Deuteronomy 15

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

You are to cancel debts the end of every seven years.

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 way the it will work: If you provided a loan to someone you must cancel it. You are not allowed to collect anything from another Israelite, because the Lord's time of debt cancelation has been announced.

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

You are allowed to collect payments from a foreigner, but you must cancel whatever your fellow Israelite 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:

However, you shouldn't have poor people among you, for the Lord will really bless you in the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own.

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.

You just need to make sure you obey the Lord your God, and that you're careful to follow all these commandments I'm 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.

The Lord your God is going to bless you as he promised. You will lend money to many nations but you won't need to borrow from any of them; you will rule over many nations but you won't be ruled by them.

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 are Israelites who are poor in any of your towns in the country the Lord your God is giving you, then you must not be unfeeling or miserly towards them.

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

On the contrary. You should be generous to them, and lend them whatever they need.

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.

Make sure you don't think evil thoughts like, “The seventh year is coming up when debts will be canceled,” so that you look down on the poor with a sneer and refuse to give them anything. They will complain to the Lord about you, and you will be found 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 and give again to them, and don't feel irritated when you give. When you give generously the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you decide to do.

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.

You will always have those who are poor and in need among you, so that's why I'm telling you to give generously to them.

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 Hebrew, one of your own people, whether man or woman, sells themselves to you as a slave and works for you for six years, you have to free them in the seventh year.

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

And when you free them, don't send them away with nothing.

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.

Give them plenty of gifts: animals from your flocks, grain from your threshing floor, and wine from your winepress. Give to them as generously 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.

Don't forget that you were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. That's why I'm 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;

However, if your male slave tells you, “I don't want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is better off staying 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 use a metal tool to pierce his ear against the door, and he will be your slave for life. Do the same for your female slave.

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.

Don't see it as a problem to free your slave, because your slave's six years of service to you was worth twice what you would have paid to hire someone. The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do for acting in this way.

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 are to separate out to give the Lord your God all the firstborn males of your herds and flocks. You must not have the firstborn of your cattle work, and don't shear the firstborn of your sheep.

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.

Every year you and your family are to eat these animals that have been sacrificed in the presence of the Lord your God in the place that 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.

However, if an animal has some defect or is lame or blind, in fact if it has any serious defect at all, you are not to 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 at home. All of you, whether you're ceremonially clean or not, can it eat it just like you would eat 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 are not to eat the blood—pour that out on the ground.