Deuteronomy 15:3
in Deuteronomy 15You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it: but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall release.
KJV
Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 15
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release
on Deuteronomy 15:1-3
The seventh year rests the land in Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:2-7, and here the same year releases the loan, so the sabbatical principle reaches from the field to the ledger. Commentators divide over how far the release goes, since Albert Barnes reads it as a suspension of collection for that year while John Gill takes the debt to be forgiven outright. Verse 3 exempts the foreigner, which keeps the statute aimed at a brother's poverty rather than at trade.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again,.... Either on the seventh year, or after it: but that which is thine with thy brother, thine hand shall release; a debt that lies between them, where the one is the creditor, and the other debtor, the creditor shall freely and fully forgive the debtor.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again--Admission to all the religious privileges of the Israelites was freely granted to heathen proselytes, though this spiritual incorporation did not always imply an equal participation of civil rights and privileges (Le 25:44;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַנָּכְרִ֖י | hanakheri | the foreigner | H5237 → | 45 times |
| תִּגֹּ֑שׂ | tigos | you will press | H5065 → | |
| וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר | vaasher | and [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְךָ֛ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אָחִ֖יךָ | ʾachikha | countryman your | H251 → | 630 times |
| תַּשְׁמֵ֥ט | tashmet | let it release | H8058 → | |
| יָדֶֽךָ׃ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַנָּכְרִ֖יthe foreigner
hanakheriH5237 →45 times
תִּגֹּ֑שׂyou will press
tigosH5065 →
וַאֲשֶׁ֨רand [that] which
vaasherH834 →5497 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְךָ֛to <the> you
lekha
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אָחִ֖יךָcountryman your
ʾachikhaH251 →630 times
תַּשְׁמֵ֥טlet it release
tashmetH8058 →
יָדֶֽךָ׃hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- Titus 3:8
This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable…
- Matthew 25:40
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
John 8:35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
it leads to
- Galatians 4:4–7
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- Luke 15:31
‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.
- Romans 8:15–17
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
- Galatians 4:4–7
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
