13 (A)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. (B)The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning.

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Of Poor Countrymen

35 (A)Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his [a]means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you. 36 (B)Do not take [b]any kind of interest from him, but [c]fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you. 37 You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food [d]for profit. 38 (C)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and (D)to be your God.

39 ‘Now (E)if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. 40 He shall be with you as a hired worker, (F)as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. 41 He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers. 42 For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. 43 (G)You shall not rule over him with [e]severity, but are to revere your God.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:35 Lit hand
  2. Leviticus 25:36 Prob. interest on money and food loans
  3. Leviticus 25:36 Or revere
  4. Leviticus 25:37 Lit at interest
  5. Leviticus 25:43 Or violence

“If there is (A)a poor person among you, one of your brothers, in any of your [a]towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, (B)you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but (C)you shall fully open your hand to him, and generously lend him enough for his need in whatever he lacks. Be careful that there is no mean-spirited [b]thought in your heart, [c]such as, ‘(D)The seventh year, the year of release of debts, is near,’ and (E)your eye is malicious toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he (F)may cry out 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 [d]grudging when you give to him, because (G)for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work, and in all [e]your undertakings. 11 (H)For the poor will not cease [f]to exist in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

12 (I)If your fellow countryman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him [g]free. 13 And when you set him [h]free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 And you are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding [i]this of you today. 16 But it shall come about, (J)if he says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is doing well with you, 17 then you shall take an [j]awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant permanently. You shall also do the same to your female slave.

18 “It shall not seem difficult for you when you set him [k]free, because he has given you six years with double the [l]service of a hired worker; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 15:7 Lit gates
  2. Deuteronomy 15:9 Lit word
  3. Deuteronomy 15:9 Lit saying
  4. Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit evil
  5. Deuteronomy 15:10 Lit the putting forth of your hand
  6. Deuteronomy 15:11 Lit from the midst of
  7. Deuteronomy 15:12 Lit free from you
  8. Deuteronomy 15:13 Lit free from you
  9. Deuteronomy 15:15 Lit this thing
  10. Deuteronomy 15:17 I.e., a pointed tool
  11. Deuteronomy 15:18 Lit free from you
  12. Deuteronomy 15:18 Lit wages

31 One (A)who oppresses the poor taunts (B)his Maker,
But one who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

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“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”

Hear this word, you [a]cows of (A)Bashan who are on the (B)mountain of Samaria,
Who (C)exploit the poor, who oppress the needy,
[b]And say to their [c]husbands, “Bring now, that we may (D)drink!”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 4:1 I.e., haughty, prominent women
  2. Amos 4:1 Lit Who
  3. Amos 4:1 Lit lords

18 For the Scripture says, “(A)You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “(B)The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

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