Leviticus 25:36
in Leviticus 25Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
KJV
Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
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This verse in Leviticus 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTake 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.
This site's exposition
and fallen in decay with thee
on Leviticus 25:35-36
A brother sliding into poverty is to be relieved before he sells anything, and the standard set for his treatment is the way a resident stranger is treated. Interest on what is lent to him is forbidden outright, and the reason attached is the fear of God. Verse 36 states the purpose plainly, that thy brother may live with thee, which makes the loan an act of keeping a man alive in the community rather than a transaction.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And thus far this law binds still, but could never be thought binding where money is borrowed for purchase of lands, trade, or other improvements; for there it is reasonable that the lender share with the borrower in the profit. The law here is plainly intended for the relief of the poor, to whom it is sometimes as great a charity to lend freely as to give.
A redemption - A right of redemption in the time and manner following. If any of his kin come - Or, If the redeemer come, being near akin to him, who in this was an eminent type of Christ, who was made near akin to us by taking our flesh, that he might perform the work of redemption for us. The years of the sale - That is, from the time of the sale to the jubilee.
Of him - That is, of thy brother, whether he be Israelite, or proselyte. Or increase - All kinds of usury are in this case forbidden, whether of money, or of victuals, or of any thing that is commonly lent by one man to another upon usury, or upon condition of receiving the thing lent with advantage and overplus.
Take thou no usury of him, or increase,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
if thy brother be waxen poor, . . . relieve him--This was a most benevolent provision for the poor and unfortunate, designed to aid them or alleviate the evils of their condition. Whether a native Israelite or a mere sojourner, his richer neighbor was required to give him food, lodging, and a supply of money without usury. Usury was severely condemned (Ps 15:5;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּקַּ֤ח | tikach | you take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙ | meito | from with <the> him | H854 → | 929 times |
| נֶ֣שֶׁךְ | neshekh | interest | H5392 → | |
| וְתַרְבִּ֔ית | vetarbit | and profit | H8636 → | |
| וְיָרֵ֖אתָ | veyareta | and you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | meeloheikha | from God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְחֵ֥י | vechei | and he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| אָחִ֖יךָ | ʾachikha | brother your | H251 → | 630 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּקַּ֤חyou take
tikachH3947 →966 times
מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙from with <the> him
meitoH854 →929 times
נֶ֣שֶׁךְinterest
neshekhH5392 →
וְתַרְבִּ֔יתand profit
vetarbitH8636 →
וְיָרֵ֖אתָand you will fear
veyaretaH3372 →315 times
מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָfrom God your
meeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
וְחֵ֥יand he will live
vecheiH2421 →282 times
אָחִ֖יךָbrother your
ʾachikhaH251 →630 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 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
Exodus 22:25If 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.
it leads to
- Leviticus 25:35–37
Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 23:19–20
Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Nehemiah 5:7
and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them
- Leviticus 25:35–37
Through
Ezekiel 18:8He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 8:16
These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
- Exodus 22:25
Through
Ezekiel 18:17He 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…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:8–9
He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.
- Ezekiel 18:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.