At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
Parallel translations
- WEB At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.
- KJV At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
- NKJV “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
- NASB “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
- NLT “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Every seventh year Israel was to cancel debts among themselves. God ordered their economy to prevent permanent poverty and bondage.
Overview
The 'year of release' (Shemittah) regularly reset debts so that no Israelite would be crushed by perpetual obligation. It expressed God's ownership of the land and people and his concern for compassion over accumulation. This rhythm of release foreshadows the ultimate Jubilee Jesus proclaimed, freeing debtors from the deeper bondage of sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 31:10Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
- Lev 25:2–4“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
- Exod 23:10–11For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,
- Exod 21:2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
- Luke 4:18–19“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Jer 36:8–18So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. In the house of the LORD he read the words of the LORD from the scroll.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 15:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.