Deuteronomy Chapter 15 — The Year of Release
This chapter details the laws for the Sabbatical year, including the cancellation of debts, generosity toward the poor, and the release of servants.
1At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.
2This is the way it shall be done: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not require payment from his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed.
3Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release.
4However there will be no poor with you (for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess)
5if only you diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today.
6For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. You will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother;
8but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks.
9Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing; and he cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you.
10You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.
11For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.
12If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty.
14You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
15You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today.
16It shall be, if he tells you, “I will not go out from you,” because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you,
17then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.
18It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. The LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.
19You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
20You shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, you and your household.
21If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
22You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer.
23Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Deuteronomy 15:1
“At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.”
This verse introduces the fundamental law of the Sabbatical year regarding debt relief for the community.
Deuteronomy 15:11
“For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.”
This verse highlights the ongoing ethical responsibility to care for the vulnerable within society.
Chapter Summary
Deuteronomy 15 outlines the regulations for the 'Year of Release,' occurring every seven years. During this time, creditors are commanded to cancel the debts of their fellow Israelites, a practice intended to prevent permanent poverty. God promises that if the people are obedient, there will be no poor among them. The chapter emphasizes a spirit of generosity, instructing individuals not to harden their hearts or close their hands against those in need, regardless of how close the year of release is. It also addresses the treatment of Hebrew servants, who are to be set free after six years of service and sent away with liberal provisions from the master's flock and harvest. Furthermore, the text specifies that all firstborn male livestock must be dedicated to the Lord, eaten in His presence, and kept free from work or blemish.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Year of Release is a Sabbatical year occurring every seven years when debts among fellow Israelites were cancelled. It served as a social and economic reset to prevent systemic poverty and ensure the well-being of the community.
The text commands people not to harden their hearts or shut their hands against the poor. Even if the seventh year is near, they are told to lend generously to those in need, with the promise that God will bless their work in return.
Hebrew servants were to be granted their freedom after six years of service. Their masters were required not to send them away empty-handed but to provide for them liberally from their own flocks, grain floors, and wine presses.
Study Note
The law of releasing servants in verses 12-15 is explicitly linked to the collective memory of Israel's own deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
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