Deuteronomy 15:6
in Deuteronomy 15When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Jehovah thy God will bless thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.
KJV
For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Save when there shall be no poor
on Deuteronomy 15:4-6
Verse 4 says there shall be no poor among you and verse 5 attaches the condition, only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. The margin of the King James Bible turns verse 4 from an exception into a purpose, to the end that there be no poor among you, while Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the clause as a qualification limiting verse 3, so that a wealthy borrower could still be pressed. Verse 6 raises the promise to national scale, lending to many nations and borrowing of none.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Hebrew lent to the nations at interest. He did not himself receive doctrine from the people but handed it down. To him the Lord opened his treasury so that the rain of his word might make the nations to grow wet and so that he might become the prince among the nations, but he himself would have no prince over himself.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the L ORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. 23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v21-23
), and should be enriched by those loans. Thus the nations should become subject to them, and dependent on them, as the borrower is servant to the lender, Prov. xxii. To be able to lend, and not to have need to borrow, we must look upon as a great mercy, and a good reason why we should do good with what we have, lest we provoke God to turn the scales.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee,....
It is altogether inexcusable if, though God had given us abundance, so that we have not only enough but to spare, yet we are rigorous and server in our demands from our poor brethren; for our abundance should be the supply of their wants, that at least there may not be such an inequality as is between two extremes, 2 Cor. viii.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בֵּֽרַכְךָ֔ | berakha | he has blessed you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּר־ | diber- | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| וְהַֽעֲבַטְתָּ֞ | vehaavata | and you will lend to | H5670 → | 6 times |
| גּוֹיִ֣ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| רַבִּ֗ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וְאַתָּה֙ | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲבֹ֔ט | taavot | you will borrow | H5670 → | 6 times |
| וּמָֽשַׁלְתָּ֙ | umashalta | and you will rule | H4910 → | |
| בְּגוֹיִ֣ם | begoyim | over nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| רַבִּ֔ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וּבְךָ֖ | uvekha | and over <the> you | ||
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמְשֹֽׁלוּ׃ ס | yimsholu | they will rule | H4910 → |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בֵּֽרַכְךָ֔he has blessed you
berakhaH1288 →330 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּר־he spoke
diber-H1696 →1141 times
לָ֑ךְto <the> you
lakh
וְהַֽעֲבַטְתָּ֞and you will lend to
vehaavataH5670 →6 times
גּוֹיִ֣םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
רַבִּ֗יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
וְאַתָּה֙and you
veatahH859 →1094 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲבֹ֔טyou will borrow
taavotH5670 →6 times
וּמָֽשַׁלְתָּ֙and you will rule
umashaltaH4910 →
בְּגוֹיִ֣םover nations
begoyimH1471 →561 times
רַבִּ֔יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
וּבְךָ֖and over <the> you
uvekha
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִמְשֹֽׁלוּ׃ סthey will rule
yimsholuH4910 →
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
Luke 6:35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is…
it leads to
- Matthew 5:44–45
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
- Proverbs 19:17
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Romans 5:8–10
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Psalms 145:9
The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.
- Matthew 5:44–45
Through
Proverbs 22:7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor…
- Matthew 18:25
Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
- 2 Kings 4:1
Through
1 Kings 4:21And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…
it leads to
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Genesis 15:18
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Letters 1-10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.