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Deuteronomy 15:13

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 15:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:
Deuteronomy 15:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 15

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
11For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
12If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:
14thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; as Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to-day.
16And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go out from thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee;
← Deuteronomy 15:12Deuteronomy 15:14 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And when thou sendest him out free from thee, etc.] When he discharged him from his servitude, and made him a free man: thou shall not let him go away empty; without anything to support himself, or to put himself in a way of business; he having in the time of his servitude worked entirely for his master, and so could not have got and saved anything for himself.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“thou shalt not let him go away empty--A seasonable and wise provision for enabling a poor unfortunate to regain his original status in society, and the motive urged for his kindness and humanity to the Hebrew slave was the remembrance that the whole nation was once a degraded and persecuted band of helots in Egypt. Thus, kindness towards their slaves, unparalleled elsewhere in those days, was inculcated by the Mosaic law; and in all their conduct towards persons in that reduced condition, leniency and gentleness were enforced by an appeal which no Israelite could resist.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“This is a most humane and merciful addition to the law in Exo 21:2-11; enforced upon the Israelites by the consideration of their Egyptian bondage. As a faithful servant has made no property for himself while honestly serving his master, so now, when he quits his service, he has nothing to begin the world with except what the kindness of his master may bestow upon him as a remuneration for his zeal and fidelity. Though what was to be bestowed upon servants is not fixed, yet they were to be liberally supplied ( Deu 15:14). Gen 31:42; Exo 3:21; Lev 25:42-44; Pro 3:27, Pro 3:28; Jer 22:13; Mal 3:5; Col 4:1 Deuteronomy 15:14”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 15 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification