Deuteronomy 15

Debts Canceled Every Seven Years

15“At the end of ^aevery seven years you shall grant a ¹release of debts. ²And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall ²release it; he shall not ³require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. ³Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, ⁴except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly ^bbless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—⁵only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. ⁶For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; ^cyou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

Generosity to the Poor

⁷“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the ⁴gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, ^dyou shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, ⁸but ^eyou shall ⁵open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. ⁹Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your ^feye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and ^ghe cry out to the Lord against you, and ^hit become sin among you. ¹⁰You shall surely give to him, and ⁱyour heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because ^jfor this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. ¹¹For ^kthe poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall ⁶open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

The Law Concerning Bondservants

^12l“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is ^msold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. ¹³And when you ⁷send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; ¹⁴you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has ⁿblessed you with, you shall give to him. ^15oYou shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. ¹⁶And ^pif it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, ¹⁷then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. ¹⁸It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth ^qa double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals

^19r“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall ⁸sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. ^20sYou and your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord chooses. ^21tBut if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. ²²You may eat it within your gates; ^uthe unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. ²³Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.