Dabarym (Deuteronomy) — 15

Release for Debtors

1 “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. 

2 This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Yasharalym. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s time of release has arrived. 

3 This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Yasharalym, not to the foreigners living among you.

4 There should be no poor among you, for  𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will greatly barak you in the land He will give you as a special possession. 

5 You will receive this Barakah if you are careful to obey all the commandments of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH that I am giving you today. 

6 Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your  𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will barak you as He had promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.

7 “But if there are any poor Yasharalym in your towns when you arrive in the land  𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will give you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward the poor. 

8 Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. 

9 Do not be mean and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, you will be considered guilty of sin. 

10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your  𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will barak you in everything you do. 

11 There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Yasharalym in need.

12 “If a fellow Yasharalym sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.

13 “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. 

14 Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH has Baraked you. 

15 Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Mitzraym and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

16 “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he had done well with you. 

17 In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.

18 “You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will barak you in all you do.

Sacrificing Firstborn Male Animals

19 “You must set aside for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks. 

20 Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of  𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH each year at the place He chooses. 

21 But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH. 

22 Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer. 

23 But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.