Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest.
- KJV Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
- NKJV “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.
- NASB “You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest.
- NLT “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else.
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 must not charge interest to a fellow Israelite on money, food, or anything lent. Generosity, not profit, was to mark dealings among God's people.
Overview
Lending at interest to a needy brother would exploit his hardship, so it was prohibited within the covenant community to foster compassion and mutual care. This law protected the poor from debt-driven oppression. It reflects God's concern for the vulnerable and calls His people to generosity, a kindness ultimately rooted in the gracious giving of God Himself in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 22:25If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.
- Lev 25:35–37Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
- Ps 15:5who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
- Ezek 18:13He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.
- Ezek 18:7–8He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
- Ezek 22:12In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
- Luke 6:34–35And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
- Ezek 18:16–18He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
- Neh 5:1–7About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
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 23:19 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.