Deuteronomy 15

1 “At the end of seven years you make a release,

'At the end of seven years thou dost make a release,

2 and this [is] the matter of the release: every owner of a loan [is] to release his hand which he lifts up against his neighbor, he does not exact of his neighbor and of his brother, but has proclaimed a release to YHWH;

and this [is] the matter of the release: Every owner of a loan [is] to release his hand which he doth lift up against his neighbour, he doth not exact of his neighbour and of his brother, but hath proclaimed a release to Jehovah;

3 of the stranger you may exact, but that which is yours with your brother your hand releases,

of the stranger thou mayest exact, and that which is thine with thy brother doth thy hand release;

4 except there is an end [when] no poor [are] with you; for YHWH greatly blesses you in the land which your God YHWH is giving to you [for] an inheritance to possess it,

only when there is no needy one with thee, for Jehovah doth greatly bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — an inheritance to possess it.

5 only if you listen diligently to the voice of your God YHWH, to observe to do all this command which I am commanding you today.

'Only, if thou dost diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all this command which I am commanding thee to-day,

6 For your God YHWH has blessed you as He has spoken to you; and you have lent [to] many nations, but you have not borrowed; and you have ruled over many nations, but they do not rule over you.

for Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee as He hath spoken to thee; and thou hast lent [to] many nations, and thou hast not borrowed; and thou hast ruled over many nations, and over thee they do not rule.

7 When there is with you any poor of one of your brothers, in one of your cities, in your land which your God YHWH is giving to you, you do not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother;

'When there is with thee any needy one of one of thy brethren, in one of thy cities, in thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, thou dost not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother;

8 for you certainly open your hand to him, and certainly lend him sufficiency for his lack which he lacks.

for thou dost certainly open thy hand to him, and dost certainly lend him sufficient for his lack which he lacketh.

9 Take heed to yourself lest there be a worthless word in your heart, saying, The seventh year [is] near, the year of release; and your eye is evil against your needy brother, and you do not give to him, and he has called to YHWH concerning you, and it has been sin in you;

'Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart — worthless, saying, Near [is] the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;

10 you certainly give to him, and your heart is not sad in your giving to him, for because of this thing your God YHWH blesses you in all your works and in every putting forth of your hand;

thou dost certainly give to him, and thy heart is not sad in thy giving to him, for because of this thing doth Jehovah thy God bless thee in all thy works, and in every putting forth of thy hand;

11 because the poor does not cease out of the land, therefore I am commanding you, saying, You certainly open your hand to your brother, to your poor and to your needy one in your land.

because the needy one doth not cease out of the land, therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Thou dost certainly open thy hand to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy one, in thy land.

12 When your brother is sold to you, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he has served you [for] six years, then in the seventh year you send him away free from you.

'When thy brother is sold to thee, a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, and he hath served thee six years — then in the seventh year thou dost send him away free from thee.

13 And when you send him away free from you, you do not send him away empty;

And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty;

14 you certainly adorn him from your flock, and from your threshing-floor, and from your wine-vat; you give to him [from] that which your God YHWH has blessed you [with],

thou dost certainly encircle him out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy wine-vat; [of] that which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou dost give to him,

15 and you have remembered that you have been a servant in the land of Egypt, and your God YHWH ransoms you; therefore I am commanding you this thing today.

and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee; therefore I am commanding thee this thing to-day.

16 And it has been, when he says to you, I do not go out from you, because he has loved you and your house, because [it is] good for him with you,

'And it hath been, when he saith unto thee, I go not out from thee — because he hath loved thee, and thy house, because [it is] good for him with thee —

17 then you have taken the awl, and have put [it] through his ear, and through the door, and he has been a perpetual servant to you; and you also do so to your handmaid.

then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put [it] through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so.

18 It is not hard in your eyes in your sending him away free from you; for [his worth has been] double the hire of a hired worker [when] he has served you six years; and your God YHWH has blessed you in all that you do.

'It is not hard in thine eyes, in thy sending him away free from thee; for the double of the hire of an hireling he hath served thee six years, and Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all that thou dost.

19 Every firstling that is born in your herd and in your flock—you sanctify the male to your God YHWH; you do not work with the firstling of your ox, nor shear the firstling of your flock;

'Every firstling that is born in thy herd and in thy flock — the male thou dost sanctify to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock;

20 you eat it before your God YHWH year by year, in the place which YHWH chooses, you and your house.

before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it year by year, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, thou and thy house.

21 And when there is a blemish in it, [or it is] lame or blind, [or has] any evil blemish, you do not sacrifice it to your God YHWH;

'And when there is in it a blemish, lame, or blind, any evil blemish, thou dost not sacrifice it to Jehovah thy God;

22 you eat it within your gates, the unclean and the clean alike, as the roe and as the deer.

within thy gates thou dost eat it, the unclean and the clean alike, as the roe, and as the hart.

23 Only, you do not eat its blood—you pour it on the earth as water.”

Only, its blood thou dost not eat; on the earth thou dost pour it as water.