The Seventh Year (Exodus 23:10–13; Leviticus 25:1–7)
1 Brenton Every seven years thou shalt make a release. BSB BSB: At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2 Brenton And this is the ordinance of the release: thou shalt remit every private debt which thy neighbour owes thee, and thou shalt not ask payment of it from thy brother; for it has been called a release to the Lord thy God. BSB BSB: This 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.
3 Brenton Of a stranger thou shalt ask again whatsoever he has of thine, but to thy brother thou shalt remit his debt to thee. BSB BSB: You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.
4 Brenton For thus there shall not be a poor person in the midst of thee, for the Lord thy God will surely bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee by inheritance, that thou shouldest inherit it. BSB BSB: There 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,
5 Brenton And if ye shall indeed hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep and do all these commandments, as many as I charge thee this day, BSB BSB: if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today.
6 Brenton (for the Lord thy God has blessed thee in the way of which he spoke to thee,) then thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. BSB BSB: When 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.
Generosity in Lending and Giving (Matthew 6:1–4)
7 Brenton And if there shall be in the midst of thee a poor man of thy brethren in one of thy cities in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, neither shalt thou by any means close up thine hand from thy brother who is in want. BSB BSB: If 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.
8 Brenton Thou shalt surely open thine hands to him, and shalt lend to him as much as he wants according to his need. BSB BSB: Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
9 Brenton Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws nigh; and thine eye shall be evil to thy brother that is in want, and thou shalt not give to him, and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in thee. BSB BSB: Be 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.
10 Brenton Thou shalt surely give to him, and thou shalt lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and thou shalt not grudge in thine heart as thou givest to him, because on this account the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all things on which thou shalt lay thine hand. BSB BSB: Give 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.
11 Brenton For the poor shall not fail off thy land, therefore I charge thee to do this thing, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hands to thy poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon thy land. BSB BSB: For 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.
Hebrew Servants (Exodus 21:1–11)
13 Brenton And when thou shalt send him out free from thee, thou shalt not send him out empty. BSB BSB: And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
14 Brenton Thou shalt give him provision for the way from thy flock, and from thy corn, and from thy wine; as the Lord thy God has blessed thee, thou shalt give to him. BSB BSB: You 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.
15 Brenton And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee from thence; therefore I charge thee to do this thing. BSB BSB: Remember 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.
16 Brenton And if he should say to thee, I will not go out from thee, because he continues to love thee and thy house, because he is well with thee; BSB BSB: But 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,
17 Brenton then thou shalt take an awl, and bore his ear through to the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever; and in like manner shalt thou do to thy maid-servant. BSB BSB: then 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.
18 Brenton It shall not seem hard to thee when they are sent out free from thee, because thy servant has served thee six years according to the annual hire of a hireling; so the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all things whatsoever thou mayest do. BSB BSB: Do 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.
Firstborn Animals (Exodus 13:1–16)
19 Brenton Every first-born that shall be born among thy kine and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify the males to the Lord thy God; thou shalt not work with thy first-born calf, and thou shalt not shear the first-born of thy sheep. BSB BSB: You 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.
20 Brenton Thou shalt eat it before the Lord year by year in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy house. BSB BSB: Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.
21 Brenton And if there be in it a blemish, if it be lame or blind, an evil blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it to the Lord thy God. BSB BSB: But 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.
22 Brenton Thou shalt eat it in thy cities; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner, as the doe or the stag. BSB BSB: Eat it within your gates; both the ceremonially unclean and clean may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer.
23 Brenton Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out on the earth as water. BSB BSB: But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
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