The Year for Forgiving People What They Owe
1At the end of every seven years you must forgive people what they owe you. 2Have you made a loan to one of your own people? Then forgive what is owed to you. You can’t require that person to pay you back. The Lord’s time to forgive what is owed has been announced. 3You can require someone from another nation to pay you back. But you must forgive what any of your own people owes you. 4There shouldn’t be any poor people among you. The Lord will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you. You will take it over as your own. 5The Lord your God will bless you if you obey him completely. Be careful to follow all the commands I’m giving you today. 6The Lord your God will bless you, just as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations. But you won’t have to borrow from any of them. You will rule over many nations. But none of them will rule over you.
7Suppose someone is poor among you. And suppose they live in one of the towns in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Then don’t be mean to them. They are poor. So don’t hold back money from them. 8Instead, open your hands and lend them what they need. Do it freely. 9Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don’t say to yourself, “The seventh year will soon be here. It’s the year for forgiving people what they owe.” If you think like that, you might treat the needy people among you badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the Lord against you. And he will find you guilty of sin. 10So give freely to needy people. Let your heart be tender toward them. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work. He will bless you in everything you do. 11There will always be poor people in the land. So I’m commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.
Set Your Hebrew Servants Free
12Suppose any Hebrew men or women sell themselves to you. If they do, they will serve you for six years. Then in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13But when you set them free, don’t send them away without anything to show for all their work. 14Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The Lord your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you. 15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God set you free. That’s why I’m giving you this command today.
16But suppose your servant says to you, “I don’t want to leave you.” He loves you and your family. And you are taking good care of him. 17Then take him to the door of your house. Poke a hole through his earlobe into the doorpost. And he will become your servant for life. Do the same with your female servant.
18Don’t think you are being cheated when you set your servants free. After all, they have served you for six years. The service of each of them has been worth twice as much as the service of a hired worker. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Male Animals Born First to Their Mothers
19Set apart every male animal among your livestock that was born first to its mother. Set it apart to the Lord your God. Don’t put a firstborn cow to work. Don’t clip the wool from a firstborn sheep. 20Each year you and your family must eat them. Do it in front of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. 21Suppose an animal has something wrong with it. It might not be able to see or walk. Or it might have a bad flaw. Then you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22You must eat it in your own towns. Those who are “clean” and those who are “unclean” can eat it. Eat it as if it were antelope or deer meat. 23But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it. Pour the blood out on the ground like water.
Mwaka Wa Kufuta Madeni
(Walawi 25:1-7)
115:1 Kum 31:10; Neh 10:31; Kut 23:10; Yer 34:14Kila mwisho wa miaka saba ni lazima mfute madeni. 2Hivi ndivyo itakavyofanyika: Kila mkopeshaji atafuta mkopo aliomkopesha Mwisraeli mwenzake. Hatamtaka Mwisraeli mwenzake au ndugu yake amlipe hilo deni, kwa sababu wakati wa Bwana wa kufuta madeni umetangazwa. 315:3 Mwa 31:15; Kum 23:20; 28:12; Rut 2:10Unaweza kudai malipo kwa mgeni, lakini lazima ufute kila deni ambalo unamdai ndugu yako. 415:4 Kum 28:5, 8Hata hivyo, hapatakuwepo maskini miongoni mwenu, kwa kuwa katika nchi Bwana Mungu wenu anayowapa kuimiliki kama urithi wenu, atawabariki sana, 515:5 Kut 15:26; Kum 7:12; 28:1ikiwa tutamtii Bwana Mungu wenu kikamilifu na kuwa waangalifu kuyafuata maagizo haya yote ninayowapa leo. 615:6 Kum 28:12-13, 44; Mit 22:7Kwa kuwa Bwana Mungu wenu atawabariki kama alivyoahidi, nanyi mtawakopesha mataifa mengi lakini hamtakopa kwa yeyote. Mtatawala mataifa mengi lakini hakuna taifa litakalowatawala ninyi.
715:7 Mt 26:11; 18:30; 1Yn 3:17Ikiwa kuna mtu maskini miongoni mwa ndugu zenu, katika mji wowote wa hiyo nchi ambayo Bwana Mungu wenu anawapa, msiwe na moyo mgumu wala usimfumbie mkono ndugu yako aliye maskini. 815:8 Mt 5:42; Lk 6:34; Mdo 24:17; Law 25:35; Gal 2:10Afadhali fungua mikono yako na umkopeshe kwa hiari chochote anachohitaji. 915:9 Mt 20:15; Kut 22:23; Ay 5:15; Yak 5:4; Amo 5:11; Mit 28:22; Za 140:12Jihadhari usijiwekee wazo hili ovu: “Mwaka wa saba, mwaka wa kufuta madeni umekaribia,” usije ukaonyesha nia mbaya kwa ndugu yako mhitaji na ukaacha kumpa chochote. Anaweza kumlalamikia Bwana dhidi yako nawe utakuwa umepatikana na hatia ya dhambi. 1015:10 2Kor 9:5; Kum 14:29; 24:19; Mt 25:40; Mdo 20:35; Rum 12:8; 1Tim 6:18; 1Pet 4:11Mpe kwa ukarimu na ufanye hivyo bila kinyongo moyoni, ndipo kwa sababu ya hili Bwana Mungu wenu atakubariki katika kazi zako zote na kwa kila kitu utakachokiwekea mkono wako. 1115:11 Mt 26:11; Mk 14:7; Yn 12:8Siku zote watakuwepo watu maskini katika nchi. Kwa hiyo ninawaamuru mwe na mikono iliyokunjuliwa kuwaelekea ndugu zenu, kuwaelekea maskini na wahitaji katika nchi yenu.
Kuwaacha Huru Watumwa
(Kutoka 21:1-18)
1215:12 Yer 34:14; Kut 21:2; Law 25:39Kama Mwebrania mwenzako, mwanaume au mwanamke, akijiuza kwako na kukutumikia miaka sita, katika mwaka wa saba ni lazima umwache aende zake akiwa huru. 13Nawe wakati utakapomwachia usimwache aende mikono mitupu. 1415:14 Hes 18:27; Mit 10:22Mpe kwa uhuru kutoka zizi lako la kondoo na mbuzi, kutoka sakafu yako ya kupuria nafaka na kutoka mashinikizo yako ya kukamulia divai. Mpe kama vile ambavyo Bwana Mungu wako alivyokubariki. 1515:15 Kut 13:3; Yer 34:13; Kut 20:2; Kum 4:34; 9:26; 16:12; 24:18; Yer 16:14; 27:7Kumbukeni kuwa ninyi mlikuwa watumwa huko Misri naye Bwana Mungu wenu aliwakomboa. Ndiyo sababu nimewapa agizo hili leo.
1615:16 Kum 21:5-6Lakini mtumishi wako akikuambia, “Sitaki kukuacha,” kwa sababu anakupenda wewe na jamaa yako naye anaridhika nawe, 17ndipo utachukua chuma kidogo utoboe sikio lake mpaka hicho chuma kiingie kwenye ubao wa mlango, naye atakuwa mtumishi wako wa maisha. Ufanye vivyo hivyo kwa mtumishi wa kike.
1815:18 Isa 16:14; 21:16Usifikiri kuwa kuna ugumu kumwacha mtumishi wako huru, kwa sababu utumishi wake kwako kwa miaka hii sita umekuwa wa thamani mara mbili ya ujira wa mtumishi wa kuajiriwa. Naye Bwana Mungu wenu atakubarikia kwa kila kitu utakachofanya.
Wazaliwa Wa Kwanza Wa Wanyama
1915:19 Law 27:9; Kut 13:2; Mwa 4:4; Kut 22:30Wekeni wakfu kwa Bwana Mungu wenu kila mzaliwa wa kwanza wa kiume wa makundi yenu ya ngʼombe na ya mbuzi na kondoo. Maksai walio wazaliwa wa kwanza msiwafanyize kazi, wala msinyoe manyoya ya wazaliwa wa kwanza wa kondoo. 2015:20 Law 7:15-18; Kum 12:5-7; 14:23Kila mwaka ninyi na jamaa zenu mtapaswa kuwala mbele za Bwana Mungu wenu pale mahali atakapopachagua. 2115:21 Kut 12:5; Law 22:19-25; Kum 17:1; Mal 1:8, 13Kama mnyama ana dosari, akiwa ni kilema au kipofu au kama ana kilema kibaya, kamwe usimtoe dhabihu kwa Bwana Mungu wenu. 2215:22 Kum 12:15, 22Itawapasa kumla ninyi wenyewe katika miji yenu. Wote wasio safi na walio safi kwa desturi za kiibada mwaweza kula kama vile mnavyokula paa au kulungu. 2315:23 Mwa 9:4; Kum 12:16; Eze 33:25; Law 7:26; 17:10Lakini kamwe msinywe damu; imwageni ardhini kama maji.
