Have you made a loan to one of your own people? Then forgive what is owed to you. You can't require that person to pay you back. The Lord's time to forgive what is owed has been announced.
The Lord your God will bless you, just as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations. But you won't have to borrow from any of them. You will rule over many nations. But none of them will rule over you.
Suppose there are poor people among you. And suppose they live in one of the towns in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Then don't be mean to them. They are poor. So don't hold back money from them.
Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don't say to yourself, "The seventh year will soon be here. It's the year for forgiving people what they owe." If you think like that, you might treat your needy people badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the Lord against you. And he will find you guilty of sin.
So give freely to those who are needy. Open your hearts to them. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all of your work. He will bless you in everything you do.
There will always be poor people in the land. So I'm commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.
Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The Lord your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you.
Then take him to the door of your house. Poke a hole through his ear lobe into the doorpost. And he will become your servant for life. Do the same with your female servant.
Don't think you are being cheated when you set your servants free. After all, they have served you for six years. The service of each of them has been worth twice as much as the service of a hired worker. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Set apart to the Lord your God every male animal among your livestock that was born first to its mother. Don't put that kind of ox to work. Don't clip the wool from that kind of sheep.
Suppose an animal has something wrong with it. It might not be able to see or walk. Or it might have a bad flaw. Then you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.