⁷If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your towns^j that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward your brother who is poor.^k ⁸But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and you shall willingly lend^l to him enough to meet his need, whatever it is.^m ⁹Take careⁿ so that there^o will not be a thought of wickedness^p in your heart, saying,^q ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ and you view your needy neighbor with hostility,^r and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and you would incur guilt against yourself.^s ¹⁰By all means you must give to him, and you must not be discontented^t at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.^u ¹¹For the poor^v will not cease to be among you^w in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying,^x ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’

¹²If your relative^y who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out free.^z ¹³And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. ¹⁵And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus today.^a ¹⁶And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘I do not want to go out^b from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; ¹⁷then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you a slave forever;^c and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. ¹⁸It shall not be hard in your eyes when you send him forth free,^d because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you will do.^e

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Footnotes

jLiterally “gates”
kLiterally “from among your brothers, the poor one”
lLiterally “lending you shall lend”
mLiterally “whatever is lacking for him”
nLiterally “Watch for yourself”
oHebrew “it”
pLiterally “a thing in your heart wickedness”
qLiterally “to say”
rLiterally “is bad your eye against your brother who is needy”
sLiterally “it will be against you a sin”
tLiterally “and not shall be bad/evil your heart at/when”
uLiterally “in all of the sending/putting forth of your hand”
vOr “the needy person”
wLiterally “from the midst of “
xLiterally “to say”
yOr “brother”
zLiterally “free from with you”
aLiterally “the day”
bLiterally “I will not go out”
cLiterally “a slave of eternity”
dLiterally “in/at you to send him forth free from being with you”
eLiterally “in all of that you will do”