has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  19. Deuteronomy 15:9 tn Heb “your eye.”
  20. Deuteronomy 15:9 tn Heb “your needy brother.”
  21. Deuteronomy 15:9 tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).
  22. Deuteronomy 15:9 tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”
  23. Deuteronomy 15:10 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”
  24. Deuteronomy 15:10 tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.
  25. Deuteronomy 15:11 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”
  26. Deuteronomy 15:11 tn Heb “your brother.”
  27. Deuteronomy 15:12 sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ʿivri) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ʾapiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.
  28. Deuteronomy 15:12 tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
  29. Deuteronomy 15:12 tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
  30. Deuteronomy 15:12 tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
  31. Deuteronomy 15:14 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”
  32. Deuteronomy 15:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the indentured servant introduced in v. 12) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. Deuteronomy 15:16 tn Heb “go out from.” The imperfect verbal form indicates the desire of the subject here.
  34. Deuteronomy 15:17 sn When the bondslave’s ear was drilled through to the door, the door in question was that of the master’s house. In effect, the bondslave is declaring his undying and lifelong loyalty to his creditor. The scar (or even hole) in the earlobe would testify to the community that the slave had surrendered independence and personal rights. This may be what Paul had in mind when he said “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).
  35. Deuteronomy 15:18 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh, “twice”) could mean “equivalent to” (cf. NRSV) or, more likely, “double” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). The idea is that a hired worker would put in only so many hours per day whereas a bondslave was available around the clock.
  36. Deuteronomy 15:19 tn Heb “sanctify” (תַּקְדִּישׁ, taqdish), that is, put to use on behalf of the Lord.
  37. Deuteronomy 15:20 tn Heb “the Lord.” The translation uses a pronoun for stylistic reasons. See note on “he” in 15:4.
  38. Deuteronomy 15:21 tn Heb “any evil blemish”; NASB “any (+ other NAB, TEV) serious defect.”
  39. Deuteronomy 15:22 tn Heb “in your gates.”
  40. Deuteronomy 15:22 tc The LXX adds ἐν σοί (en soi, “among you”) to make clear that the antecedent is the people and not the animals. That is, the people, whether ritually purified or not, may eat such defective animals.
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