You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to. 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.
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Deuteronomy 15:10-11 sits inside this longer paragraph.
At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts. This 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 Yahweh’s release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release. However there will be no poor with you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess) if only you diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today. For Yahweh 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. If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks. Beware 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 Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you. You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to. 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. If 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. When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press. As Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today. It 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, 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. It 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. Yahweh your God will bless you in all that you do. You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. You shall eat it before Yahweh your God year by year in the place which Yahweh shall choose, you and your household. If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer. Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Parallel Translations
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You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.
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.
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Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
Show all 3 translations
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Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.'
Cross-references (26)
- Matthew 26:11 (v11) For you always have the poor with you; but you don’t always have me.
- Mark 14:7 (v11) For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me.
- Proverbs 22:9 (v10) He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.
- John 12:8 (v11) For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
- Deuteronomy 15:8 (v11) but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks.
Show all 26 cross-references
- Proverbs 22:2 (v11) The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all.
- Hebrews 13:16 (v10) But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
- 1 John 3:16-18 (v11) By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the…
- Deuteronomy 14:29 (v10) The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, as well as the foreigner living among you, the fatherless, and the widow…
- Psalms 41:1-2 (v10) Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil. Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be…
- Isaiah 58:10 (v10) and if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will…
- Acts 4:32-35 (v11) The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was…
- 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (v10) that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; laying up in store for themselves a…
- Deuteronomy 24:19 (v10) When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the…
- Luke 12:33 (v11) Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that…
- Proverbs 11:24-25 (v10) There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty. The liberal soul…
- Isaiah 32:8 (v10) But the noble devises noble things; and he will continue in noble things.
- Matthew 5:42 (v11) Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
- Acts 2:45 (v11) They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
- 2 Corinthians 8:2-9 (v11) how in much proof of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their generosity. For…
- Philippians 4:18-19 (v10) But I have all things and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance,…
- Deuteronomy 15:4 (v10) However there will be no poor with you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to…
- Acts 11:28-30 (v11) One of them named Agabus stood up, and indicated by the Spirit that there should be a great famine all over the world, which also happened…
- Acts 20:35 (v10) In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he…
- 1 Peter 4:11 (v10) If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in…
- 2 Corinthians 9:5-11 (v10) I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Hebrew, let not thine heart be evil.
Hebrew, let not thine heart be evil.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Deu 15:10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine…
Deu 15:10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
Ver. 10. Thine heart shall not be grieved.] {See Trapp on "2Co 9:7"}
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The Lord thy God shall bless thee.] See Pro 19:17; and "Alms," ubi supra.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest…
Thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him, i.e. thou shalt give not only with an open hand, but with a willing and cheerful mind and heart, Rom 12:8; 2Co 9:9, without which thy very charity is uncharitable, and not accepted by God, who requires the heart in all his services.
In all that thou puttest thine hand unto, i.e. in all thy works, as before, for the hand is the great instrument of action.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Thou shall surely give him,.... Or lend to him;…
Thou shall surely give him,.... Or lend to him; though lending in such a case and circumstances, that person being extremely poor, and the year of release at hand, is the same as giving. Jarchi remarks that money must be given him, even a hundred times if he asks it; but the limitation is to what he wants, and what is sufficient for his present wants, Deu 15:8.
and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; grieved at parting with his money he has little or no hope of seeing again, grudging it to him to whom it is given; when, on the other hand, it should he given freely and cheerfully, for God loves a cheerful giver:
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because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all thou puttest thine hand unto; that is, for lending or giving largely, liberally, and cheerfully, to persons in distress; see Pro 11:24.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Thine heart shall not be grieved - That is,…
Thine heart shall not be grieved - That is, thou shalt give, not only with an open hand, but with a willing and chearful mind, without which thy very charity is uncharitable, and not accepted by God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v11 Verse 11. For the poor shall never cease out…
Verse 11. For the poor shall never cease out of the land] To this passage our Lord appears to allude Mr 14:7: For ye have the poor with you always. God leaves these in mercy among men to exercise the feelings of compassion, tenderness, mercy, &c. And without occasions afforded to exercise these, man would soon become a Stoic or a brute.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v11 Deu 15:11. The poor shall never cease — God,…
Deu 15:11. The poor shall never cease — God, by his providence, will so order it, partly for the punishment of your disobedience, and partly for the trial and exercise of your obedience to him, and charity to your brother.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Neither. Hebrew, "thy heart shall not be evil in…
Neither. Hebrew, "thy heart shall not be evil in giving: for to this end the Lord....hath blessed thee." Imitate his clemency. --- Hand, in all thy undertakings and possessions.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v11 For the poor shall never cease out of the…
For the poor shall never cease out of the land--Although every Israelite on the conquest of Canaan became the owner of property, yet in the providence of God who foresaw the event, it was permitted, partly as a punishment of disobedience and partly for the exercise of benevolent and charitable feelings, that "the poor should never cease out of the land."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v11 11. The poor shall never cease out of the…
11. The poor shall never cease out of the land — Our Lord says, “Ye have the poor with you always.” Mar_14:7. Here Moses lays down rules which the people were to observe in the case of Hebrew slaves. The earlier legislation is recorded in Exo_21:2-6.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 10. thine heart shall not be grieved, etc.] God…
10. thine heart shall not be grieved, etc.] God loveth a cheerful giver (2Co_9:7).
puttest thine hand unto] See on Deu_12:7.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 (10) Thou shalt surely give.—“Even a hundred times.”
(10) Thou shalt surely give.—“Even a hundred times.”
Him.—“Between thee and him alone.” (Comp. “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” in Mat_6:3). I have thought it worth while to borrow the comments of Rashi on these verses (Deu_15:7-10) almost entire, to show how well the Jews have understood the true principles of Christian charity from the law of Moses. That people has always been remarkable for kindness to its own poor.
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For this thing.—Literally, this word, or this promise. And Rashi observes, “Even when thou hast promised to give, thou wilt receive the reward of the promise as well as the reward of the deed;” and we may compare St. Paul. “If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (2Co_8:12.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Shall not be grieved; literally, shall not become evil,…
Shall not be grieved; literally, shall not become evil, i.e. shall not entertain a grudge. They were to give, not grudgingly or of necessity, merely through dread of God"s displeasure, but cheerfully and spontaneously. (of 2Co_9:7) For this God would bless them in all their works, so that they should not only be no losers, but should be gainers, by their generosity.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 For the poor will never cease to exist in…
For the poor will never cease to exist in the land
This can be stated in positive form. AT: "For there will always be poor people in the land" (See: Double Negatives)
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For the poor
The nominal adjective "the poor" can be stated as an adjective. AT: "For poor people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
I command you and say, 'You must surely open your hand ... in your land.'
This has a quotation within a quotation. A direct quotation can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "I command you to open your hand ... in your land" (See:Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor
A person who is willing to help someone else is spoken of as if his hand were open. AT: "help your fellow Israelite, those who are needy, and those who are poor" (See: Metaphor)
your brother, to your needy, and to your poor
The words "needy" and "poor" mean basically the same thing and emphasize that these are people who cannot help themselves. AT: "help your fellow Israelites who cannot help themselves" (See: Doublet)
translationWords
command
hand
brother
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 15:11 The reality that there will always be some…
15:11 The reality that there will always be some . . . who are poor in a fallen world is no excuse for indifference to their plight. Instead, it should emphasize the need for the rich to contribute to the well-being of the poor (Matt 26:6-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.