Deuteronomy 15
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 15
Goodwill to the Poor.[a] 1 At the end of every seven years you are to cancel debts. 2 This is how you are to do it. Everyone who has made a loan to his neighbor will forgive the debt. He will not require payment from his neighbor nor his brother, for the Lord’s pardon of debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must forgive the debt that your brother owes. 4 There should be no poor among you, for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you to possess as an inheritance, 5 but only if you carefully heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and observe all of the commandments that I give you today. 6 The Lord, your God, will bless you as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none. You shall rule over many nations, but none shall rule over you.
7 If there is a poor man among you in the towns of the land that the Lord, your God, has given you, do not harden your heart nor be stingy with your poor brother. 8 Be generous with him, lending him what he needs, whatever it is he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor the evil thought in your mind, “The seventh year, the time for canceling debts, is near.” Do not show bad will toward your poor brother and end up giving him nothing. He might appeal to the Lord, and it would be your sin. 10 You must give to him, and you should not have a grudging heart when you give to him. The Lord, your God, will bless you in all the endeavors that you undertake because of what you have given. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you, “Be generous to your poor brother and the needy in your land.”
12 Freeing Slaves. If a fellow Hebrew man or woman sells himself to you and serves for six years, then in the seventh year you are to set him free.[b] 13 When you release him, you are not to send him away empty-handed. 14 Provide him generously from your flock, your threshing floor, your winepress. Give to him in the same way that the Lord, your God, has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you. Therefore, I give you this command today.
16 But if your slave says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door. He will then be your slave forever. You are to do the same with your maidservants as well. 18 Do not consider it to be a hardship to set your slave free. You received twice as much from him in the six years as you would have from a hired hand, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in all of your undertakings.
19 The Firstborn. Set apart for the Lord, your God, the firstborn male from your herds and your flocks. Do not set the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor shear the firstborn of your sheep. 20 Each year you and your family are to eat them before the Lord, your God, in the place that the Lord has chosen. 21 If an animal has any blemish, or is lame, or blind, or has any serious flaw, you are not to sacrifice it to the Lord, your God. 22 You can eat it within your own towns.[c] The clean and the unclean can eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a roebuck. 23 But you must not consume its blood, you are to pour it out on the ground as if it were water.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:1 Note that God regards as done to himself what is done, be it good or evil, to the poor, and that this principle is frequently applied in Deuteronomy (14:29; 24:15) and throughout the Bible (1 Jn 4:17-21) and will be set in a new perspective by Jesus (Mt 25:35-45).
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Women here have the same right as men; this marks progress over Ex 21:1-6.
- Deuteronomy 15:22 Within your own towns: because this is not a cultic meal.
Deuteronomy 15
New American Standard Bible
The Sabbatical Year
15 “(A)At the end of every seven years you shall [a]grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the regulation for the release of debts: every creditor is to forgive what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not require it of his neighbor and his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. 3 (B)From a foreigner you may require it, but your hand shall [b]forgive whatever of yours is with your brother. 4 However, there will be no poor among you, since (C)the Lord will certainly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God, to [c]follow carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 6 (D)For the Lord your God will have blessed you just as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 “If there is (E)a poor person among you, one of your brothers, in any of your [d]towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, (F)you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8 but (G)you shall fully open your hand to him, and generously lend him enough for his need in whatever he lacks. 9 Be careful that there is no mean-spirited [e]thought in your heart, [f]such as, ‘(H)The seventh year, the year of release of debts, is near,’ and (I)your eye is malicious toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he (J)may cry out 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 [g]grudging when you give to him, because (K)for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work, and in all [h]your undertakings. 11 (L)For the poor will not cease [i]to exist in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’
12 “(M)If your fellow countryman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him [j]free. 13 And when you set him [k]free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 And you are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding [l]this of you today. 16 But it shall come about, (N)if he says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is doing well with you, 17 then you shall take an [m]awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant permanently. You shall also do the same to your female slave.
18 “It shall not seem difficult for you when you set him [n]free, because he has given you six years with double the [o]service of a hired worker; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.
19 “(O)You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born in your herd and in your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 (P)You and your household shall eat it every year before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses. 21 (Q)But if it has any impairment, such as a limp, or blindness, or any serious impairment, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your gates; (R)the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as (S)a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only (T)you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:1 Lit make
- Deuteronomy 15:3 Lit release
- Deuteronomy 15:5 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 15:7 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Lit word
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Lit saying
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit evil
- Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit the putting forth of your hand
- Deuteronomy 15:11 Lit from the midst of
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Lit free from you
- Deuteronomy 15:13 Lit free from you
- Deuteronomy 15:15 Lit this thing
- Deuteronomy 15:17 I.e., a pointed tool
- Deuteronomy 15:18 Lit free from you
- Deuteronomy 15:18 Lit wages
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
