Deuteronomy 15

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 'At the end of every seven years, you must grant remission.	1 In the seventh year thou shalt make a 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.	2 Which shall be celebrated in this order. He to whom any thing is owing from his friend or neighbour or brother, cannot demand it again, because it is the year of remission of the Lord,
3 A foreigner you may exploit, but you must remit whatever claim you have on your brother.	3 Of the foreigner or stranger thou mayst exact it: of thy countryman and neighbour thou shalt not have power to demand it again.
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,	4 And there shall be no poor nor beggar among you: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land which he will give thee in possession.
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.	5 Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep all things that he hath ordained, and which I command thee this day, he will bless thee, as he hath promised.
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.	6 Thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt borrow of no man. Thou shalt have dominion over very many nations, and no one shall have dominion over thee.
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,	7 If one of thy brethren that dwelleth within the gates of thy city in the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, come to poverty: thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor close thy hand,
8 but be open handed with him and lend him enough for his needs.	8 But shalt open it to the poor man, thou shalt lend him, that which thou perceivest he hath need of.
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!	9 Beware lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee, and thou say in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh; and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, denying to lend him that which he asketh: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it become a sin unto thee.
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.	10 But thou shalt give to him: neither shalt thou do any thing craftily in relieving his necessities: that the Lord thy God may bless thee at all times, and in all things to which thou shalt put thy hand.
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.	11 There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land.
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,	12 When thy brother a Hebrew man, or Hebrew woman is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free:
13 and in setting him free you must not let him go empty handed.	13 And when thou sendest him out free, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
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.	14 But shalt give him for his way out of thy flocks, and out of thy barnfloor, and thy winepress, wherewith the Lord thy God shall bless thee.
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.	15 Remember that thou also wast a bondservant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God made thee free, and therefore I now command thee this.
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,	16 But if he say: I will not depart: because he loveth thee, and thy house, and findeth that he is well with thee:
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.	17 Thou shalt take an awl, and bore through his ear in the door of thy house, and he shall serve thee for ever: thou shalt do in like manner to thy womanservant also.
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.	18 Turn not away thy eyes from them when thou makest them tree: because he hath served thee six years according to the wages of a hireling: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works that thou dost.
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.	19 Of the firstlings, that come of thy herds and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify to the Lord thy God whatsoever is of the male sex. Thou shalt not work with the firstling of a bullock, and thou shalt not shear the firstlings of thy sheep.
20 You must eat it, you and your household, each year, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in theplace which Yahweh chooses.	20 In the sight of the Lord thy God shalt thou eat them every year, in the place that the Lord shall choose, thou and thy house.
21 If it has any defect, if it is lame or blind -- any serious defect -- you must not sacrifice it to Yahwehyour God.	21 But if it have a blemish, or be lame, or blind, or in any part disfigured or feeble, it shall not be sacrificed to the Lord thy God.
22 You wil eat it at home, unclean and clean together, as you would gazel e or deer;	22 But thou shalt eat it within the gates of thy city: the clean and the unclean shall eat them alike, as the roe and as the hart.
23 only, you will not eat its blood, but pour that like water on the ground.'	23 Only thou shalt take heed not to eat their blood, but pour it out on the earth as water.