Deuteronomy 15
New King James Version
Debts Canceled Every Seven Years(A)
15 “At the end of (B)every seven years you shall grant a [a]release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall [b]release it; he shall not [c]require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly (C)bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; (D)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Generosity to the Poor
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the [d]gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, (E)you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but (F)you shall [e]open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your (G)eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and (H)he cry out to the Lord against you, and (I)it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and (J)your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because (K)for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For (L)the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall [f]open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
The Law Concerning Bondservants
12 (M)“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is (N)sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you [g]send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has (O)blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 (P)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And (Q)if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth (R)a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 (S)“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall [h]sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 (T)You and your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord chooses. 21 (U)But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; (V)the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:1 remission
- Deuteronomy 15:2 cancel the debt
- Deuteronomy 15:2 exact it
- Deuteronomy 15:7 towns
- Deuteronomy 15:8 freely open
- Deuteronomy 15:11 freely open
- Deuteronomy 15:13 set him free
- Deuteronomy 15:19 set apart or consecrate
Deuteronomy 15
English Standard Version
The Sabbatical Year
15 “At the end of (A)every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. 3 (B)Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. 4 (C)But there will be no poor among you; (D)for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 (E)if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, (F)as he promised you, and (G)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and (H)you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, (I)you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but (J)you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your (K)eye look grudgingly[a] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he (L)cry to the Lord against you, and (M)you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and (N)your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because (O)for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For (P)there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, (Q)‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
12 (R)“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold[b] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. (S)As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 (T)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But (U)if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave[c] forever. And to your female slave[d] you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
19 (V)“All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 (W)You shall eat it, you and your household, before the Lord your God year by year at the place that the Lord will choose. 21 (X)But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your towns. (Y)The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 (Z)Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Or be evil; also verse 10
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Or sells himself
- Deuteronomy 15:17 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
- Deuteronomy 15:17 Or servant
Deuteronomy 16
New King James Version
The Passover Reviewed(A)
16 “Observe the (B)month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for (C)in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and (D)the herd, in the (E)place where the Lord chooses to put His name. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; (F)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may (G)remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 (H)And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until (I)morning.
5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you; 6 but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover (J)at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall roast and eat it (K)in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and (L)on the seventh day there shall be a [a]sacred assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks Reviewed(M)
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 Then you shall keep the (N)Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give (O)as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 (P)You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 (Q)And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Tabernacles Reviewed(R)
13 (S)“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And (T)you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your [b]gates. 15 (U)Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.
16 (V)“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and (W)they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, (X)according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
Justice Must Be Administered
18 “You shall appoint (Y)judges and officers in all your [c]gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 (Z)You shall not pervert justice; (AA)you shall not [d]show partiality, (AB)nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and [e]twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may (AC)live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
21 (AD)“You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a [f]wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. 22 (AE)You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:8 Lit. restraint
- Deuteronomy 16:14 towns
- Deuteronomy 16:18 towns
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Lit. regard faces
- Deuteronomy 16:19 perverts
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Or Asherah
Deuteronomy 16
English Standard Version
Passover
16 “Observe the (A)month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for (B)in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or (C)the herd, (D)at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. (E)Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt (F)in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 (G)No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, (H)nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For (I)six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be (J)a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks
9 (K)“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep (L)the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with (M)the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give (N)as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And (O)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 (P)You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Booths
13 (Q)“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 (R)You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For (S)seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
16 (T)“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. (U)They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man (V)shall give as he is able, (W)according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Justice
18 “You shall appoint (X)judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 (Y)You shall not pervert justice. (Z)You shall not show partiality, (AA)and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Forbidden Forms of Worship
21 “You shall not plant any tree as (AB)an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
Psalm 58
New King James Version
The Just Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.
58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 (A)The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 (B)Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not (C)heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6 (D)Break[b] their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 (E)Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
(F)Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your (G)pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away (H)as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the (I)vengeance;
(J)He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 (K)So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who (L)judges in the earth.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
- Psalm 58:6 Break away
Psalm 58
English Standard Version
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David.
58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[b]
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands (C)deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are (D)estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 (E)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it (F)does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, (G)break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them (H)vanish like water that runs away;
when he (I)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail (J)that dissolves into slime,
like (K)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of (L)thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he (M)sweep them away![c]
10 (N)The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will (O)bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is (P)a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who (Q)judges on earth.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
- Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
