New King James Version
Deuteronomy 15:4
4except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—
Deuteronomy 15:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
- New International Version (NIV)However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
- English Standard Version (ESV)But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
- New Living Translation (NLT)“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.
Context of Deuteronomy 15:4
2And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Read all of Deuteronomy 15Deuteronomy 15:4 word by word
אֶ֕פֶס כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יִֽהְיֶה־בְּךָ֖ אֶבְי֑וֹן כִּֽי־בָרֵ֤ךְ יְבָֽרֶכְךָ֙ יְהוָ֔ה בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹֽתֵן־לְךָ֥ נַחֲלָ֖ה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Saveאֶ֫פֶס'ephes · endH657
- when there shall be no poorאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
- among you; for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shall greatlyבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
- thee in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- givethנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- an inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
- to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: possessH3423
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 15:4
- Deuteronomy 14:29And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
- Deuteronomy 28:1“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
- Proverbs 11:24There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.
- Proverbs 14:21He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
- Proverbs 28:27He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
- Isaiah 58:10If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 15:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4There shall be no poor - That is, comparatively; see Deuteronomy 15:11.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-11Verses 1-11 The year of release is no doubt identical with the sabbatical year of the earlier legislation (Exodus 23:10 ff, and Leviticus 25:2 ff), the command of the older legislation being here amplified. The release was probably for the year, not total and final, and had reference only to loans lent because of poverty (compare Deuteronomy 15:4, Deuteronomy 15:7). Yet even so the law was found to be too stringent for the avarice of the people, because…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4If Israel had obeyed the covenant fully, there would have been no poor people in the nation. However, this ideal situation never became reality in ancient Israel. Poverty remained a serious problem among the people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Save when there shall be no poor man among you--Apparently a qualifying clause added to limit the application of the foregoing statement [De 15:3]; so that "the brother" to be released pointed to a poor borrower, whereas it is implied that if he were rich, the restoration of the loan might be demanded even during that year. But the words may properly be rendered (as on the Margin) to the end, in order that there may be no poor among you--that is, that…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 15:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries