Deuteronomy 15

¹ 'At the end of every seven years, you must grant remission.

² The nature of the remission is as fol ows: any creditor holding a personal pledge obtained from hisfel ow must release him from it; he must not exploit his fel ow or his brother once the latter has appealed toYahweh for remission.

³ A foreigner you may exploit, but you must remit whatever claim you have on your brother.

⁴ There must, then, be no poor among you. For Yahweh wil grant you his blessing in the country whichYahweh your God is giving you to possess as your heritage,

⁵ only if you pay careful attention to the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping and practising al thesecommandments which I am enjoining on you today.

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

⁷ 'Is there anyone poor among you, one of your brothers, in any town of yours in the country whichYahweh 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," andscowl at your poor brother and give him nothing; he could appeal against you to Yahweh, and you would incurguilt!

¹⁰ When you give to him, you must give with an open heart; for this, Yahweh your God wil bless you inal your actions and in al your undertakings.

¹¹ Of course, there wil never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving youthis command: Always be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need andpoor.

¹² 'If your fel ow Hebrew, man or woman, sells himself to you, he can serve you for six years. In theseventh year you must set him free,

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

¹⁴ By way of present, you will load his shoulders with things from your flock, from your threshing-floorand from your winepress; as Yahweh your God has blessed you, so you must give to him.

¹⁵ Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you; that iswhy I am giving you this order today.

¹⁶ 'But if he says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your household and ishappy with you,

¹⁷ you must take an awl and drive it through his ear into the door and he will be your servant for ever.You must do the same to a female slave.

¹⁸ 'Do not think it hard on you to have to give him his freedom; he is worth twice what a paid servantwould cost you, and has served you for six years. And Yahweh your God wil bless you in everything you do.

¹⁹ 'You must consecrate every first-born male from your herd and flock to Yahweh your God. You mustnot put the first-born of your herd to work, or shear the first-born of your flock.

²⁰ You must eat it, you and your household, each year, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in theplace which Yahweh chooses.

²¹ If it has any defect, if it is lame or blind -- any serious defect -- you must not sacrifice it to Yahwehyour God.

²² You wil eat it at home, unclean and clean together, as you would gazel e or deer;

²³ only, you will not eat its blood, but pour that like water on the ground.'