תהלים 15:5

Hebrew Modern Translation

כספו לא נתן בנשך ושחד על נקי לא לקח עשה אלה לא ימוט לעולם׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
לא-נתן בנשך ושחד על-נקי לא לקח עשה-אלה לא ימוט לעולם

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
כַּסְפֹּ֤ו ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמֹּ֣וט לְעוֹלָֽם ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
כַּסְפּוֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ וְשֹׁחַד עַל־נָקִי לֹא לָקָח עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵלֶּה לֹא יִמּוֹט לְעוֹלָֽם ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

putteth: Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35-37, Deuteronomy 23:19, Deuteronomy 23:20, Nehemiah 5:2-5, Nehemiah 5:7-13, Ezekiel 18:8, Ezekiel 18:17, Ezekiel 22:12

nor taketh: Exodus 23:7, Exodus 23:8, Deuteronomy 16:19, Isaiah 33:15, Micah 7:3, Matthew 26:15, Matthew 27:3-5

He that doeth: Psalms 16:8, Psalms 55:22, Psalms 106:3, Psalms 112:6, Proverbs 12:3, Ezekiel 18:27, Matthew 7:21-25, John 13:17, James 1:22-25, 2 Peter 1:10, 2 Peter 1:11

Reciprocal: Leviticus 25:36 - usury Deuteronomy 27:25 - General 1 Samuel 8:3 - but turned Nehemiah 5:10 - leave Psalms 10:6 - not Psalms 30:6 - I shall Proverbs 10:25 - an Jeremiah 11:6 - Hear Jeremiah 15:10 - I have

Gill's Notes on the Bible

[He that] putteth not out his money to usury,.... To the poor, in an extravagant and exorbitant way, by which he bites, devours, and destroys his little substance, and sadly afflicts and distresses him; see Exodus 22:25; otherwise, to lend money on moderate interest, and according to the laws, customs, and usages of nations, and to take interest for it, is no more unlawful than to take interest for houses and land; yea, it is according to the law of common justice and equity, that if one man lends money to another to trade with, and gain by, that he should have a proportionate share in the gain of such a trade; but the design of this passage, and the law on which it is founded, is, to forbid all exactions and oppressions of the poor, and all avaricious practices, and to encourage liberality and beneficence; and such who are covetous, and bite and oppress the poor, are not fit for church communion; see 1 Corinthians 5:11;

nor taketh reward against the innocent; either to swear falsely against him, or to pass a wrong sentence on him; see 1 Samuel 12:3;

he that doeth these [things] shall never be moved; from the tabernacle of God, and his holy hill; he is fit to be a member of the church of God, and an inhabitant of Zion; and he shall dwell and abide there, he shall be a pillar which shall never go out, Revelation 3:12; he shall finally persevere, through the grace of God; he shall hold on and out unto the end: and though he may fall through infirmity and temptation into sin, and that many times, yet he shall not finally and totally fall, 2 Peter 1:10; but shall be as Mount Zion which can never be removed,

Psalms 125:1; The words should be rendered, since the accent "athnach" is on אלה, "these things", thus; "he that doeth these things", not only what is mentioned in this verse, but in the foregoing, "he", I say, "shall never be moved".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He that putteth not out his money to usury - The word “usury” formerly denoted legal interest, or a premium for the use of money. In this sense the word is no longer used in our language, but it always now denotes unlawful interest; “a premium or compensation paid, or stipulated to be paid, for the use of money borrowed or retained, beyond the rate of interest established by law.” “Webster.” The Hebrew word used here - נשׁך neshek - means “interest,” that is, a premium or compensation for the use of money in any manner, or to any extent. The reference is to the law of the Hebrews, which forbade such a loaning of money to the poor, and especially to poor Israelites, Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37. Although this was forbidden in respect to the Israelites, yet the lending of money on interest, or “usury” in a lawful sense, was allowed toward “strangers,” or toward the people of other nations.

