Deuteronomy 15
15
1 AT THE end of every seven years you shall grant a release.
2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, for the Lord's release is proclaimed.
3 Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother [Israelite] your hand shall release.
4 But there will be no poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess,
5 If only you carefully listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to do watchfully all these commandments which I command you this day.
6 When the Lord your God blesses you as He promised you, then you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
7 If there is among you a poor man, one of your kinsmen in any of the towns of your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your [minds and] hearts or close your hands to your poor brother;
8 But you shall open your hands wide to him and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.
9 Beware lest there be a base thought in your [minds and] hearts, and you say, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and it be sin in you.
10 You shall give to him freely without begrudging it; because of this the Lord will bless you in all your work and in all you undertake.
11 For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hands to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.
12 And if your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is 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 send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed.
14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress; of what the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
15 And you shall [earnestly] remember that you were a bondman in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I give you this command today.
16 But if the servant says to you, I will not go away from you, because he loves you and your household, since he does well with you,
17 Then take an awl and pierce his ear through to the door, and he shall be your servant always. And also to your bondwoman you shall do likewise.
18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired servant he has served you six years; and the Lord your God will bless you in all you do.
19 All the firstling males that are born of your herd and flock you shall set apart for the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstling of your herd, nor shear the firstling of your flock.
20 You shall eat it before the Lord your God annually in the place [for worship] which the Lord shall choose, you and your household.
21 But if it has any blemish, if it is lame, blind, or has any bad blemish whatsoever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.
22 You shall eat it within your towns; the [ceremonially] unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a hart.
23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.
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Deuteronomy 15: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
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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