You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
Parallel translations
- WEB You may lend on interest to a foreigner; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you go in to possess it.
- KJV Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
- BSB You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.
- NKJV To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
- NLT You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
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
Interest could be charged to a foreigner but not to a fellow Israelite, with blessing promised for obedience. Covenant brotherhood called for special generosity.
Overview
The distinction allowed ordinary commercial lending to foreigners while protecting needy brothers within the covenant family from interest-bearing debt. Obedience to this compassionate law carried the promise of God's blessing in the land. It underscores the special bonds of love within God's people and points toward the generous, brotherly love that marks the new covenant community (1 John 3:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 15:10You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; because that for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to.
- Deut 15:3Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release.
- Deut 14:21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- 1 Cor 15:58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
- Luke 14:14and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”
- Isa 1:19If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
- Deut 28:12Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow.
- Prov 19:17He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- Lev 19:33–34“‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
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 23:20 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
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