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Deuteronomy 15
Evangelical Heritage Version
Deuteronomy 15
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Sabbatical Year
15 At the end of seven years grant a release.[a]
2 This is how the release is to be done: Every creditor is to release[b] what he has loaned to his neighbor. He must not exact it from his neighbor or from his brother Israelite, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. 3 You may exact it from a foreigner, but your hand is to release whatever your brother Israelite owes you.[c]
4 However, there should be no poor people among you, because the Lord will greatly bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance for you to possess, 5 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by carefully carrying out all of this command that I am giving you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, just as he has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 However, if there is a poor person among you, any one of your fellow Israelites within the gates of your towns in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your poor brother. 8 Rather, open up your hand to him and freely lend him enough of whatever he needs for himself. 9 Be careful that you do not harbor this wicked thought: Year seven, the year of release, is near! So as a result you have a harsh attitude toward your poor brother and do not give him anything. Then he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 10 Give freely to him, and do not feel resentful about giving to him, because on account of your giving, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and whatever you put your hand to. 11 Since there will never cease to be poor people in the land, I command you, open up your hand to your brother in your land, to the afflicted and the poor among you.
The Release of Servants
12 If your brother, that is, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself to you, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year you are to set him free. 13 When you set him free, do not send him out empty-handed. 14 Provide for him generously from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your winepress. Give to him from the blessings that the Lord your God has given to you. 15 You should remember that you yourself were a slave in the land of Egypt, but the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore I am commanding this procedure to you today.
16 But he might say to you, “I don’t want to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, and he is well off with you. 17 In that case you are to take an awl and bore through his ear into the door, and he will be a slave to you permanently. Do the same in the case of your female slave. 18 When you do set a servant free, it should not seem like a hardship to you, because for six years he has earned for you double the income that a hired worker would. The Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do.
The Firstborn
19 Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male from your herd and your flock. Do not work the firstborn of your oxen, and do not shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and your household are to eat the firstborn in the presence of the Lord each year, in the place that the Lord will choose. 21 But if it has a defect (if it is lame or blind, or if it has any other serious defect), you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You may eat it within the gates of your towns. The unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as you would a gazelle or a deer. 23 But you must not eat its blood. You are to pour it out on the ground like water.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:1 That is, a remission of debt
- Deuteronomy 15:2 Or forgive
- Deuteronomy 15:3 It is not certain if the creditor is to forgive the debt permanently or to suspend repayment during the year in which there is no harvest.
Deuteronomy 15
New International Version
Deuteronomy 15
New International Version
The Year for Canceling Debts(A)
15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.(B) 2 This 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. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner,(C) but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4 However, 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, 5 if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow(E) all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For 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)
7 If 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. 8 Rather, be openhanded(I) and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be 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) 10 Give 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. 11 There 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)
12 If 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) 13 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor(T) and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves(U) in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.(V) That is why I give you this command today.
16 But 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, 17 then 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.
18 Do 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
19 Set 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) 20 Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.(AA) 21 If 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) 22 You 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) 23 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.(AE)
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.