Deuteronomy 15

1 In the seuenthe yeer thou schalt make remyssioun,

In the seventh year thou shalt make a remission,

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.

Which shall be celebrated in this order. He to whom any thing is owing from his friend or neighbour or brother, cannot demand it again, because it is the year of remission of the Lord,

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

Of the foreigner or stranger thou mayst exact it: of thy countryman and neighbour thou shalt not have power to demand it again.

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.

And there shall be no poor nor beggar among you: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land which he will give thee in possession.

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.

Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep all things that he hath ordained, and which I command thee this day, he will bless thee, as he hath promised.

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.

Thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt borrow of no man. Thou shalt have dominion over very many nations, and no one shall have dominion over thee.

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 one of thy brethren that dwelleth within the gates of thy city in the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, come to poverty: thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor close thy hand,

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

But shalt open it to the poor man, thou shalt lend him, that which thou perceivest he hath need of.

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 lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee, and thou say in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh; and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, denying to lend him that which he asketh: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it become a sin unto thee.

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.

But thou shalt give to him: neither shalt thou do any thing craftily in relieving his necessities: that the Lord thy God may bless thee at all times, and in all things to which thou shalt put thy hand.

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.

There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the 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.

When thy brother a Hebrew man, or Hebrew woman is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free:

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

And when thou sendest him out free, thou shalt not let him go away 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.

But shalt give him for his way out of thy flocks, and out of thy barnfloor, and thy winepress, wherewith the Lord thy God shall bless thee.

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.

Remember that thou also wast a bondservant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God made thee free, and therefore I now command thee this.

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,

But if he say: I will not depart: because he loveth thee, and thy house, and findeth that he is well with thee:

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.

Thou shalt take an awl, and bore through his ear in the door of thy house, and he shall serve thee for ever: thou shalt do in like manner to thy womanservant also.

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.

Turn not away thy eyes from them when thou makest them tree: because he hath served thee six years according to the wages of a hireling: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works that thou dost.

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.

Of the firstlings, that come of thy herds and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify to the Lord thy God whatsoever is of the male sex. Thou shalt not work with the firstling of a bullock, and thou shalt not shear the firstlings of thy sheep.

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.

In the sight of the Lord thy God shalt thou eat them every year, in the place that the Lord shall choose, thou and thy house.

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;

But if it have a blemish, or be lame, or blind, or in any part disfigured or feeble, it shall not be sacrificed to the Lord thy 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.

But thou shalt eat it within the gates of thy city: the clean and the unclean shall eat them alike, as the roe and as the hart.

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

Only thou shalt take heed not to eat their blood, but pour it out on the earth as water.