^15:7If a fellow Israelite¹³ from one of your villages¹⁴ in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive¹⁵ to his impoverished condition.¹⁶^15:8Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend¹⁷ him whatever he needs.¹⁸^15:9Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude¹⁹ be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite²⁰ and you do not lend²¹ him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned.²²^15:10You must by all means lend²³ to him and not be upset by doing it,²⁴ for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. ^15:11There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open²⁵ your hand to your fellow Israelites²⁶ who are needy and poor in your land.

Release of Debt Slaves

^15:12If your fellow Hebrew²⁷—whether male or female²⁸—is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant²⁹ go free.³⁰^15:13If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. ^15:14You must supply them generously³¹ from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress—as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. ^15:15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today. ^15:16However, if the servant³² says to you, “I do not want to leave³³ you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, ^15:17you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door.³⁴ Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well). ^15:18You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice³⁵ the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

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Footnotes

13 Heb “one of your brothers” (so ); “one of your kinsmen”; “a member of your community.” See the note at v. .
14 Heb “gates.”
15 Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. “hardhearted or tightfisted” ( and similar).
16 Heb “from your needy brother.”
17 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before both verbs. The translation indicates the emphasis with the words “be sure to” and “generously,” respectively.
18 Heb “whatever his need that he needs for himself.” This redundant expression has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
19 Heb “your eye.”
20 Heb “your needy brother.”
21 Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).
22 Heb “it will be a sin to you.”
23 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”
24 Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.
25 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”
26 Heb “your brother.”
27 Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2–6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.
28 Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
29 Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
30 The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
31 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”
32 Heb “he”; the referent (the indentured servant introduced in v. 12) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 Heb “go out from.” The imperfect verbal form indicates the desire of the subject here.
34 When the bondslave’s ear was drilled through to the door, the door in question was that of the master’s house. In effect, the bondslave is declaring his undying and lifelong loyalty to his creditor. The scar (or even hole) in the earlobe would testify to the community that the slave had surrendered independence and personal rights. This may be what Paul had in mind when he said “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).
35 The Hebrew term מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh, “twice”) could mean “equivalent to” (cf. ) or, more likely, “double” (cf. , , ). The idea is that a hired worker would put in only so many hours per day whereas a bondslave was available around the clock.