If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
Parallel translations
- WEB “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest.
- BSB If 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.
- NKJV “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
- NASB “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.
- NLT “If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.
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
Lending to a poor fellow Israelite must not be done as a harsh creditor charging interest. Care for the poor outweighs personal profit.
Overview
This law restrains the wealthy from exploiting the poor through burdensome interest, fostering generosity within the covenant community. It treats lending to the needy as an act of mercy, not gain. Such selfless generosity reflects the grace of God, who in Christ gives freely without demanding repayment we could never make.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Lev 25:35–37And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
- Ps 15:5He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
- Deut 23:19–20Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
- Ezek 18:8He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
- Neh 5:7Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
- Prov 28:8He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
- Ezek 18:17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
- Neh 5:10–11I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
- Jer 15:10Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
- Neh 5:2–5For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.
- 2 Kgs 4:7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
- Ezek 18:13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
- 2 Kgs 4:1Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
- Luke 19:23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
- Ezek 22:12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
- Matt 25:27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 22:25 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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