Deuteronomy - 15:9



9 Beware that there not be a base thought in your heart, saying, "The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand;" and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Deuteronomy 15:9.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto Jehovah against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Beware lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee, and thou say in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh; and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, denying to lend him that which he asketh: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it become a sin unto thee.
Beware that there be not a wicked thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry against thee to Jehovah, and it be sin in thee.
Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thy eye shall be evil against thy poor brother, and thou shalt give him naught; and he shall cry to the LORD against thee, and it shall be sin to thee.
Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart, worthless, saying, Near is the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;
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.
Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee.
Be careful lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you.
Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: 'The seventh year of remission approaches.' And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you.
Cave tibi ne sit quidpiam in corde tuo impium, dicendo, Propinquus est annus septimus, annus remissionis: et malignus sit oculus tuus in fratrem tuum mendicum, ita ut non des ei: clamet autem contra te ad Jehovam, et erit in te peccatum.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

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

Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart - לבבך בליעל lebabecha beliyaal, thy belial heart, that is, thy good-for-nothing or unprofitable heart; See on Deuteronomy 13:13 (note).
And thine eye be evil - An evil eye signifies a covetous disposition. See the same form of expression used by our Lord in the same sense, Matthew 6:23. If thine eye be evil - If thou be a covetous person. Evil eye is by our Lord opposed to single eye, i. e., a person of a liberal, benevolent mind. Covetousness darkens the soul; liberality and benevolence enlighten it.
And he cry unto the Lord against thee - What a consolation to the poor and the oppressed, that they have a sure friend in God, who will hear their cry and redress their grievances!

Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart,.... "Or, thy heart of Belial" (f); thy worthless heart, and which is without a yoke not subjected to the law of God, as every carnal heart is; and in which Belial, Satan, the prince of this world, works effectually, and inclines to evil thoughts, afflictions, and desires, which are to be guarded against:
saying, the seventh year, the year of release, is at hand: perhaps next year, or within a few months:
and thine eye be evil against thy brother, and thou give him nought; being of an uncompassionate and covetous disposition, shall refuse to give or lend him anything on this consideration, because the year of release will quickly come, when, if poor and unable to pay him, he would be obliged to release his debt:
and he cry unto the Lord against thee; go to the throne of grace, and in prayer bring a charge, and lodge a complaint of unkindness and uncharitableness: and it be a sin unto thee; the Lord shall reckon it as a sin, a very heinous one, and call to an account for it.
(f) "corde tuo Belial", Montanus.

Thus they were also to beware "that there was not a word in the heart, worthlessness," i.e., that a worthless thought did not arise in their hearts (בּליּעל is the predicate of the sentence, as the more precise definition of the word that was in the heart); so that one should say, "The seventh year is at hand, the year of release," sc., when I shall not be able to demand what I have lent, and "that thine eye be evil towards thy poor brother," i.e., that thou cherishest ill-will towards him (cf. Deuteronomy 28:54, Deuteronomy 28:56), "and givest him not, and he appeals to Jehovah against thee, and it becomes sin to thee," sc., which brings down upon thee the wrath of God.

Beware - Suppress the first risings of such uncharitableness. It be sin - That is, it be charged upon thee as a sin.

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