Text -- Deuteronomy 23:19-25 (NET)

Respect for Others’ Property

23:19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 23:20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. 23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner. 23:22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23:23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 23:24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, but you must not take away any in a container. 23:25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand, but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Deu 23:19

¹ tn Heb “to your brother” (likewise in the following verse). Since this is not limited to actual siblings, “fellow Israelite” is used in the translation (cf. NAB, NASB “countrymen”).

NET Notes: Deu 23:21

¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”

³ tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”

NET Notes: Deu 23:24

¹ tn Heb “grapes according to your appetite, your fullness.”

² tn Heb “in your container”; NAB, NIV “your basket.”

NET Notes: Deu 23:25

¹ sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.