Deuteronomy 15:7–18

⁷“If there is ^aa poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your ¹towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, ^byou shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother;

⁸but ^ayou shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

⁹“Beware that there is no base ¹thought in your heart, saying, ‘^aThe seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and ^byour eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he ^cmay cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you.

¹⁰“You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because ^afor this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all ¹your undertakings.

¹¹“^aFor the poor will never cease to be ¹in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

¹²“^aIf your ¹kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him ²free.

¹³“When you set him ¹free, you shall not send him away empty-handed.

¹⁴“You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

¹⁵“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you ¹this today.

¹⁶“It shall come about ^aif he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you;

¹⁷then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.

¹⁸“It shall not seem hard to you when you set him ¹free, for he has given you six years with ²double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.