Deuteronomy 15

1 In the seuenthe yeer thou schalt make remyssioun,

At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.

2 that schal be fillid bi this ordre. To whom ony thing is `dettid, ethir owid of his freend, ether neiybore, and brother, he schal not mowe axe, for it is the yeer of remyssioun of the Lord.

This is the way it shall be done: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not require payment from his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed.

3 Thou schalt axe of a pilgrym and comelyng; thou hast not power to axe of a citeseyn and neiybore;

Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release.

4 and outerli a nedi man and begger schal not be among you, that thi Lord God blesse thee, in the lond which he schal yyue to thee in to the possessioun.

However there will be no poor with you (for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess)

5 If netheles thou schalt here the vois of thi Lord God, and schalt kepe alle thingis whiche he comaundide, and whiche Y comaunde to dai to thee, he schal blesse thee, as he bihiyte.

if only you diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today.

6 Thou schalt leene to many folkis, and thou schalt not take borewyng of ony man; thou schalt be lord of ful many naciouns, and no man schal be lord of thee.

For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. You will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

7 If oon of thi britheren that dwellen with ynne the yatis of thi citee, in the lond which thi Lord God schal yyue to thee, cometh to pouert, thou schalt not make hard thin herte, nether thou schalt `drawe to gydere the hond,

If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you 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;

8 but thou schalt opene it to the pore man, and thou schalt `yyue loone to which thou siest hym haue nede.

but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks.

9 Be thou war lest perauenture wickid thouyt crepe priueli to thee, and thou seie in thin herte, The seuenthe yeer of remyssioun neiyeth; and thou turne awey the iyen fro thi pore brother, and thou nyle yyue to hym the loone that he axith; lest he crie ayens thee to the Lord, and it be maad to thee in to synne.

Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your 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 to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you.

10 But thou schalt yyue to hym, and thou schalt `not do ony thing falsly in releuynge `hise nedis, that thi Lord God blesse thee in al tyme, and in alle thingis to whiche thou schalt sette to hond.

You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.

11 Pore men schulen not faile in the lond of `thin habitacioun; therfor Y comaunde to thee, that thou opene the hond to thi brother nedi and pore, that lyuen with thee in the lond.

For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.

12 Whanne thi brothir an Ebrew man, ethir an Ebrew womman, is seeld to thee, and hath serued thee sixe yeer, in the seuenthe yeer thou schalt delyuere hym fre.

If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

13 And thou schalt not suffre hym go awey voide, to whom thou hast yyue fredom;

When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty.

14 but thou schalt yyue lijflode in the weye, of flockis, and of cornfloor, and of thi pressour, in whiche thi Lord God hath blessid thee.

You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

15 Haue thou mynde that also thou seruedist in the lond of Egipt, and thi Lord God delyurede thee, `ether made thee free, and therfor Y comaunde now to thee.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today.

16 Forsothe if `the seruaunt seith, Y nyle go out, for he loueth thee, and thin hows, and feelith that it is wel to hym at thee, thou schalt take `a nal,

It shall be, if he tells you, “I will not go out from you,” because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you,

17 and thou schalt peerse his eere in the yate of thin hous, and he schal serue thee til in to the world, `that is til to the iubilee, ethir fiftithe yeer; also thou schalt do in lijk maner to the handmayde.

then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.

18 Thou schalt not turne awei fro hem thin iyen, whanne thou schalt delyure hem fre, for bi the hire of an hirid man thei serueden thee bi sixe yeer; that thi Lord God blesse thee, in alle the werkis whiche thou doist.

It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. The LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

19 Of the first gendrid thingis that ben borun in thi droues, and scheep, what euer is of male kynde, thou schalt halewe to thi Lord God. Thou schalt not worche in the firste gendrid thing `of oxe, and thou schalt not clippe the firste gendrid thinges of scheep.

You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

20 Thou schalt ete tho bi alle yeeris in the siyt of thi Lord God, thou, and thin hows, in the place `which the Lord chees.

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

21 Sotheli if it hath a wem, ethir is crokid, ethir is blynd, ethir is foul, ethir feble in ony part, it schal not be offrid to thi Lord God;

If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

22 but thou schalt ete it with ynne the yatis of thi citee, bothe a cleene man and vncleene schulen ete tho in lijk maner, as a capret and an hert.

You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer.

23 Onely thou schalt kepe this, that thou ete not the blood of tho, but schede out as watir in to erthe.

Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.