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 many nations, but they will not rule you.

Lending to the Poor

⁷ “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do 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, ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy 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 worker. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.^(G)

Consecration of Firstborn Animals

¹⁹ “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 may not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. ²² Eat it within your city 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)

The Festival of Passover

16 “Set aside the month of Abib^[e](J) and observe the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.^{(K) 2} Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have his name dwell.^{(L) 3} Do not eat leavened bread with it.^(M) For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship—because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry^(N)—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ⁴ No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days,^(O) and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.^{(P) 5} You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God is giving you. ⁶ Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the Lord your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt. ⁷ You are to cook and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning. ⁸ Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; do not do any work.

The Festival of Weeks

⁹ “You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.^{(Q) 10} You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks^(R) to the Lord your God with a freewill offering^(S) that you give in proportion to how the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹¹ Rejoice^(T) before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you. ¹² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The Festival of Shelters

¹³ “You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters^(U) for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.^{(V) 14} Rejoice during your festival—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates. ¹⁵ You are to hold a seven-day festival for the Lord your God in the place he chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,^(W) and you will have abundant joy.

¹⁶ “All your males are to appear three times a year^(X) before the Lord your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed.^{(Y) 17} Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you.

Appointing Judges and Officials

¹⁸ “Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. ¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.^{(Z) 20} Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.^(AA)

Forbidden Worship

²¹ “Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the Lord your God, ²² and do not set up a sacred pillar; the Lord your God hates them.^(AB)

Jesus Faces Pilate

15 As^(A) soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders,^(B) scribes,^(C) and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests^(D) tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.^(E)

² So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king^(F) of the Jews?”^(G)

He answered him, “You say so.”

³ And the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ Pilate^(H) questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!” ⁵ But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.

Jesus or Barabbas

⁶ At^(I) the festival^(J) Pilate^(K) used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder^(L) during the rebellion.^{(M) 8} The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. ⁹ Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king^(N) of the Jews^(O) for you?” ¹⁰ For he knew it was because of envy^(P) that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. ¹² Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ Again they shouted, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴ Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

Mocked by the Military

¹⁶ The^(Q) soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence^(R)) and called the whole company together. ¹⁷ They dressed him in a purple^(S) robe, twisted together a crown^(T) of thorns, and put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to salute him, “Hail,^(U) king^(V) of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees,^(W) they were paying him homage. ²⁰ After they had mocked^(X) him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him.

Crucified Between Two Criminals

They led him out to crucify him.

Psalm 37

Instruction in Wisdom

Of David.