Deuteronomy 15
1 In the seuenthe yeer thou schalt make remyssioun,
“At the end of every seven years, you must (cancel all debts/tell people who owe you money that they do not need to pay it back).
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.
Do it like this: Each of you who has lent money to a fellow Israeli must cancel that debt. You must not insist that he pay it back. You must do that because Yahweh has declared that the debts must be canceled [every seven years].
3 Thou schalt axe of a pilgrym and comelyng; thou hast not power to axe of a citeseyn and neiybore;
[During that year] you may require foreigners [who live among you] to pay what they owe you, but you must not try to require that any fellow Israeli pay you what he owes you.
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.
Yahweh our God will bless you in the land that he is giving to you. If you obey Yahweh our God and obey all the commandments that I am giving to you today, there will not be any poor people among you.
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.
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.
Yahweh our God will bless you like he has promised to do, and you will [be able to] lend money to people of other people-groups, but you will not [need to] borrow from any of them. You will control [the finances of] many people-groups, but they will not control your [finances].
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,
“In the towns that Yahweh our God is giving to you, if there are any Israelis who are poor, do not be selfish [IDM] and refuse [IDM] to help them.
8 but thou schalt opene it to the pore man, and thou schalt `yyue loone to which thou siest hym haue nede.
Instead, be generous [IDM] and lend to them the money that they need.
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.
Be sure that you do not say to yourself, ‘The year when debts will be canceled is near, [so I do not want to lend anyone any money now, because he will not need to pay it back when that year comes].’ It would be evil to even think that. If you act in an unfriendly way toward a needy fellow Israeli, and give him nothing, he will cry out to Yahweh about you, and [Yahweh will say that] you have sinned [by not helping that person].
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.
Give freely to poor people and give generously [IDM].
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.
If you do that, Yahweh will bless you in everything that you do. There will always be some poor people in your land, so I command you to give generously to poor [DOU] people.”
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 any of your fellow Israeli men or women sell themselves to one of you [to become your slave], you must free them after they have worked for you for six years. When the seventh year comes, you must free them.
13 And thou schalt not suffre hym go awey voide, to whom thou hast yyue fredom;
When you free them, do not allow them to go (empty-handed/without giving them anything).
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.
Give to them generously from the things with which Yahweh has blessed you—sheep, grain, and wine.
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.
Do not forget that your ancestors were once slaves in Egypt, and Yahweh our God freed them. That is the reason that I am now commanding you to do 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 one of your slaves may say, ‘I do not want to leave you.’ He loves you and your family, because you have treated him well.
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.
If he says that, take him to the door of your house and, [while he stands against the doorway], pierce one of his earlobes with (an awl/a sharp pointed tool). That will indicate that he will be your slave for the rest of his life. Do the same thing to any female slave [who does not want to leave you].
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.
“Do not complain when you are required to free your slaves. [Keep in mind that] they served you for six years, and you paid them only half as much as you pay the servants that you hire. [If you free them, ] Yahweh our God will bless you in everything 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.
“(Set aside for/Dedicate to) Yahweh our God the firstborn male animals from your cattle and sheep. Do not force them to do any work for you, and do not (shear/cut off) the wool [of the firstborn animals to sell the wool].
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 and your family may [kill them and] eat their meat in the presence of Yahweh at the place that Yahweh chooses [for you to worship him].
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 the animals have any defects, if they are lame or blind, or if they have any other serious defect, you must not sacrifice them to Yahweh our 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 may [kill and] eat [the meat of those animals] at your homes. Those who have done things that cause them to become unacceptable to God and those who have not done such things are permitted to eat that meat, just like anyone is permitted to eat the meat of a deer or an antelope.
23 Onely thou schalt kepe this, that thou ete not the blood of tho, but schede out as watir in to erthe.
But you must not eat any of the blood; you must drain all the blood on the ground [when you kill those animals].”
