151 " At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2 "This is the manner of remission : every creditor e e shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor ; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother , because the Lord'S remission has been proclaimed . 3 " From a foreigner you may exact it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother . 4 "However , there will be no poor among you, since the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess , 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God , to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today . 6 " For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations , but you will not borrow ; and you will rule over many nations , but they will not rule over you.
7 "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers , in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart , nor close your hand from your poor brother ; 8 but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks . 9 "Beware that there is no base thought in your heart , saying , ' The seventh year , the year of remission , is near ,' and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother , and you give him nothing ; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you. 10 "You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because e for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings . 11 " For the poor will never cease to be in the land ; therefore e I command you, saying , 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother , to your needy and poor in your land .'
12 " If your kinsman , a Hebrew man or woman , is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years , but in the seventh year you shall set him free . 13 "When you set him free , you shall not send him away empty-handed . 14 "You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat ; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt , and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore e I command you this today . 16 "It shall come about if he says to you, 'I will not go out from you,' because he loves you and your household , since he fares well with you; 17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door , and he shall be your servant forever . Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant . 18 "It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free , for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man ; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever e you do .
19 " You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock ; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd , nor shear the firstborn of your flock . 20 " You and your household shall eat it every year before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses . 21 " But if it has any defect , such as lameness or blindness , or any serious defect , you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God . 22 "You shall eat it within your gates ; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer . 23 "Only you shall not eat its blood ; you are to pour it out on the ground like water .
