Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. read more. Do not have other gods besides Me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers' sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me and keep My commands. Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will punish anyone who misuses His name. Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work-you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make [gods of gold] for yourselves.

"If you lend money to My people-to the poor person among you, you must not be like a moneylender to him; you must not charge him interest.

"You must not deny justice to the poor among you in his lawsuit.

They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you."

"But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin-one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

"But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident; I am the Lord your God. read more. "You must not steal. You must not act deceptively or lie to one another. You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; I am the Lord. "You must not oppress your neighbor or rob [him]. The wages due a hired hand must not remain with you until morning. You must not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you are to fear your God; I am the Lord. "You must not act unjustly when rendering judgment. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing. read more. You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You will rejoice before the Lord your God-you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the gull, the various kinds of hawk,

"At the end of [every] three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store [it] within your gates.

"At the end of [every] three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store [it] within your gates. Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreign resident, fatherless, and widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, 'You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.' "If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year. read more. When you set him free, do not send him away empty-handed. Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the Lord your God has blessed you with. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.

The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

"Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or anything that can earn interest You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are entering to possess.

"When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security. You must stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. read more. If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in [the garment] he has given as security. Be sure to return it to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the Lord your God. "Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a town in your land. You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty.

You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty. "Fathers are not to be put to death for [their] children or children for [their] fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin. read more. Do not deny justice to a foreign resident [or] fatherless child, and do not take a widow's garment as security. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this. "When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow.

When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow.

"When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give [it] to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then you will say in the presence of the Lord your God: I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands. read more. I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done all You commanded me. Look down from Your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, read more. but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. It lived and grew up with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for his guest. David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb."

Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Get ready, you and your household, and go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the Lord has announced a seven-year famine, and it has already come to the land." So the woman got ready and did what the man of God said. She and her household lived as foreigners in the land of the Philistines for seven years. read more. When the woman returned from the land of the Philistines at the end of seven years, she went to appeal to the king for her house and field. The king had been speaking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me all the great things Elisha has done." While he was telling the king how Elisha restored the dead [son] to life, the woman whose son he had restored to life came to appeal to the king for her house and field. So Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this is the woman and this is the son Elisha restored to life." When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So the king appointed a court official for her, saying, "Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now." Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, "The man of God has come here."

There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen. Some were saying, "We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live." read more. Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine."

Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine." Still others were saying, "We have borrowed money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. read more. We and our children are [just] like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and vineyards belong to others." I became extremely angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints.

I will turn My hand against you and will burn away your dross completely; I will remove all your impurities.

Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land.

Woe for the one who builds his palace through unrighteousness, his upper rooms through injustice, who makes his fellow man serve without pay and will not give him his wages,

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who are on the hill of Samaria, women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to their husbands, "Bring us something to drink."

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria- the notable people in this first of the nations, those the house of Israel comes to.

Woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil [plans]on their beds! At morning light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

For who scorns the day of small things? These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand."

If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.

for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

[They asked] only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do.