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Deuteronomy 15

1“At the end of seven years, make a release. 2This is the matter of the release: every creditor must release what he has lent his neighbor. He must not press his neighbor, his brother, for payment, because a release to Yahweh has been proclaimed. 3You may press a foreigner for payment, but your hand must release whatever of yours is with your brother. 4However, there should be no needy person among you, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5if only you truly listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, taking care to carry out this whole commandment I command you today. 6For Yahweh your God has blessed you, as he promised you. 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“If there is a needy person among you, one of your brothers in any of your towns in the land Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not harden your heart or close your hand against your needy brother. 8Instead, you must open your hand to him and lend him enough for whatever he lacks. 9Take care that there is no worthless thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is near,’ so that your eye is evil toward your needy brother and you give him nothing. Then he may cry out against you to Yahweh, and you will bear sin. 10You must certainly give to him, and your heart must not be grieved when you give to him, because for this Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and everything you put your hand to. 11For the needy will not cease from the midst of the land. That is why I command you: you must open your hand to your brother, to your poor and your needy in your land.

12“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must send that person away from you free. 13When you send him away from you free, you must not send him away empty-handed. 14Supply him generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Give to him from what Yahweh your God has blessed you with. 15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you. That is why I command you this thing today. 16But if he says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and fares well with you, 17then take the awl and put it through his ear and into the door. He will be your slave permanently. You must do the same for your female slave. 18It must not seem hard to you when you send him away from you free, because he has served you six years at twice the value of a hired worker’s wages. Yahweh your God will bless you in everything you do.

19“Consecrate to Yahweh your God every firstborn male born in your herd or flock. You must not work your firstborn ox or shear your firstborn flock animal. 20You and your household must eat it before Yahweh your God year by year at the place Yahweh chooses. 21If it has a defect—lameness, blindness, or any serious defect—you must not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22Eat it within your towns; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as they eat gazelle and deer. 23Only you must not eat its blood. Pour it out on the earth like water.

Translation notes 4

15:1–6 — Release and its scope. “Release” concerns claims on loans here. Cancellation is the reading adopted; temporary suspension of collection has also been proposed. The distinction between the brother and the foreigner is explicit and has not been universalized in the English. “Brother” identifies a fellow member of Israel in this law, not only a biological sibling. The promise of no needy person is linked to obedience in verse 5.

15:7–11 — Heart, hand, and eye. A hardened heart, closed hand, and evil eye describe refusal to help. “Your eye is evil” here concerns a grudging look toward the needy, not magical power. The statement that needy people will remain in the land stands alongside verse 4’s promise; neither has been altered to remove the tension.

15:12–18 — Sold persons and freedom. The text explicitly includes a Hebrew man and a Hebrew woman. Subsequent masculine pronouns carry the generic case; the release and material provision are not restricted to men. “Permanently” renders ‘olam in this human service relationship, without implying service after death. Piercing the ear at the door marks continuing slave status. Verse 18’s wage comparison is compressed: “twice the value” preserves the numerical comparison, while its precise economic basis is not explained.

15:19–23 — Firstborn animals. The firstborn here are males. Those with a serious defect may be eaten locally rather than sacrificed, with the blood prohibition retained. This passage’s household eating is preserved without inserting an explanation of its relation to priestly portions elsewhere.