13 Bible Verses about Creditors

I thought it over and then rebuked the nobles and officials. I told them, You are exacting interest from your own kinsmen. And I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, We, according to our ability, have bought back our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations; but will you even sell your brethren, that they may be sold to us? Then they were silent and found not a word to say. Also I said, What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts and reproach of the nations, our enemies?

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. They crowd the poor and needy off the road; the poor and meek of the earth all hide themselves. Behold, as wild asses in the desert, [the poor] go forth to their work, seeking diligently for prey and food; the wilderness yields them bread for their children [in roots and herbage]. read more.
They reap each one his fodder in a field [that is not his own], and they glean the vintage of the wicked man. They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains and cling to the rock for want of shelter. [The violent men whose wickedness seems unnoticed] pluck the fatherless infants from the breast [to sell or make them slaves], and take [the clothing on] the poor for a pledge,

But that same attendant, as he went out, found one of his fellow attendants who owed him a hundred denarii [about twenty dollars]; and he caught him by the throat and said, Pay what you owe! So his fellow attendant fell down and begged him earnestly, Give me time, and I will pay you all! But he was unwilling, and he went out and had him put in prison till he should pay the debt.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

Come to terms quickly [at the earliest opportunity] with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way [to court], so that your opponent does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you are thrown into prison.

My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

I, my brethren, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this forbidden interest! Return this very day to them their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also a hundredth of all the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have exacted from them. Then they said, We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say. Then I called the priests and took an oath of the lenders that they would do according to this promise.

And his master’s heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him [canceling] the debt.

When they had no means of repaying [the debts], he freely forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”

Now one of the wives of a man of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha [for help], saying “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant [reverently] feared the Lord; but the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves [in payment for a loan].”

“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],
And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].

But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.

Be not one of those who strike hands and pledge themselves, or of those who become security for another's debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?

He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer [for his foolishness],
But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties].

“If you lend money to any one of My people with you who is poor, you shall not act as a creditor (professional moneylender) to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Charge him no interest or [portion of] increase, but fear your God, so your brother may [continue to] live along with you. You shall not give him your money at interest nor lend him food at a profit.

Do not be among those who give pledges [involving themselves in others’ finances],
Or among those who become guarantors for others’ debts.

My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor,
If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],

Come to terms quickly [at the earliest opportunity] with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way [to court], so that your opponent does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you are thrown into prison.

And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all that he owed.

But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.

“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.

Everyone who was suffering hardship, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. There were about four hundred men with him.

So he summoned his master's debtors one by one, and he said to the first, How much do you owe my master? He said, A hundred measures [about 900 gallons] of oil. And he said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and sit down quickly and write fifty [about 450 gallons]. After that he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures [about 900 bushels] of wheat. He said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and write eighty [about 700 bushels].

When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.

And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, for the Lord's release is proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother [Israelite] your hand shall release.

“When you lend your neighbor anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge (security deposit).

You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your fellow Israelite you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

“No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone [used to grind grain into bread] as security [for a debt], for he would be taking a [person’s] life in pledge.

If you ever take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you shall give it back to him before the sun goes down; For that is his only covering, his clothing for his body. In what shall he sleep? When he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious and merciful.

But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.

Once more I solemnly affirm to every man who receives circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], that he is under obligation and required to keep the whole Law.

But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;

There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to buy grain because of the famine.”

He said, A hundred measures [about 900 gallons] of oil. And he said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and sit down quickly and write fifty [about 450 gallons]. After that he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures [about 900 bushels] of wheat. He said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and write eighty [about 700 bushels].