אִם כֶּסֶף תַּלְוֶה אֶת עַמִּי אֶת הֶעָנִי עִמָּךְ לֹא תִהְיֶה לוֹ כְּנֹשֶׁה לֹא תְשִׂימוּן עָלָיו נֶשֶׁךְ: אִם חָבֹל תַּחְבֹּל שַׂלְמַת רֵעֶךָ עַד בֹּא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ: כִּי הִוא כְסוּתוֹ לְבַדָּהּ הִוא שִׂמְלָתוֹ לְעֹרוֹ בַּמֶּה יִשְׁכָּב וְהָיָה כִּי יִצְעַק אֵלַי וְשָׁמַעְתִּי כִּי חַנּוּן אָנִי:
If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them. If you take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you must return it to your neighbor before the sun sets; it is their only clothing, the sole covering for their skin. In what else shall they sleep? Therefore, if they cry out to Me, I will pay heed, for I am compassionate.
[JPS translation. Edited for gender neutrality]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Why can't you lend money to another person with interest?
2. How is this text concerned with exploitation of the financially vulnerable?
3. What ruling of money-lending here differ from contemporary guidelines of lending and borrowing - for individuals and for nations?
Time Period: Biblical (early ancestors to 165 BCE)