Deuteronomy 15:4 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 15:4 Commentary: The Promise and the Problem of Poverty
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine the tension between the promise of no poor (Deut 15:4) and the command to help the poor (v.7).
Research Summary
- Meaning: Despite surface contradiction with v. 11, the verse expresses God's ideal for an obedient Israel: poverty should be minimal when God's people follow His commands.
- Key words: אֶפֶס ('efes, "nevertheless/except"), אֶבְיוֹן ('evyon, "needy person"), יְבָרֶךְ (yevarekh, "he will bless" with infinitive absolute for certainty), נַחֲלָה (nachalah, "inheritance" from God).
- Main debate: Does the verse function as a conditional exception to the release law, a purpose clause, or an ideal promise?
- Theological theme: Covenant obedience leads to divine blessing that, when combined with generous community practices, reduces extreme poverty.
- Best use: Teaching on Old Testament economics, Christian stewardship, and the priority of caring for the needy within the faith community.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
There 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,
WEB World English Bible 2000
However there will be no poor with you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess)
KJV King James Version 1769
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:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Howbeit 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),
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
only 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.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
save 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,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And there shall be no poor nor beggar among you: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land which he will give thee in possession.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
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,
Para que assim não haja em ti pobre; porque o SENHOR te abençoará com abundância na terra que o SENHOR teu Deus te dá por herança para que a possuas,
Toutefois, il n’ y aura point d’indigent chez toi, car l’ Éternel te bénira dans le pays que l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, te fera posséder en héritage,
Es sollte allerdinge kein Armer unter euch sein; denn der HERR wird dich segnen in dem Lande, das dir der HERR, dein Gott, geben wird zum Erbe einzunehmen,
Alleenlijk, omdat er geen bedelaar onder u zal zijn; want de HEERE zal u overloediglijk zegenen in het land, dat u de HEERE, uw God, ten erve zal geven, om hetzelve erfelijk te bezitten;
Nondimeno, non vi sarà alcun bisognoso tra voi; poiché l’Eterno senza dubbio ti benedirà nel paese che l’Eterno, il tuo Dio, ti dà in eredità, perché tu lo possegga,
Dla tego, żeby się nie stał między wami kto przez cię ubogim, ponieważ hojnie błogosławić tobie będzie Pan w ziemi, którą Pan, Bóg twój, dawa tobie w dziedzictwo, abyś ją posiadł.
Разве только не будет у тебя нищего: ибо благословит тебя Господь на той земле, которую Господь, Бог твой, дает тебе в удел, чтобы ты взял ее в наследство,
你若 留意 聽從 耶和華─你 神 的話，謹守 遵行 我 今日 所 吩咐你 這 一切的 命令，就必 在你們中間 沒 有 窮人了（在耶和華─你 神 所 賜 你 為 業 的地上，耶和華 必 大大 賜福與你。）
But 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;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 15:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions recognize the tension between this verse and verse 11, even as they propose different resolutions. Most agree that verse 4 is not a flat contradiction but a statement about God's ideal for Israel under obedience, or a purpose clause clarifying the release law, or a conditional clause allowing an exception. Matthew Henry, Gill, and Wesley each note the conditional framework of blessing. The Cambridge Bible emphasizes the confident Hebrew verb form. It reads 'shall be' rather than 'should be,' treating the verse as a parenthesis describing what will happen if the people obey (v. 5). Barnes and Keil-Delitzsch stress that the release law aims to prevent poverty from ever taking root. Despite surface tension with v. 7 and v. 11, the united testimony is that obedience to God's commands naturally leads toward a community where extreme poverty is absent.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Conditional Qualification: Reads אֶפֶס כִּי as 'except when' — the release law's application depends on the presence of poor persons. Supported by Barnes and Gill, and the reading of the KJV margin.
- Purpose Clause: Renders the phrase as 'to the end that there be no poor' — making poverty elimination the goal of the law. Supported by Wesley, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, and Poole.
- Ideal Promise: Sees a confident statement of what shall be if Israel obeys: 'there will be no poor among you.' Supported by Cambridge Bible, Keil-Delitzsch, and most modern translations (WEB, ASV, BSB).
