Deuteronomy 15

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

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

2 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;

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 the stranger thou mayest exact, and that which is thine with thy brother doth 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 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.

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 '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,

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 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.

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 '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;

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

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

9 '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;

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 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;

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 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.

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 '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.

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

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

14 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,

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 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.

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 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 —

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 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.

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 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.

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 '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;

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

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 when there is in it a blemish, lame, or blind, any evil blemish, thou dost not sacrifice it to Jehovah 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 thou dost eat it, the unclean and the clean alike, as the roe, 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, its blood thou dost not eat; on the earth thou dost pour it as water.

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