Deuteronomy 15:7-11

The Spirit of Liberality

15:7 If a fellow Israelite ¹  from one of your villages ²  in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive ³  to his impoverished condition. ⁴  15:8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend ⁵  him whatever he needs. ⁶  15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ⁷  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ⁸  and you do not lend ⁹  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ¹⁰  15:10 You must by all means lend ¹¹  to him and not be upset by doing it, ¹²  for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. 15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ¹³  your hand to your fellow Israelites ¹⁴  who are needy and poor in your land.

[15:7]  ¹ tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.

[15:7]  ² tn Heb “gates.”

[15:7]  ³ tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).

[15:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “from your needy brother.”

[15:8]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before both verbs. The translation indicates the emphasis with the words “be sure to” and “generously,” respectively.

[15:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “whatever his need that he needs for himself.” This redundant expression has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “your eye.”

[15:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

[15:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

[15:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

[15:10]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “by all means.”

[15:10]  ¹² tc Heb “your heart must not be grieved in giving to him.” The LXX and Orig add, “you shall surely lend to him sufficient for his need,” a suggestion based on the same basic idea in v. 8. Such slavish adherence to stock phrases is without warrant in most cases, and certainly here.

[15:11]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”

[15:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your brother.”