Deuteronomy 15
1 'At the end of seven years thou dost make a release,
At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts.
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;
This is the manner of the release: Every creditor will cancel that which he has lent to his neighbor; he will not demand it from his neighbor or his brother because Yahweh's cancellation of debts has been proclaimed.
3 of the stranger thou mayest exact, and that which is thine with thy brother doth thy hand release;
From a foreigner you may demand it; but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand must release.
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.
However, there should be no poor among you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land that he gives you as an inheritance to possess),
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,
if only you diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all these commandments that I am commanding you today.
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.
For Yahweh 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 '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 there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in your land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother;
8 for thou dost certainly open thy hand to him, and dost certainly lend him sufficient for his lack which he lacketh.
but you must surely open your hand to him and surely lend him sufficient for his 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;
Be careful not to have a wicked thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is near,' so that you will not be stingy in regard to your poor brother and give him nothing; he might cry out to Yahweh about you, and it would be 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;
You must surely give to him, and your heart must not be sorry when you give to him, because in return for this Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.
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.
For the poor will never cease to exist in the land; therefore I command you and say, 'You must surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your 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.
If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let him go free from you.
13 And when thou dost send him away free from thee, thou dost not send him away empty;
When you let him go free from you, you must not let him go empty-handed.
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,
You must liberally provide for him out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As Yahweh your God has blessed you, you must give to him.
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.
You must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you today to do this.
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 —
It will happen that if he says to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house, and because he is well off 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 must take an awl and thrust it through his ear to a door, and he will be your servant for life. You must do the same with your female 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.
It must not seem difficult for you to let him go free from you, because he has served you for six years and given twice the value of a hired person. Yahweh your God will bless you in all 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;
All the firstborn males in your herd and your flock you must set apart to Yahweh your God. You will do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
20 before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it year by year, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, thou and thy house.
You must eat the firstborn before Yahweh your God year by year in the place that Yahweh 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;
If it has any blemish—for example, if it is lame or blind, or has any blemish whatever—you must not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.
22 within thy gates thou dost eat it, the unclean and the clean alike, as the roe, and as the hart.
You will eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean persons alike must eat it, as you would eat a gazelle or a deer.
23 Only, its blood thou dost not eat; on the earth thou dost pour it as water.
Only you must not eat its blood; you must pour its blood out on the ground like water.
