Deuteronomy 15-16; Psalms 58 - Prayer Tents

Release for Debtors

15"At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.H7093H7651H8141H6213H8059 2This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the LORD's time of release has arrived.H1697H8059H1167H4874H3027H5383H7453H8058H5065H7453H251H7121H3068H8059 3This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites—not to the foreigners living among you.H5237H5065H251H3027H8058 4"There should be no poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession.H657H34H3068H1288H1288H776H3068H430H5414H5159H3423 5You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.H8085H8085H6963H3068H430H8104H6213H4687H6680H3117 6The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.H3068H430H1288H1696H5670H7227H1471H5670H4910H7227H1471H4910 7"But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them.H34H259H251H259H8179H776H3068H430H5414H553H3824H7092H3027H34H251 8Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.H6605H3027H6605H5670H5670H1767H4270H2637 9Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the LORD, you will be considered guilty of sin.H8104H1697H1100H3824H559H7651H8141H8141H8059H7126H5869H7489H34H251H5414H7121H3068H2399 10Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.H5414H5414H3824H3415H5414H1558H1697H3068H430H1288H4639H4916H3027 11There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.H34H2308H7130H776H6680H559H6605H3027H6605H251H6041H34H776

Release for Hebrew Slaves

12"If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.H251H5680H5680H4376H5647H8337H8141H7637H8141H7971H2670 13"When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed.H7971H2670H7971H7387 14Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the LORD your God has blessed you.H6059H6059H6629H1637H3342H3068H430H1288H5414 15Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.H2142H5650H776H4714H3068H430H6299H6680H1697H3117 16"But suppose your servant says, 'I will not leave you,' because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you.H559H3318H157H1004H2895 17In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.H3947H4836H5414H241H1817H5650H5769H519H6213 18"You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.H7185H5869H7971H2670H7939H4932H7916H5647H8337H8141H3068H430H1288H6213

Sacrificing Firstborn Male Animals

19"You must set aside for the LORD your God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks.H1060H2145H3205H1241H6629H6942H3068H430H5647H1060H7794H1494H1060H6629 20Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of the LORD your God each year at the place he chooses.H398H6440H3068H430H8141H8141H4725H3068H977H1004 21But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.H3971H6455H5787H7451H3971H2076H3068H430 22Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer.H398H8179H2931H2889H3162H6643H354 23But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.H398H1818H8210H776H4325

Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

16"In honor of the LORD your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib, for that was the month in which the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.H8104H2320H24H6213H6453H3068H430H2320H24H3068H430H3318H4714H3915 2Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the LORD your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored.H2076H6453H3068H430H6629H1241H4725H3068H977H7931H8034 3Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt.H398H2557H7651H3117H398H4682H3899H6040H3318H776H4714H2649H2142H3117H3318H776H4714H3117H2416 4Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.H7603H7200H1366H7651H3117H1320H2076H7223H3117H6153H3885H1242 5"You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you.H3201H2076H6453H259H8179H3068H430H5414 6You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt.H4725H3068H430H977H7931H8034H2076H6453H6153H935H8121H4150H3318H4714 7Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the LORD your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning.H1310H398H4725H3068H430H977H6437H1242H1980H168 8For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the LORD your God, and no work may be done on that day.H8337H3117H398H4682H7637H3117H6116H3068H430H6213H4399

The Festival of Harvest

9"Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest.H7651H7620H5608H2490H5608H7651H7620H2490H2770H7054 10Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the LORD your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him.H6213H2282H7620H3068H430H4530H5071H3027H5414H3068H430H1288 11This is a time to celebrate before the LORD your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you.H8055H6440H3068H430H1121H1323H5650H519H3881H8179H1616H3490H490H7130H4725H3068H430H977H7931H8034 12Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.H2142H5650H4714H8104H6213H2706

The Festival of Shelters

13"You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed.H6213H2282H5521H7651H3117H622H1637H3342 14This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns.H8055H2282H1121H1323H5650H519H3881H1616H3490H490H8179 15For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the LORD your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.H7651H3117H2287H3068H430H4725H3068H977H3068H430H1288H8393H4639H3027H8056 16"Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the LORD without a gift for him.H7969H6471H8141H2138H7200H6440H3068H430H4725H977H2282H4682H2282H7620H2282H5521H7200H6440H3068H7387 17All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the LORD your God.H376H4979H3027H1293H3068H430H5414

Justice for the People

18"Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the LORD your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.H8199H7860H5414H8179H3068H430H5414H7626H8199H5971H6664H4941 19You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly.H5186H4941H5234H6440H3947H7810H7810H5786H5869H2450H5557H1697H6662 20Let true justice prevail, so you may live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.H6664H6664H7291H2421H3423H776H3068H430H5414 21"You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the LORD your God.H5193H842H6086H681H4196H3068H430H6213 22And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the LORD your God hates them.H6965H4676H3068H430H8130