⁷Suppose there are poor people among you. And suppose they live in one of the towns in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Then don’t be mean to them. They are poor. So don’t hold back money from them. ⁸Instead, open your hands and lend them what they need. Do it freely.

⁹Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don’t say to yourself, “The seventh year will soon be here. It’s the year for forgiving people what they owe.” If you think like that, you might treat your needy people badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the Lord against you. And he will find you guilty of sin.

¹⁰So give freely to those who are needy. Open your hearts to them. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all of your work. He will bless you in everything you do. ¹¹There will always be poor people in the land. So I’m commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.

Set Your Hebrew Servants Free

¹²Suppose Hebrew men or women sell themselves to you. If they do, they will serve you for six years. Then in the seventh year you must let them go free.

¹³But when you set them free, don’t send them away without anything to show for all of their work. ¹⁴Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The Lord your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you.

¹⁵Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God set you free. That’s why I’m giving you this command today.

¹⁶But suppose your servant says to you, “I don’t want to leave you.” He loves you and your family. And you are taking good care of him. ¹⁷Then take him to the door of your house. Poke a hole through his ear lobe into the doorpost. And he will become your servant for life. Do the same with your female servant.

¹⁸Don’t think you are being cheated when you set your servants free. After all, they have served you for six years. The service of each of them has been worth twice as much as the service of a hired worker. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

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