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.
The Year for Canceling Debts
1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 3You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
7If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Freeing Servants
12If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 13And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
16But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.
18Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
The Firstborn Animals
19Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep. 20Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. 21If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer. 23But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