See Deuteronomy 23:19-20. The ground of the distinction was, that the Hebrews were regarded as a nation of brethren; that, as such, they should be willing to accommodate and aid each other; that they should not do anything that could be regarded as unbrotherly. In respect to other people it was allowed, not because it was proper to take advantage of their wants, and to oppress them, but because this special reason did not exist in regard to them. That might be improper “in a family,” among brothers and sisters, which would be entirely proper toward those who did not sustain this special relation; and we may conceive of cases - such cases in fact often occur - when it would be unkind in the highest degree to exact interest of a brother, or an intimate friend, while it is perfectly proper to receive the ordinary allowance for the use of money in our business transactions (that is, the ordinary rate of interest) of those who do not sustain to us this special relation.

The fact that it was allowed to the Hebrews to take interest of the people of other nations, shows that there was nothing morally wrong in the thing itself; and, in fact, there can be no reason why a man, to whom it is an accommodation, should not pay for the use of money as well as for the use of any other property. The thing forbidden here, therefore, is not the taking of interest in any case, but the taking of interest in such a way as would be oppressive and hard - as of a Hebrew demanding it from his poor and needy brother; and, by consequence, it would forbid the exacting of unusual and unlawful rates of interest, or taking advantage of the necessities of others - by evading the provisions of law, and making their circumstances an occasion of extortion. In one word, the thing forbidden is a harsh, grasping, griping disposition; a disposition to take advantage of the embarrassments of others to increase our own gains. Kindness, and an accommodating spirit in business transactions, are as much demanded now by the principles of religion as they were when this psalm was written, or as they were under the law which forbade the taking of interest from a poor and needy brother.

Nor taketh reward against the innocent - Who does not take a bribe; that is, does not accept a pecuniary consideration, or any other consideration, to induce him to decide a cause against justice. He is not, in any way, to allow any such considerations to influence him, or to sway his judgment. The taking of bribes is often expressly forbidden in the Scriptures. See Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:25; Proverbs 17:23.

He that doeth these things shall never be moved - That is, in answer to the question in Psalms 15:1, he shall be permitted to “abide in the tabernacle” of God, and to “dwell in his holy hill.” He shall have a solid foundation of hope; he is a friend of God, and shall enjoy his favor forever. In other words, these things constitute true religion; and he who has such a character will obtain eternal life. His foundation is sure; he will be safe in all the storms of life, and safe when the cold waves of death beat around him. Compare Matthew 7:24-25.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 15:5. Putteth not out his money to usury —

10. As usury signifies unlawful interest, or that which is got by taking advantage of the necessity of a distressed neighbour, no man that fears God can be guilty of it. The word נשך neshech, which we translate usury, comes from nashach, to bite as a serpent; and here must signify that biting or devouring usury, which ruins the man who has it to pay. "The increase of usury is called נשך neshech, because it resembles the biting of a serpent. For as this is so small at first, as scarcely to be perceptible, but the venom soon spreads and diffuses itself till it reaches the vitals; so the increase of usury, which at first is not perceived nor felt, at length grows so much as by degrees to devour another's substance." Middoch's edition of Leigh's Critica Sacra, sub voce נשך.

The Jews ever were, and are still, remarkable for usury and usurious contracts; and a Jew that is saved from it is in the fair way, charity would suppose, to the kingdom of heaven. The Roman laws condemned the usurer to the forfeiture of four times the sum. Cato de Rust., lib. i.

Nor taketh reward against the innocent. —

11. He neither gives nor receives a bribe in order to pervert justice or injure an innocent man in his cause. The lawyer, who sees a poor man opposed by a rich man, who, though he is convinced in his conscience that the poor man has justice and right on his side, yet takes the larger fee from the rich man to plead against the poor man, has in fact taken a bribe against the innocent, and without the most signal interposition of the mercy of God, is as sure of hell as if he were already there.

He that doeth these things] He in whose character all these excellences meet, though still much more is necessary under the Christian dispensation, shall never be moved - he shall stand fast for ever. He is an upright, honest man, and God will ever be his support.

