Nehemiah 10:31b:
"Every seven years we will let our fields rest, and we will cancel all debts." - Contemporary English Version
Deuteronomy 15:1-2:
"Every seven years you must announce, "The LORD says loans do not need to be paid back." Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you can no longer ask for payment. - Contemporary English Version
"At the end of every seventh year you must cancel your debts. This is how it must be done. Creditors must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the LORD's time of release has arrived. - New Living Translation
Forgive Us Our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors
Based on an article by O. Max Gardner, revisions by Daniel Gindes
Dalton Camp proclaimed several years ago that, “having lost its value, money may no longer be the root of all evil; credit having taken its place.” This statement demonstrates the paradox of modern day religion and debt - should our reaction be one of condemnation or one of compassion? Since many recent and well-respected studies have shown that the average American family is only three weeks away from personal bankruptcy, and new legislation that will deny bankruptcy relief to hundreds of thousands of American families is now the law, it is time to revisit what the Bible teaches us about debt.
The Bible makes it clear that people are generally expected to pay their debts. Leviticus 25:39. No one should advance any argument against that. However, the moral and legal obligation to pay debts must be balanced by the need for compassion and the ability to cancel debts at periodic intervals. The Biblical basis for such ideas is based on the sabbatical and Jubilee years. The secular basis arises out of the Constitutional requirement that Congress enact uniform laws allowing businesses and consumers to cancel and to restructure debt obligations. The Biblical support for the legal right to cancel debt is enforced by the even stronger Biblical doctrine that prohibited interest OF ANY AMOUNT rather than the excessive interest we see today from the credit card industry.
The Old Testament is full of examples of the compassionate treatment of the poor, and with the preservation of the family unit. These goals were superior to the material concerns of repayment of debt.