Deuteronomy 15:10-20

10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him, because for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto;
11 for the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore I command thee, saying: `Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land.'
12 "And if thy brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty.
14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock and out of thy floor and out of thy wine press. From that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee, thou shalt give unto him.
15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today.
16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, `I will not go away from thee,' because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee,
17 then thou shalt take an awl and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
18 It shall not seem hard unto thee when thou sendest him away free from thee, for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee in serving thee six years; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
19 "All the firstling males that come from thy herd and from thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
20 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.

Deuteronomy 15:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 15

This chapter treats of a release of debts every seventh year, to which a blessing is promised if attended to, De 15:1-6, which seventh year of release should not hinder lending to a poor man in distress, even though it was nigh at hand, De 15:7-11 and of letting servants go free, whether manservant or maidservant, at the end of six years' servitude, De 15:12-15 but if unwilling to go, and desirous of staying, must have his ear bored through with an awl, and serve to the year of jubilee, De 15:16-18 and of sanctifying and eating the firstlings of the herd and flock where the Lord directs, De 15:19-23.

Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.