Devarim 15
Orthodox Jewish Bible
15 At the end of every shevat shanim thou shalt make a shemittah (release).
2 And this is the manner of the shemittah: Every creditor that lendeth whatever unto his neighbor shall cancel the debt; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called Hashem’s Shemittah.
3 Of a nokhri thou mayest require a debt to be repaid; but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release the claim;
4 There shall be no evyon (needy, poor) among you; for Hashem shall greatly bless thee in ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah to possess it;
5 If only thou carefully give heed unto the voice of Hashem Eloheicha to be shomer to do all these mitzvot which I command thee today.
6 For Hashem Eloheicha blesseth thee, as He promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto Goyim rabbim, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over Goyim rabbim, but they shall not reign over thee.
7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy she’arim in thy land which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine lev, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his machsor (need), in that which he wanteth.
9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy lev beliyaal, saying, The seventh year, the shnat hashemittah (the year of release), is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto Hashem against thee, and it be chet (sin) unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine lev shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing Hashem Eloheicha shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
11 For the poor shall never cease out of ha’aretz; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
12 And if thy brother, an Ivri (a Hebrew), or an Ivriyyah (Hebrew woman), be sold unto thee, and serve thee shesh shanim; then in the shanah hashevi’it thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13 And when thou sendest him out chafshi (free) from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty-handed:
14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy tzon, and out of thy threshing floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith Hashem Eloheicha hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast an eved in Eretz Mitzrayim, and Hashem Eloheicha redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing today.
16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine bais, because he fares well with thee;
17 Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the delet, and he shall be thy eved olam. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away chafshi (free) from thee; for he hath been worth twice that of a hired eved to thee, in serving thee shesh shanim; and Hashem Eloheicha shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
19 Kol habechor (all firstling males) that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt set apart as kodesh unto Hashem Eloheicha; thou shalt do no work with the bechor of thy ox, nor shear the bechor of thy sheep.
20 Thou shalt eat it before Hashem Eloheicha shanah b’shanah (year by year) in the place which Hashem shall choose, thou and thy household.
21 And if there be any mum therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any serious defect, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto Hashem Eloheicha.
22 Thou shalt eat it within thy she’arim; the tameh (unclean) and the tahor (clean) person shall eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the deer.
23 Only thou shalt not eat the dahm thereof; thou shalt pour it upon ha’aretz as mayim.
Deuteronomy 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 15
Debts and the Poor. 1 At the end of every seven-year period[a] you shall have a remission of debts,(A) 2 and this is the manner of the remission. Creditors shall remit all claims on loans made to a neighbor, not pressing the neighbor, one who is kin, because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. 3 You may press a foreigner, but you shall remit the claim on what your kin owes to you.(B) 4 (C)However, since the Lord, your God, will bless you abundantly in the land the Lord, your God, will give you to possess as a heritage, there shall be no one of you in need 5 if you but listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and carefully observe this entire commandment which I enjoin on you today. 6 Since the Lord, your God, will bless you as he promised, you will lend to many nations, and borrow from none;(D) you will rule over many nations, and none will rule over you.
7 (E)If one of your kindred is in need in any community in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need. 8 Instead, you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that need.(F) 9 Be careful not to entertain the mean thought, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” so that you would begrudge your kin who is in need and give nothing, and your kin would cry to the Lord against you and you would be held guilty.(G) 10 When you give, give generously and not with a stingy heart; for that, the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your works and undertakings. 11 The land will never lack for needy persons; that is why I command you: “Open your hand freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land.”(H)
Hebrew Slaves. 12 (I)If your kin, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself or herself to you, he or she is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall release him or her as a free person. 13 (J)When you release a male from your service, as a free person, you shall not send him away empty-handed, 14 but shall weigh him down with gifts from your flock and threshing floor and wine press; as the Lord, your God, has blessed you, so you shall give to him. 15 For remember that you too were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you. That is why I am giving you this command today.(K) 16 (L)But if he says to you, “I do not wish to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, 17 you shall take an awl and put it through his ear[b] into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. Your female slave, also, you shall treat in the same way. 18 Do not be reluctant when you let them go free, since the service they have given you for six years was worth twice a hired laborer’s salary; and the Lord, your God, will bless you in everything you do.
Firstlings. 19 (M)You shall consecrate to the Lord, your God, every male firstling born in your herd and in your flock. You shall not work the firstlings of your cattle, nor shear the firstlings of your flock. 20 In the presence of the Lord, your God, you shall eat them year after year, you and your household, in the place that the Lord will choose.(N) 21 (O)But if a firstling has any defect, lameness or blindness, any such serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord, your God, 22 but in your own communities you may eat it, the unclean and the clean eating it together, as you would a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only, you must not eat of its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- 15:1 At the end of every seven-year period: in every seventh, or sabbatical, year. Cf. 15:9; 31:10; and compare Jer 34:14 with Dt 15:12. A remission of debts: it is debated whether a full cancellation of debts is meant, or merely a suspension of payment on them or on their interest, but the former is more likely. Cf. Ex 23:11 where the same Hebrew root is used of a field that is “let lie fallow” in the sabbatical year.
- 15:17 His ear: cf. Ex 21:6 and note there.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.