Deuteronomy15
New International Version
1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2This 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.
3You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.
4However, 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 you,
5if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6For 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.
7If anyone is poor 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 toward them.
8Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need.
9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will 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.
10Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
11There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
12If 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.
13And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed.
14Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you.
15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
16But 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,
17then 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.
18Do 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.
19Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.
20Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.
21If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.
22You 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.
23But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 15.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The year of release. (1–11). Concerning the release of servants. (12–18). Respecting the firstlings of cattle. (19–23).
vv1-11
This year of release typified the grace of the gospel, in which is proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord; and by which we obtain the release of our debts, that is, the pardon of our sins. The law is spiritual, and lays restraints upon the thoughts of the heart. We mistake, if we think thoughts are free from God's knowledge and check. That is a wicked heart indeed, which raises evil thoughts from the good law of God, as theirs did, who, because God had obliged them to the charity of forgiving, denied the charity of giving. Those who would keep from the act of sin, must keep out of their minds the very thought of sin. It is a dreadful thing to have the cry of the poor justly against us. Grudge not a kindness to thy brother; distrust not the providence of God. What thou doest, do freely, for God loves a cheerful giver, 2Co 9:7.
vv12-18
Here the law concerning Hebrew servants is repeated. There is an addition, requiring the masters to put some small stock into their servants' hands to set up with for themselves, when sent out of their servitude, wherein they had received no wages. We may expect family blessings, the springs of family prosperity, when we make conscience of our duty to our family relations. We are to remember that we are debtors to Divine justice, and have nothing to pay with. That we are slaves, poor, and perishing. But the Lord Jesus Christ, by becoming poor, and by shedding his blood, has made a full and free provision for the payment of our debts, the ransom of our souls, and the supply of all our wants. When the gospel is clearly preached, the acceptable year of the Lord is proclaimed; the year of release of our debts, of the deliverance of our souls, and of obtaining rest in him. And as faith in Christ and love to him prevail, they will triumph over the selfishness of the heart, and over the unkindness of the world, doing away the excuses that rise from unbelief, distrust, and covetousness.
vv19-23
Here is a direction what to do with the firstlings. We are not now limited as the Israelites were; we make no difference between a first calf, or lamb, and the rest. Let us then look to the gospel meaning of this law, devoting ourselves and the first of our time and strength to God; and using all our comforts and enjoyments to his praise, and under the direction of his law, as we have them all by his gift.
Key Words
קֵץ: an extremity; adverbially (with prepositional prefix) after
שֶׁבַע: seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
שְׁמִטָּה: remission (of debt) or suspension of labor)
זֶה: the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
שָׁמַט: to fling down; incipiently to jostle; figuratively, to let alone, desist, remit
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 15The foundational law of releasing Hebrew servants after six years of labor.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The law concerning boring a servant's ear with an awl to denote life-long service.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the Sabbatical year of rest and release for the land and poor.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Jesus directly echoes the reality that 'the poor you always have with you'.
Supported by JFB
Jeremiah indicts Israel for violating this precise law of releasing Hebrew servants.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The parallel holiness requirement to relieve and sustain a poor brother.
Supported by John Calvin
Warns against causing a poor brother to cry unto Yahweh against thee in sin.
Supported by John Calvin
The initial command to sanctify all firstling males of herd and flock.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the wicked who borrows and does not pay with the blessed righteous giver.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament parallel emphasizing giving cheerfully and not with a grieved heart.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Command to remember Egyptian bondage as the motivation for showing mercy.
Supported by JFB
Prohibits offering any blemished animal to Yahweh, representing spiritual integrity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Repeats the vital dietary prohibition against eating blood; it must be poured out.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Observes that the borrower is servant to the lender; Deuteronomy promises dominance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explains the standard term of service for a hired servant, contrasting the double-term.
Supported by JFB