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Deuteronomio 15

VBL · Chapter 15/34

1Debes anular las deudas al final de cada siete años.

2Así es como funcionará: Si le diste un préstamo a alguien, deberás anularlo. No podrás cobrar nada de otro israelita, porque el tiempo de cancelación de la deuda del Señor ha sido anunciado.

3Podrás cobrarle a un extranjero, pero deberás anular lo que te deba tu compañero israelita.

4Sin embargo, no debes tener gente pobre entre ti, porque el Señor ciertamente te bendecirá en el país que el Señor tu Dios te da para que lo poseas.

5Sólo deberás asegurarte de obedecer al Señor tu Dios y seguir todos estos mandamientos que te doy hoy.

6El Señor tu Dios te va a bendecir como lo prometió. Prestarás dinero a muchas naciones, pero no necesitarás pedir prestado a ninguna de ellas; gobernarás sobre muchas naciones, pero no serás gobernado por ellas.

7Si hubiera israelitas pobres en cualquiera de tus pueblos, en el país que el Señor tu Dios te está dando, entonces no debes ser insensible o avaro con ellos.

8Al contrario. Debes ser generoso con ellos y prestarles lo que necesiten.

9No tengas malos pensamientos como: “Se acerca el séptimo año en el que se anularán las deudas”, para despreciar a los pobres con burlas y negarles cosa alguna. Ellos se quejarán de ti ante el Señor, y serás hallado culpable de pecado.

10Dales una y otra vez, y hazlo sin enojo. Cuando das generosamente, el Señor tu Dios te bendecirá en todo tu trabajo y en todo lo que emprendas.

11Siempre habrá personas pobres y necesitadas entre ustedes, por eso les ordeno que los ayuden generosamente.

12Si un hebreo, uno de tu propio pueblo, sea hombre o mujer, se vende a ti como esclavo y trabaja para ti durante seis años, tienes que liberarlo en el séptimo año.

13Y cuando lo liberes, no lo despidas con las manos vacías.

14Dale muchos regalos: animales de tus rebaños, grano de tu era y vino de tu lagar. Dale tan generosamente como el Señor tu Dios te ha bendecido a ti.

15No olvides que una vez fuiste esclavo en Egipto, y el Señor su Dios te liberó. Por eso hoy les doy esta orden.

16Sin embargo, si tu esclavo varón te dice: “No quiero dejarte”, porque te ama a ti y a tu familia y es mejor que se quede contigo,

17entonces usa una herramienta de metal para perforar su oreja contra la puerta, y será tu esclavo de por vida. Haz lo mismo con tu esclava.

18No veas como un problema liberar a tu esclava, porque los seis años de servicio de tu esclava valieron el doble de lo que hubieras pagado por contratar a alguien. El Señor tu Dios te bendecirá en todo lo que hagas por actuar de esta manera.

19Debes hacer división para darle al Señor tu Dios todos los primogénitos de tus rebaños y manadas. No debes hacer trabajar al primogénito de tu ganado, y no deberás esquilar al primogénito de tus ovejas.

20Cada año tú y tu familia comerán estos animales que han sido sacrificados en presencia del Señor tu Dios en el lugar que el Señor elija.

21Sin embargo, si un animal tiene algún defecto o es cojo o ciego, de hecho si tiene algún defecto grave, no debes sacrificarlo al Señor tu Dios.

22Cómelo en casa. Todos ustedes, tanto si están ceremonialmente limpios como si no, pueden comerlo como si se comieran una gacela o un ciervo,

23pero no comerán la sangre derramada.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God institutes the year of release every seven years, when debts between Israelites were to be forgiven and Hebrew slaves set free with generosity, along with instructions to lend open-heartedly to the poor without resentment over the approaching year of forgiveness.

