You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
- KJV Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
- BSB You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.
- NASB You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for profit.
- NLT Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him.
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
No one was to lend money at interest or sell food at a profit to a struggling brother. Generosity, not gain, governed help for the poor.
Overview
God specified that neither money nor food was to be used to profit off a poor Israelite's distress. This prevented the exploitation of hardship and fostered genuine, sacrificial care. It models a love that gives freely, as Christ gave himself freely for us.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 25:37 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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