Deuteronomy 15 · Verse 4

Deuteronomy 15:4

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:
Deuteronomy 15:4, King James Version

Deuteronomy 15:4 in other translations

BSBThere will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,
WEBHowever there will be no poor with you (for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess)
ASVHowbeit there shall be no poor with thee (for Jehovah will surely bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it),
YLTonly when there is no needy one with thee, for Jehovah doth greatly bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee--an inheritance to possess it.
DARBYsave when there shall be no one in need among you; for Jehovah will greatly bless thee in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it,
BBEBut there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage;
WebsterSave 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:

What does Deuteronomy 15:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. 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 none be reduced to inconvenient straits and poverty by unseasonable exaction of debts at a time when there was no labor and no produce, and that all may enjoy comfort and prosperity, which will be the case through the special blessing of God on the land, provided they are obedient.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 There shall be no poor - That is, comparatively; see Deu 15:11.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 15:1-11

This year of release typified the grace of the gospel, in which is proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord; and by which we obtain the release of our debts, that is, the pardon of our sins. The law is spiritual, and lays restraints upon the thoughts of the heart. We mistake, if we think thoughts are free from God's knowledge and check. That is a wicked heart indeed, which raises evil thoughts from the good law of…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 15:1-11 →

Deuteronomy 15:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֶ֕פֶס'E.fesneverthelessH657
כִּ֛יkiforH3588
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יִֽהְיֶה\־yih.yeh-he will beH1961
בְּךָ֖be.Khaamong <the> you
אֶבְי֑וֹן'ev.Yona needy [person]H34
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
בָרֵ֤ךְva.Rekhsurely <bless>H1288
יְבָֽרֶכְךָ֙ye.va.rekh.Khahe will bless youH1288
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
בָּאָ֕רֶץba.'A.retzin the landH776
אֲשֶׁר֙'a.SherwhichH834
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
נֹֽתֵן\־no.ten-[is] about to giveH5414
לְךָ֥le.Khato <the> you
נַחֲלָ֖הna.cha.Lahan inheritanceH5159
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ\׃le.rish.Tahto take possession of itH3423

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 15:4

  • Isaiah 58:10-11

    And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

  • Deuteronomy 14:29

    And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

  • Proverbs 28:27

    He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

  • Proverbs 11:24-25

    There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

  • Proverbs 14:21

    He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

  • Deuteronomy 28:11

    And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

  • Deuteronomy 28:1-8

    And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Save, etc. or, To the end that there be no poor among you.Houbigant follows this marginal reading, to which he joins the end of the third verse, considering it as explanatory of the law; as if he had said, "Thou shalt not exact the debt that is due from thy brother, but thy hand shall release him, for this reason, that there may be no poor among you through your severity." He justly contends that the phrase {ephes kee,} can here only mean, "to the end that," being equivalent to the French {afin que.}
greatly bless.
14:29; 28:1-8,11; Pr 11:24,25; 14:21; 28:27; Isa 58:10,11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 15:3

    Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

  • Deuteronomy 15:4

    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:

  • Deuteronomy 15:5

    Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

Read all of Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Para que así no haya en ti mendigo; porque Jehová te bendecirá con abundancia en la tierra que Jehová tu Dios te da por heredad para que la poseas,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		sauf quand il n’y aura point de pauvre au milieu de toi; car l’ Éternel te bénira abondamment dans le pays que l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, te donne en héritage pour le posséder,
German
Elberfelder 1871		es sei denn, daß kein Armer unter dir ist. Denn Jehova wird dich reichlich segnen in dem Lande, welches Jehova, dein Gott, dir als Erbteil gibt, es zu besitzen,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et omnino indigens et mendicus non erit inter vos: ut benedicat tibi Dominus Deus tuus in terra, quam traditurus est tibi in possessionem.