What is clear: The verse is inseparable from the sabbatical release legislation and insists that obedience to God's commands creates a community where poverty is minimized and generosity is the norm.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Translation of אֶפֶס כִּי (efes ki) | All commentators agree this phrase modifies the preceding release command. | Barnes and Gill read it as 'except when' (conditional exemption). Wesley and the JFB margin read it as 'to the end that' (purpose). Modern translations and Cambridge Bible read it as 'nevertheless there shall be' (contrasting ideal). The Hebrew permits all three readings. |
| The tension between v. 4 and v. 11 ('poor never cease') | Every interpreter recognizes the tension and agrees that both verses are part of the same revelation. | Some (e.g., Keil-Delitzsch) see v. 4 as describing the ideal of a fully obedient community and v. 11 as describing fallen reality. Others (Barnes) see v. 4 as a conditional clause adjusting the law for a contingency. The purpose clause view (Wesley) resolves the tension by making v. 4 the goal of the law rather than a factual statement. |
| The conditionality of God's blessing | All agree that the promise of 'no poor' is tied to obedience (v. 5). | The degree to which Israel's disobedience nullifies the promise varies. Some Reformed commentators interpret the condition strictly: the promise was only for a faithful Israel. Others see it as a general principle that still retains force, as reflected in later wisdom literature (Proverbs). |
| Scope of 'needy' (אֶבְיוֹן) | It refers to economically destitute people, especially fellow Israelites ('brothers'). | Whether it includes only those poor due to misfortune versus those poor due to laziness. The passage does not distinguish, and the surrounding command to lend 'sufficient for his need' (v. 8) suggests a generous standard that does not judge the cause. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Deuteronomy 15:4 stands within Moses' exposition of the sabbatical year release law (Deuteronomy 15:1-3, 7-11). This legislation expanded earlier commands in Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:2-7. Every seven years, debts between Israelites were to be canceled. The purpose was radical: to prevent the permanent entrenchment of poverty within the covenant community. The land itself was an inheritance (nachalah) given by Yahweh, not a commodity to be bought and sold. The law reminded Israel that their ultimate security rested not on loans and repayment but on God's faithful provision.
Verse 4 functions as a reassurance to creditors who might resist the release. By obeying, they would not lose. God would 'surely bless' (the infinitive absolute with finite verb for emphasis). The promise of abundant blessing made the command economically viable. Yet the condition was clear: obedience (verse 5) was the channel through which blessing flowed.
The surrounding verses shift immediately to practical generosity (vv. 7-11), acknowledging that the ideal of 'no poor' must coexist with the reality of present need. The rabbinic tradition, as Barnes notes, later found this law so demanding that the prosbul allowed debts to be collected despite the sabbatical year. But the original legislation envisioned a community where the regular rhythm of release kept poverty from becoming permanent.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentators note no major text-critical variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch add the phrase 'your God' after the divine name in the blessing clause ('Yahweh your God' for MT's 'Yahweh'), but this does not affect the meaning.
Reception History
In the history of interpretation, this verse has been read both as a literal economic promise for covenant Israel and as a broader principle of God's blessing upon generous communities. Jewish exegetes, represented in the Targums cited by Gill, emphasized the conditional nature: the absence of poverty would follow from keeping the commandments. Early Christian writers often saw here a model for the sharing of goods in Acts, while later medieval exegetes spiritualized the 'no poor' as an interior state of detachment. Reformation commentators treated the verse as a practical economic command for a theocratic nation, recognizing its tension with verse 11. In modern scholarship, the verse is generally understood within the framework of covenant blessing and the social vision of the Deuteronomic law, still speaking to the church's mission to alleviate poverty.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- God's promise of blessing: The verse holds out a vision: no poor among you. This is not naive optimism; it is anchored in God's ability to bless abundantly when His people obey.
- The condition of obedience: Verse 5 makes clear that the promise is tied to diligent listening and doing. The blessing is not automatic; it flows through covenant faithfulness.
- The imperative of generosity: The tension with v. 7 shows that the promise is no excuse to ignore present need. Divine blessing equips us to be open-handed, not tight-fisted.
Five-Point Outline
- The sabbatical release as economic discipleship: Debt cancellation every seven years taught trust in God rather than in wealth.
- The place of the poor in God's design: Poverty was never part of God's original intention for His people, but human sin and neglect made generosity necessary.
- Blessing as empowerment for giving: The promise that God will bless (v. 4b) frees the community from fear-based hoarding.
- Ideal and reality in tension: Both v. 4 and v. 11 are true: the first expresses God's desire, the second describes the fallen world. The community lives between them.
- Open hands as a sign of the kingdom: Generosity toward the needy (vv. 7-8) embodies the character of the God who gives the land and cancels debts.