Now we have the important question answered, Who shall go to heaven? The man who to faith in Christ Jesus adds those eleven moral excellences which have been already enumerated. And only such a character is fit for a place in the Church of Christ.

On this verse there is a singular reading in my old MS. Psalter, which I must notice. The clause, Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram, "who putteth not out his money to usury," is thus translated: He that gat nout his catel til oker. Now this intimates that the author had either read pecudem, CATTLE, for pecuniam, MONEY; or that catel was the only money current in his time and country. And indeed it has long been the case, that the Scottish peasantry paid their rents in kind; so many cows or sheep given to the laird for the usufruct of the ground. That this is no mistake in the translation is evident enough from the paraphrase, where he repeats the words, with his gloss upon them: He that gaf nout his Catel till oker bodyly als covaytus men dos gastly: that he seke naght for his gude dede, na mede of this werld, bot anely of heven.

The very unusual word oker signifies produce of any kind, whether of cattle, land, money, or even the human offspring. It is found in the Anglo-Saxon, the Gothic, the German, and the Danish; in all which languages it signifies produce, fruit, offspring, usury, and the like. Dr. Jameson does not show the word in any of its forms, though it is evident that it existed in the ancient Scottish language.

The word catel may be used here for chattels, substance of any kind, moveable or immoveable; but this word itself was originally derived from cattle, which were from the beginning the principal substance or riches of the inhabitants of the country. Indeed the word pecunia, money, was derived from pecus, cattle, which were no longer used as a medium of commerce when silver and gold came into use. There is a passage in Chaucer where cattel catching seems to be used for getting money. Speaking of the wicked priests of his time, he says: -

Some on her churches dwell

Apparailled poorely proud of porte;

The seven Sacramentes thei doen sell,

In Cattel catching is her comfort.

Of each matter thei wollen mell;

And doen hem wrong is her disport.

To affraie the people thei been fell

And hold hem lower than doeth the Lorde.

Plowmanne's Tale, 3d part.

ANALYSIS OF THE FIFTEENTH PSALM

A Psalm of doctrine, consisting of two parts, in which we have the character of a sound Christian, (rather, an upright Jew.)

I. The first part is delivered in the form of a dialogue between God and the prophet, from Psalms 15:1-5.

II. The second is the epiphonema, or moral reflection, in the close of the last verse.

I. 1. The question proposed by the psalmist to God,

1. "Lord, who shall sojourn in thy holy tabernacle?"

2. "Who shall rest upon thy holy hill?" That is, because all are not Israel which are of Israel, therefore the psalmist asks of God, Who shall sojourn as a true member in the Church militant? And who shall rest in the Church triumphant?

2. To which God returns the following answer, containing very remarkable notes of the true character of a member of the Church: -

1. In general, he is a man, who is, 1. Upright in thought; he is an honest man: "He that walketh uprightly." 2. Just in his deed: "He works righteousness." 3. True in his word: "He speaks the truth in his heart."

2. In particular, he is a man who avoids evil.

1. In himself he is no slanderer: "He backbites not with his tongue."

2. He is no wrong-doer: "Nor doeth evil to his neighbour."

3. He is no reviler, tale-bearer, nor tale-hearer: "He takes not up a reproach against his neighbour."

4. He is no favourer of sin: "In whose eyes an evil person is contemned."

5. He is no oppressor nor extortioner: He puts not his money to his poor brother to usury.

6. No briber: "He takes no reward against the innocent."

3. Such a man is he who honours them that fear the Lord.

4. "He sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." He will surely keep his word; his character is composed of piety and charity.

II. The epiphonema, or moral reflection has these two parts: -

1. The party to whom this privilege belongs: "He that doeth these things;" for the doers, not the hearers, of the law shall be justified.

2. The promise made to him: "He shall never be moved." The life of grace is the way to the life of glory. See the preceding notes.