Explanation

The year of debt release created an economic system that prevented perpetual indebtedness and permanent structural poverty, recognizing that adverse circumstances can bring anyone into temporary need, but that this condition should not become hereditary and hopeless. The specific warning against the selfish calculation of refusing loans near the seventh year ('and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother') shows that God cared not only about the legal structure of generosity but also about the inner attitude behind it. The promise that 'the poor shall never cease out of the land' honestly acknowledges that poverty would continue to exist even with these laws — the biblical solution was not to eliminate poverty structurally once and for all, but to establish continual, recurring generosity as a practical and permanent response.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'the poor shall never cease out of the land' (v. 11) is echoed by Jesus in Matthew 26:11 ('for ye have the poor always with you') during the anointing at Bethany, showing how deeply He knew and naturally quoted the texts of Deuteronomy.
  • The practice of piercing the ear of a servant who chose to remain voluntarily with his master beyond the required six years (v. 17) symbolized a perpetual and visible commitment, and curiously contrasts with Esau's selling of his birthright, showing different symbolic ways of formalizing agreements in ancient Hebrew culture.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomio 15:1Every seven years there was a release: whoever had lent to a fellow Israelite had to forgive the debt. The idea was to keep poverty from becoming permanent, giving a periodic fresh start to anyone who had fallen into debt.
  2. Deuteronomio 15:2It explains the mechanism of the release: every debt between Israelites was to be forgiven, with no forced collection.
  3. Deuteronomio 15:3It draws a distinction: debts owed by foreigners could still be collected normally, but not those owed by fellow Israelites.
  4. Deuteronomio 15:4The promise behind the law is that, if followed closely, there would be no structural poverty among the people, because of God’s blessing on the land.
  5. Deuteronomio 15:5This absence of poverty is conditioned on carefully obeying all the commandments.
  6. Deuteronomio 15:6The promised blessing would even include economic prosperity over other nations: lending without needing to borrow.
  7. Deuteronomio 15:7If there was still a poor person among the people, the instruction was not to harden the heart or shut the hand against him.
  8. Deuteronomio 15:8It calls for active generosity: opening the hand and lending enough to meet the real need of the poor person.
  9. Deuteronomio 15:9It warns against a mean-spirited calculation: refusing help close to the year of release, out of fear of not getting the money back, would be counted as sin.
  10. Deuteronomio 15:10It asks that generosity come without resentment, because that generous attitude would also bring a blessing on one’s own work.
  11. Deuteronomio 15:11It realistically acknowledges that poverty would never disappear entirely, which is why the command to keep being generous always remains in force.
  12. Deuteronomio 15:12A Hebrew servant was freed after six years of service, and the owner still had to send him away with provisions, not empty-handed. If he preferred to stay because he loved the household, his ear was pierced at the door as a sign that he chose to stay forever, a custom common in the ancient world for marking that kind of commitment.
  13. Deuteronomio 15:13When freeing a Hebrew servant after six years, the law forbids sending him away empty-handed.
  14. Deuteronomio 15:14It requires the owner to furnish him generously from his own flock, threshing floor, and winepress — a share of the prosperity received from God.
  15. Deuteronomio 15:15The reason given once again is the memory of slavery in Egypt: whoever was freed by God must also free others generously.
  16. Deuteronomio 15:16It provides for the case of the servant who prefers to stay, because he loves the household and the owner’s family.
  17. Deuteronomio 15:17In that case, a simple ritual — piercing the ear at the door — marked the commitment to serve forever, a common practice at the time.
  18. Deuteronomio 15:18It asks that the owner not see the release as a loss, since six years of work were already worth double the normal wage of a hired hand.
  19. Deuteronomio 15:19Every firstborn male of the flock and herd was born already set apart for the LORD and could not be used for work or shorn: it was as if, from birth, part of the livestock already belonged to God before the owner made any decision.
  20. Deuteronomio 15:20It requires that the firstborn of the flock be eaten yearly before God, at the place He chose, by the whole family.
  21. Deuteronomio 15:21Important exception: an animal with a defect — lame, blind, or with any flaw — could not be offered as a sacrifice.
  22. Deuteronomio 15:22In that case of a defect, the animal could be eaten normally at home, by anyone, as ordinary meat.
  23. Deuteronomio 15:23Even in this exception, the rule about blood still applies: never eat it, always pour it out on the ground.

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