Deuteronomy 15

1 At the end of every seven years you shall make a release.

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.

2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lends ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD's release.

This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed.

3 Of a foreigner you may exact it again: but that which is your with your brother your hand shall release;

You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it:

There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,

5 Only if you carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command you this day.

if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today.

6 For the LORD your God blesses you, as he promised you: and you shall lend unto many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.

7 If there be among you a poor man of one of your brethren within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother:

If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

8 But you shall open your hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wants.

Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

9 Beware that there be not a thought in your wicked heart, saying, 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 unto the LORD against you, and it be sin unto you.

Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

10 You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give unto him: because that for this thing the LORD your God shall bless you in all your works, and in all that you put your hand unto.

Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.

11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, You shall open your hand wide unto your brother, to your poor, and to your needy, in your land.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

12 And if your brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto you, and serve you six years; then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.

13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty:

And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.

14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, and out of your floor, and out of your winepress: of that wherewith the LORD your God has blessed you you shall give unto him.

You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.

15 And you shall remember that you were a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you: therefore I command you this thing to day.

Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.

16 And it shall be, if he say unto you, I will not go away from you; because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you;

But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you,

17 Then you shall take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be your servant for ever. And also unto your maidservant you shall do likewise.

then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.

18 It shall not seem hard unto you, when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant to you, in serving you six years: and the LORD your God shall bless you in all that you do.

Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

19 All the first born males that come of your herd and of your flock you shall sanctify unto the LORD your God: you shall do no work with the first born of your bullock, nor shear the first born of your sheep.

You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.

20 You shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, you and your household.

Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.

21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, you shall not sacrifice it unto the LORD your God.

But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

22 You shall eat it within your gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.

Eat it within your gates; both the ceremonially unclean and clean may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer.

23 Only you shall not eat the blood thereof; you shall pour it upon the ground as water.

But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.