Bible Verses About Usury

"If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest.

"'If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can't support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you.

Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you.

Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food.

"You are not to lend at interest to your brother, no matter whether the loan is of money, food or anything else that can earn interest

To an outsider you may lend at interest, but to your brother you are not to lend at interest, so that ADONAI your God will prosper you in everything you set out to do in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.

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.

who refuse usury when they lend money and refuse a bribe to damage the innocent. Those who do these things never will be moved.

He who increases his wealth by charging exorbitant interest amasses it for someone who will bestow it on the poor.

Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth, a man who is the object of strife and controversy throughout the land! I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me.

he neither demands nor accepts interest on a loan; he refrains from what is evil; and he judges honestly between one person and another.

demands and accepts interest. Should he live? He will not live, because he has engaged in all these disgusting practices - he must be put to death; his blood is on him.

he refrains from oppressing the poor; and he neither demands nor accepts interest. He obeys my rulings and lives according to my laws. So he will not die for his father's sins but will certainly live.