Deuteronomy 15

1 At the terme of seuen yeeres thou shalt make a freedome.

Every seven years thou shalt make a release.

2 And this is the maner of the freedome: euery creditour shall quite ye lone of his hand which he hath lent to his neighbour: he shall not aske it againe of his neighbour, nor of his brother: for the yeere of the Lords freedome is proclaimed.

And this [is] the ordinance of the release: thou shalt remit every private debt which thy neighbour owes thee, and thou shalt not ask payment of it from thy brother; for it has been called a release to the Lord thy God.

3 Of a stranger thou mayest require it: but that which thou hast with thy brother, thine hand shall remit:

Of a stranger thou shalt ask again whatsoever he has of thine, but to thy brother thou shalt remit his debt to thee.

4 Saue when there shall be no poore with thee: for the Lord shall blesse thee in the land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee, for an inheritance to possesse it:

For [thus] there shall not be a poor person in the midst of thee, for the Lord thy God will surely bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee by inheritance, that thou shouldest inherit it.

5 So that thou hearken vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God to obserue and doe all these commandements, which I commande thee this day.

And if ye shall indeed hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep and do all these commandments, as many as I charge thee this day,

6 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee, as he hath promised thee: and thou shalt lend vnto many nations, but thou thy selfe shalt not borow, and thou shalt reigne ouer many nations, and they shall not reigne ouer thee.

(for the Lord thy God has blessed thee in the way of which he spoke to thee, ) then thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.

7 If one of thy brethren with thee be poore within any of thy gates in thy land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poore brother:

And if there shall be in the midst of thee a poor [man] of thy brethren in one of thy cities in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, neither shalt thou by any means close up thine hand from thy brother who is in want.

8 But thou shalt open thine hand vnto him, and shalt lend him sufficient for his neede which he hath.

Thou shalt surely open thine hands to him, and shalt lend to him as much as he wants according to his need.

9 Beware that there be not a wicked thought in thine heart, to say, The seuenth yeere, the yeere of freedome is at hand: therefore it grieueth thee to looke on thy poore brother, and thou giuest him nought, and he crie vnto the Lord against thee, so that sinne be in thee:

Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws nigh; and thine eye shall be evil to thy brother that is in want, and thou shalt not give to him, and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in thee.

10 Thou shalt giue him, and let it not grieue thine heart to giue vnto him: for because of this the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in al thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand to.

Thou shalt surely give to him, and thou shalt lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and thou shalt not grudge in thine heart as thou givest to him, because on this account the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all things on which thou shalt lay thine hand.

11 Because there shall be euer some poore in the land, therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand vnto thy brother, to thy needie, and to thy poore in thy land.

For the poor shall not fail off thy land, therefore I charge thee to do this thing, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hands to thy poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon thy land.

12 If thy brother an Ebrewe sell himselfe to thee, or an Ebrewesse, and serue thee sixe yeere, euen in the seuenth yeere thou shalt let him goe free from thee:

And if thy brother [or sister], a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold to thee, he shall serve thee six years, and in the seventh year thou shalt send him out free from thee.

13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him goe away emptie,

And when thou shalt send him out free from thee, thou shalt not send him out empty.

14 But shalt giue him a liberall reward of thy sheepe, and of thy corne, and of thy wine: thou shalt giue him of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.

Thou shalt give him provision for the way from thy flock, and from thy corn, and from thy wine; as the Lord thy God has blessed thee, thou shalt give to him.

15 And remember that thou wast a seruant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God deliuered thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee from thence; therefore I charge thee to do this thing.

16 And if he say vnto thee, I will not go away from thee, because he loueth thee and thine house, and because he is well with thee,

And if he should say to thee, I will not go out from thee, because he continues to love thee and thy house, because he is well with thee;

17 Then shalt thou take a naule, and perce his eare through against the doore, and he shall be thy seruant for euer: and vnto thy maid seruant thou shall doe likewise.

then thou shalt take an awl, and bore his ear through to the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever; and in like manner shalt thou do to thy maid-servant.

18 Let it not grieue thee, when thou lettest him goe out free from thee: for he hath serued thee sixe yeeres, which is the double worth of an hired seruant: and the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in all that thou doest.

It shall not seem hard to thee when they are sent out free from thee, because [thy servant] has served thee six years according to the annual hire of a hireling; so the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all things whatsoever thou mayest do.

19 All the first borne males that come of thy cattell, and of thy sheepe, thou shalt sanctifie vnto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt do no worke with thy first borne bullocke, nor sheare thy first borne sheepe.

Every first-born that shall be born among thy kine and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify the males to the Lord thy God; thou shalt not work with thy first-born calf, and thou shalt not shear the first-born of thy sheep.

20 Thou shalt eate it before the Lord thy God yeere by yeere, in the place which the Lord shall chose, both thou, and thine household.

Thou shalt eat it before the Lord year by year in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy house.

21 But if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or haue any euill fault, thou shalt not offer it vnto the Lord thy God,

And if there be in it a blemish, if it be lame or blind, an evil blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it to the Lord thy God.

22 But shalt eate it within thy gates: the vncleane, and the cleane shall eate it alike, as the roe bucke, and as the hart.

Thou shalt eat it in thy cities; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner, as the doe or the stag.

23 Onely thou shalt not eate the blood thereof, but powre it vpon the ground as water.

Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out on the earth as water.