Deuteronomy 15

¹ At the end of seven years you shall make a release. ² And this is the term of the release: every possessor is to release the loan of his hand that he lent to his associate. He shall not exact it from his associate or his brother, for Yahweh's release has been proclaimed. ³ From the foreigner you may exact it. Yet that which you came to have from your brother, let your hand release it; ⁴ only that there should be no needy among you, for Yahweh shall bless, yea bless you in the land that Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you as an allotment to tenant it. ⁵ Now if you should hearken, yea hearken to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim so as to observe to obey all this instruction that I am enjoining on you today, ⁶ then Yahweh your Elohim will bless you, just as He promised to you. And you will cause many nations to give you securities, yet you yourself shall give no securities. You will rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. ⁷ In case there should be among you a needy person, one of your brothers within one of your gates in your land that Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you, you shall neither make your heart rigid nor shut your hand from your needy brother. ⁸ Rather you shall open, yea open your hand to him and let him give security, yea security sufficient for his lack that is lacking to him. ⁹ Guard yourself lest there should be in your heart the decadent word, saying: The seventh year is near, the year of the release, so that your eye is evil toward your needy brother, and you give him nothing. Then he may call out to Yahweh concerning you, and it will be held as a sin against you. ¹⁰ You shall give, yea give to him, and your heart shall not feel bad at your giving to him. For owing to this matter Yahweh your Elohim shall bless you in all your work and in every undertaking of your hand. ¹¹ Since the needy shall not leave off from being within the land, therefore I am instructing you, saying: You shall open, yea open your hand to your brother, to your humble and to your needy in your land. ¹² In case your brother should be sold to you, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, who has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall dismiss him from you free. ¹³ And when you dismiss him from you free you shall not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ You shall furnish, yea furnish him some from your flock, from your threshing site and from your wine vat; just as Yahweh your Elohim has blessed you shall you give to him. ¹⁵ Remember that you had become a servant in the country of Egypt, and Yahweh your Elohim ransomed you. Therefore I am instructing you to obey this word today. ¹⁶ But it may be that he says to you: I shall not go forth from you, since he loves you and your household because it was well for him with you. ¹⁷ Then you take an awl and put it through his ear and into the door, and he will come to be your eonian servant; and so you shall do to your maidservant too. ¹⁸ It should not seem hard in your eyes when you dismiss him from you free because he was worth double the hire of a hireling when he served you six years. So Yahweh your Elohim will bless you in all that you shall do. ¹⁹ All the firstborn males that shall be born in your herd and in your flock you shall sanctify to Yahweh your Elohim. You shall neither serve with the firstborn of your kine nor shall you shear the firstborn of your flock. ²⁰ You shall eat it before Yahweh your Elohim year by year in the place that Yahweh shall choose, you and your household. ²¹ Yet in case there should be a blemish in it, lame or blind, any bad blemish, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your Elohim. ²² Within your gates you may eat it, the unclean among you and the clean together, as you would of the gazelle and of the stag. ²³ But its blood you shall not eat. On the earth shall you pour it out like water.