Deuteronomy 15
15
1At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbour; he shall not exact it of his neighbour and his brother; because the LORD'S release hath been proclaimed. 3Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it: but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thine hand shall release. 4Howbeit there shall be no poor with thee; (for the LORD will surely bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it;) 5if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day. 6For the LORD thy God will bless thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. 7If there be with thee a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8but thou shalt surely open thine hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. 9Beware that there be not a base thought in thine heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. 10Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. 11For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
12If thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty: 14thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress: as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today. 16And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go out from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. 18It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou lettest him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of an hireling hath he served thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
19All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock. 20Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21And if it have any blemish, as if it be lame or blind, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart. 23Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Deuteronomy 15
15
Debts and the Poor. 1At the end of every seven-year period#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. you shall have a remission of debts,#Dt 31:10; Lv 25:1–55; Neh 10:31. 2and 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. 3You may press a foreigner, but you shall remit the claim on what your kin owes to you.#Dt 23:20. 4#Dt 7:12–14; 28:1–14. 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 5if you but listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and carefully observe this entire commandment which I enjoin on you today. 6Since the Lord, your God, will bless you as he promised, you will lend to many nations, and borrow from none;#Dt 28:12. you will rule over many nations, and none will rule over you.
7#Ex 22:25. 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. 8Instead, you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that need.#Dt 24:19; Lv 25:35; Ps 37:21–22; Prv 19:17; Sir 29:1–2; Mt 5:42. 9Be 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.#Dt 24:15; Ex 22:23–24, 27. 10When 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. 11The 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.”#Dt 15:8; Mt 26:11.
Hebrew Slaves. 12#Ex 21:2–11; Jer 34:8–22. 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#Ex 3:21–22; 12:35–36. When you release a male from your service, as a free person, you shall not send him away empty-handed, 14but 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. 15For 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.#Dt 5:15; 10:19; 16:12; 24:18, 22. 16#Ex 21:5–6. 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, 17you shall take an awl and put it through his ear#His ear: cf. Ex 21:6 and note there. into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. Your female slave, also, you shall treat in the same way. 18Do 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#Ex 13:2, 11–16; 22:29–30; 34:19–20; Lv 22:27; 27:26; Nm 18:15–18. 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. 20In 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.#Dt 12:6–7, 17–18; 14:23. 21#Dt 12:15–16, 22–24; 17:1; Lv 22:17–25; Mal 1:8. But if a firstling has any defect, lameness or blindness, any such serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord, your God, 22but in your own communities you may eat it, the unclean and the clean eating it together, as you would a gazelle or a deer. 23Only, you must not eat of its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
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