Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Beware that there not be a base thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand”; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you.
- BSB Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- NKJV Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.
- NASB Be careful that there is no mean-spirited thought in your heart, such as, ‘The seventh year, the year of release of debts, is near,’ and your eye is malicious toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry out to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you.
- NLT Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin.
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
Israelites were warned not to refuse a loan as the release year approached, for the wronged poor could cry to God and it would be counted sin. God sees and judges stingy calculation.
Overview
The looming cancellation of debts might tempt a lender to withhold help to avoid loss. God names this a 'base thought' and a sin, and assures that the neglected poor have his ear. This reveals that God weighs motives and defends the oppressed, a sobering reminder that love must triumph over self-interest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- Deut 24:15At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
- Matt 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
- Jas 5:9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
- Exod 22:23If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
- Mark 7:21–22For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
- Jer 17:10I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
- Exod 3:7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
- Prov 28:22He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
- Job 34:28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
- Matt 15:19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
- Prov 23:6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
- Jas 5:4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
- Deut 28:54–56So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
- Rom 7:8–9But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
- 1 Pet 4:9Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
- Ps 9:12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
- 1 Jn 3:15–17Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
- Prov 4:23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
- Prov 21:13Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
- Deut 15:1At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
- Jas 4:5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
- Prov 24:9The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
- Jas 4:17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
- Matt 25:41–45Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
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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 15:9 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.
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