Exodus 21:2-6
If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the
seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself,
he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall
go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have
born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her
master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall
plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not
go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he
shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his
master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve
him for ever.
Exodus 22:10-15
If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or
any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man
seeing it: Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both,
that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the
owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the
owner thereof. If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it
for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. And
if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die,
the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it
good. But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make
it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
Exodus 22:25-27
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee,
thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon
him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge,
thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: For that
is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein
shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me,
that I will hear; for I am gracious.
Leviticus 25:14-17
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy
neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another: According to the
number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour,
and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell
unto thee: According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase
the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt
diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the
years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee. Ye shall not therefore
oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the
Lord your God.
Leviticus 25:25-41
If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his
possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he
redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to
redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the
years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to
whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he
be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall
remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of
jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto
his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city,
then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within
a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the
space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city
shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his
generations: it shall not go out in the jubile. But the houses of
the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as
the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go
out in the jubile. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and
the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem
at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house
that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the
year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are
their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the
suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual
possession. And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay
with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a
stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no
usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may
live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor
lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God, which
brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of
Canaan, and to be your God. And if thy brother that dwelleth by
thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him
to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a
sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the
year of jubile: And then shall he depart from thee, both he and
his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and
unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
Leviticus 25:47-55
And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother
that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger
or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren
may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem
him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem
him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon
with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto
the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according
unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant
shall it be with him. If there be yet many years behind,
according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption
out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few
years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and
according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his
redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him:
and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in
the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him. For unto
me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants
whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your
God.
Deuteronomy 24:6
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for
he taketh a man's life to pledge.
Deuteronomy 24:10-13
When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into
his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man
to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: In
any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth
down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it
shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.
2 Kings 4:1-7
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and
thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is
come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said
unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the
house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house,
save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of
all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when
thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy
sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set
aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door
upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and
she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full,
that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto
her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came
and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy
debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Nehemiah 5:3-5
Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands,
vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the
dearth. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the
king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Yet now our
flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their
children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters
to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage
already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other
men have our lands and vineyards.
Nehemiah 10:31
And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the
sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the
sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh
year, and the exaction of every debt.
Job 20:18
That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow
it down: according to his substance shall the restitution
be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
Job 22:6
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and
stripped the naked of their clothing.
Job 24:9
They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the
poor.
Proverbs 11:15
He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that
hateth suretiship is sure.
Proverbs 22:26
Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are
sureties for debts.
Amos 2:8
And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every
altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of
their god.
Matthew 5:25-26
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with
him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and
the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till
thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Matthew 18:23-33
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king,
which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to
reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand
talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him
to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and
payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed
him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and
found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence:
and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay
me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee
all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he
should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done,
they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was
done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O
thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou
desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy
fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Luke 20:9-16
Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man
planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a
far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to
the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the
vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and
entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he
sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then
said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my
beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves,
saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and
killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto
them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the
vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law.
