Deuteronomy 15:4

Bible in Basic English

But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“There will be no poor among you, however, because the Lord is certain to bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—

Hebrew Names Version
However there shall be no poor with you; (for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it;)

King James Version
Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

Lexham English Bible
Nevertheless, there shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it.

English Standard Version
But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—

New Century Version
But there should be no poor people among you, because the Lord your God will richly bless you in the land he is giving you as your own.

New English Translation
However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance,

Amplified Bible
"However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will most certainly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,

New American Standard Bible
"However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will certainly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Saue when there shall be no poore with thee: for the Lorde shall blesse thee in the land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee, for an inheritance to possesse it:

Legacy Standard Bible
However, there will be no needy one among you, since Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,

Contemporary English Version
No one in Israel should ever be poor. The Lord your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.

Complete Jewish Bible
In spite of this, there will be no one needy among you; because Adonai will certainly bless you in the land which Adonai your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess —

Darby Translation
save when there shall be no one in need among you; for Jehovah will greatly bless thee in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it,

Easy-to-Read Version
There should not be any poor people in your country, because the Lord your God is giving you this land. And the Lord will greatly bless you.

George Lamsa Translation
So that there will be no poor among you; for the LORD your God shall greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess.

Good News Translation
"The Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving you. Not one of your people will be poor

Literal Translation
only that there shall be no one in need among you. For Jehovah will greatly bless you in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you for an inheritance, to possess it,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
There shall be no begger amoge you: for the LORDE shal blesse ye in the lode which the LORDE yi God shal geue ye to inheritaunce to take it in possession,

American Standard Version
Howbeit there shall be no poor with thee (for Jehovah will surely bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it),

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Neuerthelesse, there shalbe no begger among you: for the Lorde shall blesse thee in the lande which the Lorde thy God geueth thee for an inheritaunce:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Howbeit there shall be no needy among you--for the LORD will surely bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it--

King James Version (1611)
Saue when there shall bee no poore among you: for the Lord shal greatly blesse thee in the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee for an inheritance to possesse it:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For thus there shall not be a poor person in the midst of thee, for the Lord thy God will surely bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee by inheritance, that thou shouldest inherit it.

English Revised Version
Howbeit there shall be no poor with thee; (for the LORD will surely bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it;)

Berean Standard Bible
There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and outerli a nedi man and begger schal not be among you, that thi Lord God blesse thee, in the lond which he schal yyue to thee in to the possessioun.

Young's Literal Translation
only when there is no needy one with thee, for Jehovah doth greatly bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance to possess it.

Update Bible Version
Nevertheless there shall be no poor with you; (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it;)

Webster's Bible Translation
Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it:

World English Bible
However there shall be no poor with you; (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it;)

New King James Version
except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance--

New Living Translation
"There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession.

New Life Bible
Yet there will be no poor among you for the Lord will be sure to bring good to you in the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.

New Revised Standard
There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
save, when there shall be among you no needy person, - for Yahweh will indeed bless, thee, in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance to possess it:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And there shall be no poor nor beggar among you: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land which he will give thee in possession.

Revised Standard Version
But there will be no poor among you (for the LORD will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess),

THE MESSAGE
There must be no poor people among you because God is going to bless you lavishly in this land that God , your God, is giving you as an inheritance, your very own land. But only if you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, diligently observing every commandment that I command you today. Oh yes— God , your God, will bless you just as he promised. You will lend to many nations but won't borrow from any; you'll rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,

Contextual Overview

¹ At the end of every seven years there is to be a general forgiveness of debt. ² This is how it is to be done: every creditor is to give up his right to whatever he has let his neighbour have; he is not to make his neighbour, his countryman, give it back; because a general forgiveness has been ordered by the Lord. ³ A man of another nation may be forced to make payment of his debt, but if your brother has anything of yours, let it go; ⁴ But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage; ⁵ If only you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to keep all these orders which I give you today. ⁶ For the Lord your God will give you his blessing as he has said: you will let other nations have the use of your money, but you will not make use of theirs; you will be rulers over a number of nations, but they will not be your rulers. ⁷ If in any of your towns in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, there is a poor man, one of your countrymen, do not let your heart be hard or your hand shut to him; ⁸ But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of. ⁹ And see that there is no evil thought in your heart, moving you to say to yourself, The seventh year, the year of forgiveness is near; and so looking coldly on your poor countryman you give him nothing; and he will make an outcry to the Lord against you, and it will be judged as sin in you. ¹⁰ But it is right for you to give to him, without grief of heart: for because of this, the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all your work and on everything to which you put your hand.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Save: etc. or, To the end that there be no poor among you, Houbigant follows this marginal reading, to which he joins the end of the Deuteronomy 15:3, considering it as explanatory of the law; as if he had said, "Thou shalt not exact the debt that is due from thy brother, but thy hand shall release him, for this reason, that there may be no poor among you through your severity." He justly contends that the phrase ephes kee, can here only mean, "to the end that," being equivalent to the French afin que.

