| Berean Study Bible | New International Version |
| 1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. | 1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. |
| 2This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed. | 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 collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you. | 3You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. |
| 4There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, | 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 obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today. | 5if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. |
| 6When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none. | 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 there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. | 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. |
| 8Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. | 8Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. |
| 9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. | 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 him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. | 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. |
| 11For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land. | 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 a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. | 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 him, do not send him away empty-handed. | 13And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. |
| 14You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. | 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 the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today. | 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 household and is well off with you, | 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 pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way. | 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 regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do. | 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. |
| 19You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock. | 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 household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose. | 20Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose. |
| 21But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. | 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. |
| 22Eat it within your gates; both the ceremonially unclean and clean may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer. | 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 on the ground like water. | 23But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. |
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