Exodus 22:25

My Notes

What Does Exodus 22:25 Mean?

"If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury." God prohibits charging interest on loans to fellow Israelites who are poor. This isn't a general prohibition on banking — it specifically protects the vulnerable from financial exploitation. "My people that is poor by thee" makes it personal: this is your neighbor, living near you, in visible need. And you shall not profit from their desperation.

The word "usurer" (nosheh) comes from a root meaning "to bite" — interest that bites, that feeds on the borrower's poverty. Ancient interest rates were often catastrophic (25-50%), making debt a permanent trap. God's law interrupts the cycle: when you lend to the poor, you lend as an act of mercy, not an investment opportunity.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does this verse challenge your attitude toward lending, giving, and financial systems?
• 2.Where do you see modern equivalents of 'usury that bites' in our economic systems?
• 3.What does it mean that God specifically protects the poor from financial exploitation by their own community?
• 4.How do you balance wise financial management with the command not to profit from others' desperation?

Devotional

Don't charge interest to the poor. God is blunt about this. When your neighbor is desperate enough to ask for a loan, you don't turn their desperation into your profit margin. You lend because they need it. Not because you'll make money from it.

The word for usury comes from a root meaning "to bite." That's what predatory lending does — it bites. It feeds on the very people it claims to help. You give someone money when they're down, and then you make them pay more than they borrowed. The debt grows. The poverty deepens. And you profit from the cycle.

God calls this an abomination. Not because all interest is wrong (the law addresses loans to the poor specifically), but because profiting from someone's vulnerability is a violation of community. "My people that is poor by thee" — by thee, near you, in your sight. You can see their need. And God says: when you can see it, you can't exploit it.

This has implications far beyond ancient Israel. Every system that profits from the poverty of its participants — payday loans, predatory mortgages, usurious credit cards targeting the financially desperate — violates the spirit of this command. God is not neutral about financial exploitation. He takes sides. And he sides with the poor neighbor who needs help, not the lender who needs a return on investment.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture