RELEASE FOR DEBTORS
1 “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.
2 This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the Lord’s time of release has arrived.
3 This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites—not to the foreigners living among you.
4 “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.
5 You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.
6 The Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 “But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them.
8 Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.
9 Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin.
10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
11 There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.
ACTS 17:10-15
PAUL AND SILAS IN BEREA
10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.
14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.
15 Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.
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