Bible Verses About Creditor: Oppressions of

Then there arose a great outcry from the common people and their wives against their brothers the [wealthier] Judeans.

Some of them said, "Counting our sons and daughters, there are a lot of us! Allow us to get grain for them, so that we can eat and stay alive."

There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards and homes in order to buy grain, because of the famine."

Yet others said, "We have borrowed money for the king's taxes against our fields and vineyards.

Now our flesh is no different from the flesh of our kinsmen, and our children are the same as their children; yet we are bringing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Some of our daughters have gone into slavery already, and it's beyond our power to do anything about it, because other men have our fields and vineyards."

When I heard their outcry and the reasons for it, I became very angry.

I thought the matter over and then took issue with the nobles and rulers. I charged them, "You are lending against pledges, everyone to his brother"; and I summoned a great assembly to deal with them.

I said to them, "We, to the limit of our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Judeans who sold themselves to the pagans. Now you are selling your own brothers, and we will have to buy them back!"They stayed silent; they couldn't think of anything to say.

I also said, "What you are doing is not good! You should be living in fear of our God, so that our pagan enemies won't have grounds for deriding us.

Moreover, my brothers and my servants, I too have loaned them money and grain. Please, let's stop making it so burdensome to go into debt.

Please! Today! Give them back their fields, vineyards, olive groves and homes; also the hundred pieces of silver and the grain, wine and olive oil you demand from them as interest."

They answered, "We will give it back. We will require nothing from them. Yes, we will do it, just as you say."Then I called the cohanim and took an oath from them that they would do as they had promised.

Shaking out the fold in my garment, I said, "May God thus shake every man from his house and from his work who fails to live up to this promise - may he be shaken out like this and made empty." The whole assembly said, "Amen!" and praised ADONAI; and the people did as they had promised.

He will have to give back what he toiled for; he won't get to swallow it down -to the degree that he acquired wealth, he won't get to enjoy it.

"For he crushed and abandoned the poor, seizing houses he did not build,

because his appetite would not let him rest, in his greed he let nothing escape;

"There are those who pluck orphans from the breast and [those who] take [the clothes of] the poor in pledge,

so that they go about stripped, unclothed; they go hungry, as they carry sheaves [of grain];

Don't be one of those who give pledges, guaranteeing loans made to others;

for if you don't have the wherewithal to pay, they will take your bed away from underneath you.

If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail!

Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny.

"But as that servant was leaving, he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him some tiny sum. He grabbed him and began to choke him, crying, `Pay back what you owe me!'

His fellow servant fell before him and begged, `Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

But he refused; instead, he had him thrown in jail until he should repay the debt.