Deuteronomy 15

¹ ‘At the end of every seven years you must grant a remission.

² Now the nature of the remission is this: every creditor who holds the person of his neighbour in bond[*a] must grant him remission; he may not exact payment from his fellow or his brother once the latter appeals to Yahweh for remission.

³ From a foreigner you may exact payment, but you must remit whatever claim you have on your brother.

⁴ Let there be no poor among you then. For Yahweh will bless you in the land Yahweh your God gives you for your inheritance

⁵ only if you pay careful attention to the voice of Yahweh your God, keeping and observing all these commandments that I enjoin on you today.

⁶ If Yahweh your God blesses you as he promised, you will be creditors to many nations and debtors to none; you will rule over many nations and be ruled by none.

⁷ Is there a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any town of yours in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you? Do not harden your heart or close your hand against that poor brother of yours,

⁸ but be open-handed with him and lend him enough for his needs.

⁹ Do not allow this mean thought in your heart, “The seventh year, the year of remission is near”, and look coldly on your poor brother and give him nothing; he could appeal against you to Yahweh and it would be a sin for you.

¹⁰ When you give to him, you must give with an open heart; for this Yahweh your God will bless you in all you do and in all your giving.

¹¹ Of course there will never cease to be poor in the land; I command you therefore: Always be open-handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and poor.

¹² ‘If your fellow Hebrew, man or woman, is sold to you, he can serve you for six years. In the seventh year you must set him free,

¹³ and in setting him free you must not let him go empty-handed.

¹⁴ You must make him a generous provision from your flock, your threshing-floor, your winepress; as Yahweh your God has blessed you, so you must give to him.

¹⁵ Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you; that is why I lay this charge on you today.

¹⁶ ‘But if he says to you, “I do not want to leave you”, if he loves you and your household and is happy with you,

¹⁷ you are to take an awl and drive it through his ear into the door and he shall be your servant for all time. You are to do the same for your maidservant.

¹⁸ ‘Do not think it hard on you to have to give him his freedom; he is worth twice the cost of a hired servant and has served you for six years. So shall Yahweh your God bless you in all you do.

¹⁹ ‘You must consecrate every first-born male from your herd and flock to Yahweh your God. You must not put the first-born of your herd to work nor shear the first-born of your flock.

²⁰ You are to eat it, you and your household, each year, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place Yahweh chooses.

²¹ If it has a blemish, if it is lame or blind, or has any serious defect at all, you must not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.

²² You must eat it at home, unclean and clean together, as you would gazelle or deer;

²³ only you must not consume the blood, but pour it out like water on the ground.