Deuteronomy 15
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Debts Canceled
15 “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.(A) 2 This is how to cancel debt: Every creditor[a] is to cancel what he has lent his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the Lord’s release of debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.
4 “There will be no poor among you, however, because the Lord is certain to bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance(B)— 5 if only you obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today. 6 When the Lord your God blesses you as He has promised you, you will lend to many nations but not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
Lending to the Poor
7 “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. 9 Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,’ and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty. 10 Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart[b] when you give, and because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.[c] 11 For there will never cease to be poor people in the land;(C) that is why I am commanding you, ‘You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.’
Release of Slaves
12 “If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.(D) 13 When you set him free, do not send him away empty-handed. 14 Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the Lord your God has blessed you with. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed(E) you; that is why I am giving you this command today.(F) 16 But if your slave says to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and is well off with you, 17 take an awl and pierce through his ear into the door, and he will become your slave for life. Also treat your female slave the same way. 18 Do not regard it as a hardship[d] when you set him free, because he worked for you six years—worth twice the wages of a hired hand. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.(G)
Consecration of Firstborn Animals
19 “You must consecrate to the Lord your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock.(H) You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 Each year you and your family are to eat it before the Lord your God in the place the Lord chooses. 21 But if there is a defect in the animal, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 Eat it within your gates; both the unclean person and the clean may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or deer. 23 But you must not eat its blood; pour it on the ground like water.(I)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:2 Lit owner of a loan of his hand
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit and let not your heart be grudging
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit you put your hand to
- Deuteronomy 15:18 Lit Let it not be hard in your sight
Deuteronomy 15
EasyEnglish Bible
The year to forgive debts
15 At the end of every seven years you must remove the debts of people that you have lent money to. 2 This is how you must do it:
Every person who has lent money to someone must remove that debt. He must not demand to get his money back from any other Israelite. It is the Lord's time to remove debts. 3 You can demand to get your money back from a foreign person. But if you have lent money to another Israelite, you must forgive the debt.
4 The Lord will bless you in the land that he is giving you to live in. So there should be no poor people among you. 5 But you must always obey him completely. So be careful to obey all the commands that I am giving to you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, as he has promised to do. You will lend money to the people of many other nations, but you will not borrow money from them. You will rule over many other nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 The Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving to you. But perhaps there will be a poor person among the Israelites in one of your towns. Then do not refuse to help him. Do not think only about yourself. 8 Instead, be generous.[a] Lend him the money that he needs.
9 Be careful not to think this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year will happen soon. That is the year when I must forgive people's debts. So I will not lend money to people at this time.’ Do not be cruel like that to another Israelite who is poor. Do not refuse to lend him anything. He might complain about you to the Lord. Then the Lord would say that you are guilty of a sin. 10 Instead, you should certainly lend money to him. Do not feel upset about it. If you are generous, the Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do.
11 There will always be some poor people among you in the land where you are going. So I command you to be generous to other Israelites who are poor. Help them with the things that they need.
Slaves
12 You may buy another Israelite to be your servant, a man or a woman. Let that servant work for you for six years. Then in the seventh year, you must let him go free. 13 When you let him go, you must not send him away with nothing to take with him. 14 Give him gifts of sheep, grain and wine. Be generous! Give him many good things, as the Lord has blessed you with good things. 15 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt. But the Lord your God rescued you from there. This is why I am giving you this command today.
16 But perhaps your servant will say to you, ‘I do not want to leave you!’ He may say that because he loves you and your family. He enjoys his life with you. 17 If he says that, you must take a tool with a sharp point. Push it through his ear, into your door. After that, he will be your servant for his whole life. Do the same thing for any female servant who wants to stay with you.
18 Do not think that it will be difficult for you if he goes free. Remember that he has served you well for six years. He has been worth twice as much as a servant that you pay to do your work. The Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do.
The first animals that are born
19 You must keep separate every firstborn male animal that is born from your cows, sheep or goats. They belong to the Lord your God. Do not make these firstborn animals do any work for you. Do not cut off the wool from your firstborn sheep. 20 Each year, you and your family must take these animals to the place that the Lord your God will choose. Eat them there, at the Lord's special home. 21 But if a firstborn animal is not perfect, you must not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. It must not be blind or have weak legs. It must not have anything wrong with it. 22 You may eat animals like that at home. It is the same as if you are eating meat from deer. Anyone may eat it. That includes people who are clean and people who are unclean. 23 But you must not eat the animal's blood. You must pour it on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- 15:8 ‘Generous’ means that you do not want to keep things for yourself if someone else needs them more. See verses 10 and 14.
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
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
