Deuteronomy 15

New International Version

The Year for Canceling Debts^(A)

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.^(B) ²This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³You may require payment from a foreigner,^(C) but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. ⁴However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless^(D) you, ⁵if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow^(E) all these commands I am giving you today. ⁶For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.^(F)

⁷If anyone is poor^(G) among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted^(H) toward them. ⁸Rather, be openhanded^(I) and freely lend them whatever they need. ⁹Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts,^(J) is near,” so that you do not show ill will^(K) toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.^(L) ¹⁰Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart;^(M) then because of this the Lord your God will bless^(N) you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. ¹¹There will always be poor people^(O) in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.^(P)

Freeing Servants^(Q)^(R)

¹²If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.^(S) ¹³And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. ¹⁴Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor^(T) and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹⁵Remember that you were slaves^(U) in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.^(V) That is why I give you this command today.

¹⁶But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, ¹⁷then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.

¹⁸Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

The Firstborn Animals

¹⁹Set apart for the Lord^(W) your God every firstborn male^(X) of your herds and flocks.^(Y) Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.^(Z) ²⁰Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.^(AA) ²¹If an animal has a defect,^(AB) is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.^(AC) ²²You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer.^(AD) ²³But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^(AE)

Isaiah 42

New International Version

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant,^(A) whom I uphold,
    my chosen one^(B) in whom I delight;^(C)
I will put my Spirit^(D) on him,
    and he will bring justice^(E) to the nations.^(F)
²He will not shout or cry out,^(G)
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³A bruised reed^(H) he will not break,^(I)
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.^(J)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;^(K)
⁴    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice^(L) on earth.
    In his teaching^(M) the islands^(N) will put their hope.”^(O)

⁵This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,^(P) who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth^(Q) with all that springs from it,^(R)
    who gives breath^(S) to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶“I, the Lord, have called^(T) you in righteousness;^(U)
    I will take hold of your hand.^(V)
I will keep^(W) you and will make you
    to be a covenant^(X) for the people
    and a light^(Y) for the Gentiles,^(Z)
⁷to open eyes that are blind,^(AA)
    to free^(AB) captives from prison^(AC)
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.^(AD)

⁸“I am the Lord;^(AE) that is my name!^(AF)
    I will not yield my glory to another^(AG)
    or my praise to idols.^(AH)
⁹See, the former things^(AI) have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce^(AJ) them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing^(AK) to the Lord a new song,^(AL)
    his praise^(AM) from the ends of the earth,^(AN)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,^(AO)
    you islands,^(AP) and all who live in them.
¹¹Let the wilderness^(AQ) and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar^(AR) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela^(AS) sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.^(AT)
¹²Let them give glory^(AU) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise^(AV) in the islands.^(AW)
¹³The Lord will march out like a champion,^(AX)
    like a warrior^(AY) he will stir up his zeal;^(AZ)
with a shout^(BA) he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.^(BB)

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent,^(BC)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.^(BD)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.^(BE)
¹⁵I will lay waste^(BF) the mountains^(BG) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up^(BH) the pools.
¹⁶I will lead^(BI) the blind^(BJ) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light^(BK) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.^(BL)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake^(BM) them.
¹⁷But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^(BN)
    will be turned back in utter shame.^(BO)

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf;^(BP)
    look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹Who is blind^(BQ) but my servant,^(BR)
    and deaf like the messenger^(BS) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant^(BT) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^(BU)
²¹It pleased the Lord
    for the sake^(BV) of his righteousness
    to make his law^(BW) great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered^(BX) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits^(BY)
    or hidden away in prisons.^(BZ)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;^(CA)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(CB) in time to come?
²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?^(CC)
Was it not the Lord,^(CD)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow^(CE) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.^(CF)
²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger,^(CG)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,^(CH) yet they did not understand;^(CI)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^(CJ)