Interest

How Nave’s arranged it

• (Income from loaning money, usually called "usury" in the Scriptures, but not generally signifying unlawful or unjust rates)Exodus 22:25Leviticus 25:36Leviticus 25:37Deuteronomy 23:19Deuteronomy 23:20Nehemiah 5:1–13Psalms 15:5Proverbs 28:8Isaiah 24:2Ezekiel 18:8Ezekiel 18:9Ezekiel 18:13Ezekiel 18:17Ezekiel 22:12
• See Borrowing
• See Debt
• See Debtors
• See Lending
• See Money

The passages, in Bible order (14)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 14 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Exodus 22:25

   If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 22:251 voice

   “There is a great deal about sharing and exchanging, but it is enough to say that the law forbids lending at interest to a brother. By brother it means not merely one born of the same parents but a member of the same tribe or one of the same faith, who shares in the same Logos. The law does not deem it right to collect interest on the capital. It seeks to enable free giving to those in need, with hands and minds wide open. God is the creator of this free gift.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 22:25→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Leviticus 25:36

   Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 25:362 voices

   “Take thou no usury of him - Usury, at present, signifies unlawful interest for money. Properly, it means the reward or compensation given for the use of a thing, but is principally spoken of money. For the definition of the original term, See the note on Exo 22:25.

   “Take thou no usury of him, or increase,....

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 25:36→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Leviticus 25:37

   You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 25:371 voice

   “Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury,....

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 25:37→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Deuteronomy 23:19

   Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:192 voices

   “[Scripture] orders money to be returned without usury. It is a mark of kindly feeling to help one who has nothing. It is a sign of a hard nature to extort more than one has given. If one has need of your assistance because he has not enough of his own wherewith to repay a debt, is it not a wicked thing to demand under the guise of kindly feeling a larger sum from him who has not the means to pay off a lesser amount?

   “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother,....

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 23:19→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Deuteronomy 23:20

   You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:201 voice

   “Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury,....

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 23:20→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Nehemiah 5:1–13

   About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.

   ›Commentary on Nehemiah 5:1–132 voices

   “And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives, etc. Indeed, the people desired to build the city wall, but due to the great famine, they were hindered from the sacred work. This famine was caused not only by the shortage of …

   “And there was a great cry of the people, and of their wives,.... Those of the poorer sort: against their brethren the Jews; the rich that oppressed them; and this cry or complaint was made to Nehemiah for redress.

   Everything gathered on Nehemiah 5:1–13→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Psalms 15:5

   who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

   ›Commentary on Psalms 15:52 voices

   “What is more cruel than to lend money to one who has none and then to exact double the amount? If one cannot pay the simple amount, how will he pay double?… Nations have often failed because of usury, and this has been the cause of public calamity.

   “He that putteth not out his money to usury,....

   Everything gathered on Psalms 15:5→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Proverbs 28:8

   He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.

   ›Commentary on Proverbs 28:82 voices

   “He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance,.... By biting and oppressing the poor; letting him have money at an exorbitant interest, and goods at an exorbitant price, and so increases his substance in this scandalous manner; hence usury is in Lev 25:36, called "increase", and by the Greeks τοκος, a "birth", because money is the birth of money, as Aristotle (e) observes; and so by the Latins "foenus", as if it was "foetus" (f), "a birth".

   “He that by usury - increaseth his substance - By taking unlawful interest for his money; lending to a man in great distress, money, for the use of which he requires an exorbitant sum. O that the names of all those unfeeling, hard-hearted, consummate villains in the nation, who thus take advantage of their neighbour’s necessities to enrich themselves, were published at every market cross; and then the delinquents all sent to their brother savages in New Zealand. It would be a happy riddance to the country.

   Everything gathered on Proverbs 28:8→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Isaiah 24:2

   people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

   ›Commentary on Isaiah 24:22 voices

   “Nor indeed is there any distinction between the state of the people and that of the priesthood: but it seems to me to be a simple fulfillment of the ancient curse, "As with the people, so with the priest." Nor again are the great and eminent men affected otherwise than the majority; no, they are openly at war with the priest, and the piety of the people is an aid to their powers of persuasion.

   “(Chapter 24 - Verses 1 and following) Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth, and make it desolate, and afflict its face, and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word.

   Everything gathered on Isaiah 24:2→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Ezekiel 18:8

    He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 18:82 voices

    “(Verse 5, 6 and following) And if a man is just and does judgment and justice, does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not violate his neighbor's wife, does not approach a menstruating woman, does not oppress anyone, gives back a pledge to a debtor, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, covers the naked with clothing, does not lend at interest or take any increase, turns his hand away from iniquity, does justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my judgments, to do truth: this man is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord God.

    “10. Hath not given forth upon usury - בנשך לא יתן beneshech lo yitten. נשך nasach signifies to bite; usury is properly so termed, because it bites into and devours the principal. Usury signifies, with us, exacting unlawful interest for money; and taking the advantage of a man’s necessities to advance him cash on exorbitant profit. This bites the receiver in his property, and the lender in his salvation.

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 18:8→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Ezekiel 18:9

    He follows My statutes and faithfully keeps My ordinances. That man is righteous; surely he will live, declares the Lord GOD.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 18:92 voices

    “(Verse 5, 6 and following) And if a man is just and does judgment and justice, does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not violate his neighbor's wife, does not approach a menstruating woman, does not oppress anyone, gives back a pledge to a debtor, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, covers the naked with clothing, does not lend at interest or take any increase, turns his hand away from iniquity, does justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my judgments, to do truth: this man is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord God.

    “Therefore, dearly beloved, let us shed our tears every day and ask this teacher of virtues to teach us to be devout to these profitable wounds. May he show us how to expose our breast in this warfare and sustain every onset of injury. It …

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 18:9→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Ezekiel 18:13

    He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 18:132 voices

    “(Ver. 10 and following) But if he has fathered a son who is a robber, shedding blood, and he has committed one of these (or, as the Septuagint has translated, if he has committed sins: if he has not walked in the way of his righteous father), and he does all these things, not abstaining from them, but rather feasting on the mountains, defiling the wife of his neighbor, oppressing the needy and the poor, seizing plunder, not returning pledges, lifting his eyes to idols, committing abominations, engaging in usury, and taking more, will he live?

    “Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase,....

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 18:13→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Ezekiel 18:17

    He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 18:172 voices

    “That hath taken off his hand from the poor,....

    “He shall not die for the iniquity of his father - He shall no more be affected by his father’s crimes, than his father was benefited by his grandfather’s righteousness.

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 18:17→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Ezekiel 22:12

    In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 22:122 voices

    “(Chapter 22, Verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, do you not judge the city of blood, and show her all her abominations? And say: Thus says the Lord God: The city that sheds blood within herself, so that her time may come, and that has made idols against herself to defile herself. In your blood that was shed, you have sinned, and you have defiled yourself with your idols that you have made.

    “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood.....

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 22:12→

    Verse page →Original language →