Deuteronomy 15
1 At the end of every seven years there is to be a general forgiveness of debt.
In the seuenthe yeer thou schalt make remyssioun,
2 This is how it is to be done: every creditor is to give up his right to whatever he has let his neighbour have; he is not to make his neighbour, his countryman, give it back; because a general forgiveness has been ordered by the Lord.
that schal be fillid bi this ordre. To whom ony thing is `dettid, ethir owid of his freend, ether neiybore, and brother, he schal not mowe axe, for it is the yeer of remyssioun of the Lord.
3 A man of another nation may be forced to make payment of his debt, but if your brother has anything of yours, let it go;
Thou schalt axe of a pilgrym and comelyng; thou hast not power to axe of a citeseyn and neiybore;
4 But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage;
and outerli a nedi man and begger schal not be among you, that thi Lord God blesse thee, in the lond which he schal yyue to thee in to the possessioun.
5 If only you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to keep all these orders which I give you today.
If netheles thou schalt here the vois of thi Lord God, and schalt kepe alle thingis whiche he comaundide, and whiche Y comaunde to dai to thee, he schal blesse thee, as he bihiyte.
6 For the Lord your God will give you his blessing as he has said: you will let other nations have the use of your money, but you will not make use of theirs; you will be rulers over a number of nations, but they will not be your rulers.
Thou schalt leene to many folkis, and thou schalt not take borewyng of ony man; thou schalt be lord of ful many naciouns, and no man schal be lord of thee.
7 If in any of your towns in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, there is a poor man, one of your countrymen, do not let your heart be hard or your hand shut to him;
If oon of thi britheren that dwellen with ynne the yatis of thi citee, in the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee, cometh to pouert, thou schalt not make hard thin herte, nether thou schalt `drawe to gydere the hond,
8 But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of.
but thou schalt opene it to the pore man, and thou schalt `yyue loone to which thou siest hym haue nede.
9 And see that there is no evil thought in your heart, moving you to say to yourself, The seventh year, the year of forgiveness is near; and so looking coldly on your poor countryman you give him nothing; and he will make an outcry to the Lord against you, and it will be judged as sin in you.
Be thou war lest perauenture wickid thouyt crepe priueli to thee, and thou seie in thin herte, The seuenthe yeer of remyssioun neiyeth; and thou turne awey the iyen fro thi pore brother, and thou nyle yyue to hym the loone that he axith; lest he crie ayens thee to the Lord, and it be maad to thee in to synne.
10 But it is right for you to give to him, without grief of heart: for because of this, the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all your work and on everything to which you put your hand.
But thou schalt yyue to hym, and thou schalt `not do ony thing falsly in releuynge `hise nedis, that thi Lord God blesse thee in al tyme, and in alle thingis to whiche thou schalt sette to hond.
11 For there will never be a time when there are no poor in the land; and so I give orders to you, Let your hand be open to your countrymen, to those who are poor and in need in your land.
Pore men schulen not faile in the lond of `thin habitacioun; therfor Y comaunde to thee, that thou opene the hond to thi brother nedi and pore, that lyuen with thee in the lond.
12 If one of your countrymen, a Hebrew man or woman, becomes your servant for a price and does work for you six years, in the seventh year let him go free.
Whanne thi brothir an Ebrew man, ethir an Ebrew womman, is seeld to thee, and hath serued thee sixe yeer, in the seuenthe yeer thou schalt delyuere hym fre.
13 And when you make him free, do not let him go away with nothing in his hands:
And thou schalt not suffre hym go awey voide, to whom thou hast yyue fredom;
14 But give him freely from your flock and from your grain and your wine: in the measure of the wealth which the Lord your God has given you, you are to give to him.
but thou schalt yyue lijflode in the weye, of flockis, and of cornfloor, and of thi pressour, in whiche thi Lord God hath blessid thee.
15 And keep in mind that you yourself were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: so I give you this order today.
Haue thou mynde that also thou seruedist in the lond of Egipt, and thi Lord God delyurede thee, `ether made thee free, and therfor Y comaunde now to thee.
16 But if he says to you, I have no desire to go away from you; because you and your family are dear to him and he is happy with you;
Forsothe if `the seruaunt seith, Y nyle go out, for he loueth thee, and thin hows, and feelith that it is wel to hym at thee, thou schalt take `a nal,
17 Then take a sharp-pointed instrument, driving it through his ear into the door, and he will be your servant for ever. And you may do the same for your servant-girl.
and thou schalt peerse his eere in the yate of thin hous, and he schal serue thee til in to the world, `that is til to the iubilee, ethir fiftithe yeer; also thou schalt do in lijk maner to the handmayde.
18 Let it not seem hard to you that you have to send him away free; for he has been working for you for six years, which is twice the regular time for a servant: and the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.
Thou schalt not turne awei fro hem thin iyen, whanne thou schalt delyure hem fre, for bi the hire of an hirid man thei serueden thee bi sixe yeer; that thi Lord God blesse thee, in alle the werkis whiche thou doist.
19 All the first males to come to birth in your herd and your flock are to be holy to the Lord your God: the first birth of your ox is not to be used for work, the wool of your first lamb is not to be cut.
Of the first gendrid thingis that ben borun in thi droues, and scheep, what euer is of male kynde, thou schalt halewe to thi Lord God. Thou schalt not worche in the firste gendrid thing `of oxe, and thou schalt not clippe the firste gendrid thinges of scheep.
20 But year by year you and all your house are to take a meal of it before the Lord, in the place of his selection.
Thou schalt ete tho bi alle yeeris in the siyt of thi Lord God, thou, and thin hows, in the place `which the Lord chees.
21 But if it has any mark on it, if it is blind or has damaged legs, or if there is anything wrong with it, it may not be offered to the Lord your God.
Sotheli if it hath a wem, ethir is crokid, ethir is blynd, ethir is foul, ethir feble in ony part, it schal not be offrid to thi Lord God;
22 It may be used for food in your houses: the unclean and the clean may take of it, as of the gazelle and the roe.
but thou schalt ete it with ynne the yatis of thi citee, bothe a cleene man and vncleene schulen ete tho in lijk maner, as a capret and an hert.
23 Only do not take its blood for food, but let it be drained out on the earth like water.
Onely thou schalt kepe this, that thou ete not the blood of tho, but schede out as watir in to erthe.
