Deuteronomy 15

1 Every seven years you shall make a release.

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

2 And this [is] the ordinance of the release: you shall remit every private debt which your neighbor owes you, and you shall not ask payment of it from your brother; for it has been called a release to the Lord your God.

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 stranger you shall ask again whatever he has of your, but to your brother you shall remit his debt to you.

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

4 For [thus] there shall not be a poor person in the midst of you, for the Lord your God will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you by inheritance, that you should inherit 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 And if you shall indeed listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep and do all these commandments, as many as I charge 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 has blessed you in the way of which he spoke to 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.

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

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 You shall surely open your hands to him, and shall lend to him as much as he wants according to his need.

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

9 Take heed to yourself that there be not a secret thing in your heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws near; and your eye shall be evil to your brother that is in lack, and you shall not give to him, and he shall cry against you to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in 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 to him, and you shall lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and you shall not grudge in your heart as you give to him, because on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your works, and in all things on which you shall lay your hand.

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 not fail off your land, therefore I charge you to do this thing, saying, You shall surely open your hands to your poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon 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 [or sister], a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall send him out 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 shall send him out free from you, you shall not send him out empty.

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

14 You shall give him provision for the way from your flock, and from your corn, and from your wine; as the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to 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 servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from thence; therefore I charge you to do this thing.

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 if he should say to you, I will not go out from you, because he continues to love 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 awl, and bore his ear through to the door, and he shall be your servant for ever; and in like manner shall you do to your maidservant.

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 to you when they are sent out free from you, because [your servant] has served you six years according to the annual hire of a hireling; so the Lord your God shall bless you in all things whatever you may 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 Every firstborn that shall be born among your kine and your sheep, you shall sanctify the males to the Lord your God; you shall not work with your firstborn calf, and you shall not shear the firstborn 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 year by year in the place which the Lord your God shall choose, you and your house.

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 in it a blemish, if it be lame or blind, an evil blemish, you shall not sacrifice it to 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 in your cities; the unclean in you and the clean shall eat it in like manner, as the doe or the stag.

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; you shall pour it out on the earth as water.

but you are not to eat the blood—pour that out on the ground.