greatly bless: Deuteronomy 14:29, Deuteronomy 28:1-8, Deuteronomy 28:11, Proverbs 11:24, Proverbs 11:25, Proverbs 14:21, Proverbs 28:27, Isaiah 58:10, Isaiah 58:11

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 15:10 - because 2 Corinthians 8:2 - the riches

Cross-References

Genesis 17:16
And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.

Genesis 21:12
But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.

2 Samuel 7:12
And when the time comes for you to go to rest with your fathers, I will put in your place your seed after you, the offspring of your body, and I will make his kingdom strong.

2 Samuel 16:11
And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, You see how my son, the offspring of my body, has made designs against my life: how much more then may this Benjamite do so? Let him be, and let him go on cursing; for the Lord has given him orders.

2 Chronicles 32:21
And the Lord sent an angel who put to death all the men of war and the chiefs and the captains in the army of the king of Assyria. So he went back to his country in shame. And when he came into the house of his god, his sons, the offspring of his body, put him to death there with the sword.

Galatians 4:28
Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of the undertaking of God.

Philemon 1:12
Whom I have sent back to you, him who is my very heart:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Save when there shall be no poor among you,.... Then such a law could not take place, there would be no debts to be released; for this was never designed to screen rich persons from the payment of their just debts, or whoever were in a capacity of so doing, only such as were really poor, and unable to pay; and it supposes that this might sometimes be the case, that there were none poor in Israel, or needed the benefit of such a law; and, according to the Targum of Jonathan, it is suggested there would be none, if they were observant of the commands of God: and some take it for a promise, rendering the words "nevertheless" c, notwithstanding such a law,

there shall be no poor among you; but then it must be understood conditionally: others interpret this as the end to be answered by this law, "to the end d there may be no poor among you"; by observing this law, all debts being released once in seven years, it would prevent persons falling into distress and poverty, to such a degree as to be in want, and become beggars; and Julian the emperor observes, that none of the Jews begged e, which he attributes to the care that was taken of their poor:

for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it; which is either a reason why there would be no poor, should they observe the commandments of the Lord; or a reason why they should release the debts of the poor because they were so greatly blessed with a fruitful land, which brought them such an increase, as enabled them to free their poor debtors, when in circumstances unable to pay them.

c אפס כי "veruntamen", Munster. d "To the end that there be not", Ainsworth; so the margin of the Bible. e Opera, par. 2. Ep. 49. p. 204.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The year of release is no doubt identical with the sabbatical year of the earlier legislation (Exodus 23:10 ff, and Leviticus 25:2 ff), the command of the older legislation being here amplified. The release was probably for the year, not total and final, and had reference only to loans lent because of poverty (compare Deuteronomy 15:4, Deuteronomy 15:7). Yet even so the law was found to be too stringent for the avarice of the people, because it was one of those which the rabbis “made of none effect by their traditions.”

Deuteronomy 15:2

Because it is called the Lord’s release - Render, because proclamation has been made of the Lord’s release. The verb is impersonal, and implies (compare Deuteronomy 31:10) that “the solemnity of the year of release” has been publicly announced.

Deuteronomy 15:3

The foreigner would not be bound by the restriction of the sabbatical year, and therefore would have no claim to its special remissions and privileges. He could earn his usual income in the seventh as in other years, and therefore is not exonerated from liability to discharge a debt anymore in the one than the others.

Deuteronomy 15:4

There is no inconsistency between this and Deuteronomy 15:11. The meaning seems simply to be, “Thou must release the debt for the year, except when there be no poor person concerned, a contingency which may happen, for the Lord shall greatly bless thee.” The general object of these precepts, as also of the year of Jubilee and the laws respecting inheritance, is to prevent the total ruin of a needy person, and his disappearance from the families of Israel by the sale of his patrimony.

Deuteronomy 15:9

literally: “Beware that there be not in thy heart a word which is worthlessness” (compare Deuteronomy 13:13 note).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 15:4. There shall be no poor — That is, comparatively; see Deuteronomy 15:11.