Illustration Hooks
- A small-town farmer in an agrarian society lends seed grain to a neighbor just before the sabbatical year. Will the loan be repaid? The law says cancel it. The blessing says trust God. The farmer faces a test of faith versus fear.
- A modern church considers a large-scale debt relief initiative for families in its neighborhood. The finance committee worries about the church budget. The pastor points to the promise: God blesses those who open their hands.
- A business owner whose company is thriving is asked to invest in a new venture led by a younger entrepreneur who has failed before. The year of release principle suggests a different approach to risk: lend, and if it can't be repaid, release the debt without bitterness.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- If God promises no poor, why do we still see persistent poverty in the church and community?
- Does this passage require us to give without wisdom, simply writing off debts without accountability?
- How does the Old Testament law about debt release apply to Christians living in a modern economy with credit systems?
Leading a Discussion
This small group session explores the surprising tension at the heart of Deuteronomy 15: between the promise that poverty will not exist and the command to help the poor. The verse invites us to think about how God's blessing and our generosity work together.
Discussion Questions
- Read Deuteronomy 15:1, 11. What seems to be the main concern of this passage? Why do you think God gave this law?
- Verse 4 says there will be no poor among you. Verse 7 immediately talks about what to do when there is a poor person. How would you explain this shift?
- The Hebrew expression for 'surely bless' uses a doubled verb form (infinitive absolute + finite). What does that emphasis add to God's promise?
- What does the word 'inheritance' (nachalah) tell us about how Israel should view the land? How does that affect their attitude toward debt and poverty?
- In what ways does our modern financial system make it hard to practice the kind of release described here?
- How does this passage challenge your personal attitude toward lending, borrowing, and giving?
- What would change in your community if believers truly believed that God's blessing allows them to release debts and open their hands generously?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 14:29 | The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, as well as the foreigner living among you, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. |
| Deuteronomy 28:1 | It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. |
| Deuteronomy 28:8 | Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to. He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. |
| Deuteronomy 28:11 | Yahweh will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you. |
| Proverbs 11:24 | There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty. |
| Proverbs 11:25 | The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself. |
| Proverbs 14:21 | He who despises his neighbor sins, but he who has pity on the poor is blessed. |
| Proverbs 28:27 | One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke explains that the promise of no poor among God's people is not absolute but comparative. He points to the parallel verse that predicts poverty will always exist, indicating the statement here expresses a relative condition rather than a complete elimination of need.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the release of debts in the sabbatical year was only a temporary suspension for that year, not a permanent cancellation, and applied exclusively to loans made because of poverty. He resolves the apparent contradiction between verses about no poor and always poor by explaining that the release is only required when a poor person is involved.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that the Hebrew verb form expresses confident certainty, not merely what should happen. The promise that there will be no poor is a firm statement of an ideal, and it will be realized if Israel fully obeys the law. The rest of the verse may be a later expansion.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Notes read "save when there shall be no poor with thee" as a conditional promise: poverty would disappear only when God's blessing fully came. The land was an inheritance from the Lord, and the absence of need depended entirely on His blessing, not human effort alone.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill presents multiple ways to understand the statement about no poor
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes a point of translation: the clause about there being no poor may either limit the previous command to poor borrowers only, or state the law's purpose — to prevent anyone from falling into poverty. He favors the latter, reading it as God's promise of blessing when Israel obeys.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch read the command as a charge to avoid creating or worsening poverty by oppressing fellow Israelites through debt, not as a promise that poverty would vanish. They therefore see no conflict with the later statement that the poor will never cease. The emphasis falls on the creditor's responsibility, not a guarantee of universal prosperity.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the entire passage as a deliberate unfolding of the Sabbath idea in six ascending stages: rest from debt, freedom from bondage, consecration of life, redemption through Passover, joy in harvest, and final perfection in the feast of tabernacles. For him, the Sabbath principle shapes not just a day but all of Israel's economic and worship life as a preparation for God's ultimate rest.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that the release of debts every seventh year is called "the Lord's release," meaning God claims it as His own institution. He sees the law as a test of faith: a generous heart must not hold back from lending even when the release year is near, trusting God's blessing over human calculation. For Henry, the command checks both stinginess and unbelief.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that God gave the law canceling debts every seven years precisely to prevent anyone from being impoverished or ruined by strict collection. The command was designed for mercy, ensuring that no one would be crushed by financial pressure.