Deuteronomy 15

1 At the end of [every] seven years shalt thou make a release.

“In the seventh year, you shall perform a remission,

2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor shall release the loan which he hath lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because the release year in honor of the Lord hath been proclaimed.

which shall be celebrated according to this order. Anyone to whom anything is owed, by his friend or neighbor or brother, will not be able to request its return, because it is the year of remission of the Lord.

3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact [payment]; but that which is thine with thy brother shall thy hand release.

From the sojourner and the new arrival, you may require its return. From your fellow countryman and neighbor, you will not have the power to request its return.

4 Although indeed there should be no needy man among thee; for the Lord will greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

And there shall not be anyone indigent or begging among you, so that the Lord your God may bless you in the land which he will deliver to you as a possession.

5 Yet only if thou wilt carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day.

But only if you heed the voice of the Lord your God, and keep to all that he has ordered, that which I am entrusting to you this day, will he bless you, just as he has promised.

6 For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he hath spoken unto thee; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but over thee shall they not rule.

You shall lend money to many nations, and you yourselves shall borrow in return from no one. You shall rule over very many nations, and no one shall rule over you.

7 If there be among thee a needy man, any one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother.

If one of your brothers, who dwells within the gates of your city, in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, falls into poverty, you shall not harden your heart, nor tighten your hand.

8 But thou shalt open wide thy hand unto him, and thou shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, which his want requireth.

Instead, you shall open your hand to the poor, and you shall lend to him whatever you perceive him to need.

9 Beware that there be not a wicked thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thy eye be thus evil against thy needy brother, so that thou wouldst give him nought; and if he cry concerning thee unto the Lord, it will be sin in thee:

Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: ‘The seventh year of remission approaches.’ And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you.

10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; for because of this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all the acquisition of thy hand.

Instead, you shall give to him. Neither shall you do anything craftily while assisting him in his needs, so that the Lord your God may bless you, at all times and in all things to which you will put your hand.

11 For the needy will not cease out of the land; therefore do I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open wide thy hand unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

The poor will not be absent from the land of your habitation. For this reason, I instruct you to open your hand to your indigent and poor brother, who lives among you in the land.

12 If thy brother, the Hebrew, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year shalt thou let him go free from thee.

When your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, has been sold to you, and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you shall set him free.

13 And when thou lettest him go out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:

And when you grant his freedom, you shall by no means permit him to go away empty.

14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flocks, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-press; wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee, that shalt thou give unto him.

Instead, you shall give to him, for his journey, from your flocks and threshing floor and winepress, with which the Lord your God has blessed you.

15 And thou shalt remember that thou hast been a bond-man in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God hath redeemed thee; therefore do I command thee this thing today.

Remember that you yourself also served in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. And therefore, I now command this of you.

16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee:

But if he will say, ‘I am not willing to depart,’ because he loves you and your household, and because he feels that it would be good for him to stay with you,

17 Then shalt thou take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be unto thee a servant for ever; and also unto thy maid-servant shalt thou do likewise.

then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear, at the door of your house. And he shall serve you even forever. You shall also act similarly toward your woman servant.

18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee, that for double the wages of a hired laborer hath he served thee six years; and the Lord thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.

You should not avert your eyes from them when you set them free, because he has served you for six years, in a manner deserving of the pay of a hired hand. So may the Lord your God bless you in all the works that you do.

19 All the first-born males that come of thy herds and of thy flocks shalt thou sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the first-born of thy bullock, and not shear the first-born of thy sheep.

Of the firstborn, those born from your herds and sheep, you shall sanctify to the Lord your God whatever is of the male sex. You shall not put the firstborn of the oxen to work, nor shall you shear the firstborn of the sheep.

20 Before the Lord thy God shalt thou eat it year by year, in the place which the Lord will choose, thou with thy household.

In the sight of the Lord your God, you shall eat these, each year, in the place which the Lord will choose, you and your household.

21 And if there be any blemish thereon, if it be lame, or blind, or have any [other] ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God.

But if it has a blemish, or is lame, or is blind, or if it is in any part deformed or debilitated, it shall not be immolated to the Lord your God.

22 Within thy gates shalt thou eat it, the unclean and the clean together, as the roebuck, and as the hart.

Instead, you shall eat it within the gates of your city. The clean as well as the unclean alike shall feed on these, such as the roe deer and the stag.

23 Only the blood thereof shalt thou not eat: upon the ground shalt thou pour it out as water.

This alone shall you observe: that you do not eat their blood, but pour it upon the ground like water.”