1 “ At the end of every seven years you must do away with debts that are owed.

“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.

2 T his is the way you are to do it: Every man who has loaned money must forget the debt. He cannot make his neighbor and his brother pay it because the Lord has said that all should be forgotten.

And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord ’s release.

3 Y ou may make a stranger pay what he owes, but not your brother.

Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,

4 Y et there will be no poor among you for the Lord will be sure to bring good to you in the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.

except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—

5 B ut you must listen and obey the voice of the Lord your God. Be careful to do all the Law which I am telling you today.

only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.

6 T he Lord your God will bring good to you as He has promised. You will let many nations use what belongs to you but you will not use what belongs to them. You will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you.

For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you 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 “ In any of the towns in your land the Lord your God is giving you, if there is anyone poor among you, do not let your heart be hard and not be willing to help him.

“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,

8 B e free to give to him. Let him use what is yours of anything he needs.

but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

9 B e careful that there is no sinful thought in your heart, saying, ‘It is almost the seventh year, the time to do away with the debt owed to me,’ so you look on your brother with hate and give him nothing. Then he may cry to the Lord against you and you may be guilty of sin.

Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.

10 G ive much to him, without being sorry that you do. Because the Lord your God will bring good to you for this, in all your work and in everything you do.

You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

11 T he poor will always be in the land. So I tell you to be free in giving to your brother, to those in need, and to the poor in your land.

For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’ The Law Concerning Bondservants

12 “ If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he will work for you six years. But you must set him free in the seventh year.

“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

13 W hen you set him free, do not send him away with nothing.

And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;

14 G ive him much from your flock, from your grain, and from your wine. Give to him as the Lord your God has given to you.

you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.

15 R emember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. And so I am telling you today to do this.

You 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.

16 B ut he may say to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and those of your house and gets along well with you.

And if 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,

17 T hen take a sharp tool and put it through his ear into the door. And he will be your servant forever. Do the same with your woman servant.

then 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.

18 I t should not be hard for you to set him free for he has worked for you six years. He has been worth twice as much as a man paid to work for you. The Lord your God will bring good to you in whatever you do.

It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a 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

19 “ Set apart for the Lord your God all the first-born males among your cattle and your flock. Do no work with the first-born of your cattle. Do not cut the wool from the first-born of your flock.

“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

20 Y ou and those of your house will eat it every year before the Lord your God in the place the Lord chooses.

You and your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord chooses.

21 B ut do not kill it and give it to the Lord your God if it is not perfect, such as not being able to walk or see, or anything else wrong with it.

But 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.

22 E at it within your towns. Both the clean and the unclean may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or deer.

You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer.

23 B ut do not eat its blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.

Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.