1 “At the end of aevery seven years you shall grant a1 release ofdebts.
2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall1 release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.
3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,
4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly abless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—
5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.
6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; ayou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Generosity to the Poor
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the1 gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, ayou shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but ayou shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your aeye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and bhe cry out to the Lord against you, and cit become sin among you.
10 You shall surely give to him, and ayour heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because bfor this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
11 For athe poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall1 open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
The Law Concerning Bondservants
12a“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is bsold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. Fromwhat the Lord your God has ablessed you with, you shall give to him.
15aYou 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.
16aAnd if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you,
17 then 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.
The third tithe is an additional tithe, entirely separate from the first tithe that supports God's work of preaching the gospel and the second tithe that enables church members to attend the feasts. Like first tithe, second tithe is paid yearly. Just as the law of canceling debts is based on a cycle of seven years, the third tithe is paid only on the increase earned during the third and sixth years of a seven-year cycle. Since Christians are not spiritual Israelites (Galatians 3:29; 6:16) until converted and baptized, they do not save this third tithe until the third year after their baptism. Most members of the church count their third-tithe years from either the Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles closer to the date of their baptism.
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