Lending is not banned in Scripture — but the conditions, the interest, and the relational ethics are tightly regulated. The Hebrew neshek (literally 'a bite') is the picture of interest taken from a poor brother. Exodus 22, Leviticus 25, and Deuteronomy 15 and 23 form the core legal framework. Jesus' Luke 6:34-35 ('lend, expecting nothing in return') reframes the practice for the New Covenant. This study walks every major passage and offers a six-rule framework for lending in 2026.
The Hebrew vocabulary — neshek and tarbit
Two key words. Neshek (נֶשֶׁךְ) — literally 'a bite,' from the root nashak (to bite, as a snake). The image is of interest that bites into the borrower. Tarbit or marbit (תַּרְבִּית) — 'increase,' the gain a lender extracts beyond the principal. Both words appear together in Lev 25:36, Ezek 18:8, 18:13, 18:17, 22:12. The biblical legislator does not assume neutrality about interest; the language pre-loads the moral verdict.
Exodus 22:25 — no interest from the poor
'If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.' The first law on lending names the audience: the poor of God's covenant people. The lender is forbidden from acting kenosheh ('like a creditor') — extracting interest from someone whose poverty drove them to borrow.
Leviticus 25:35-37 — no interest from a brother in distress
'If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him… Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.' Three commands: support him, no neshek, no marbit. The framework is covenant-family economics; the brother is to be lifted, not extracted from. The motivation clause — 'fear your God' — anchors the ethic theologically, not commercially.
Deuteronomy 15:1-11 — the seven-year release
'At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor.' The shemittah year canceled all loans between Israelites. This is structural debt jubilee built into the calendar. Verses 7-11 add the rich-hearted command: do not refuse to lend just because the seventh year is near. 'You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him.'
This passage is the strongest biblical pressure against treating lending primarily as a profit instrument. Loans were short, capped by the calendar, and oriented to lifting the borrower out of distress.
Deuteronomy 23:19-20 — the stranger/brother distinction
'You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner (nokhri) interest, but you may not charge your brother interest.' The foreigner-brother distinction has been historically misused; the correct reading is that the foreigner (nokhri) is a transient trader, not the resident sojourner (ger) who was always protected. Commercial lending across covenant lines was permitted; extractive lending within the covenant family was not.
Psalm 15:5 — the no-interest character of the LORD's tenant
'Who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?' The psalm lists ten character marks; the financial mark is decisive: 'who does not put out his money at interest (neshek) and does not take a bribe against the innocent.' The one who lends without neshek is among the marks of the person fit to dwell with God.
Nehemiah 5 — restoration after the exile
Nehemiah 5:1-13 records the great cry of the people: in the post-exilic resettlement, wealthy Jews were lending to the poor at interest and seizing children and lands as collateral. Nehemiah confronts the nobles, makes them swear to return the interest and the lands. The narrative is the historical case study of the law's intent — when the rich extract from the brother, the covenant community is structurally broken.
Jesus' radical Luke 6:34-35
'If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.' Jesus does not abolish lending; he raises the bar. The kingdom standard is to lend without certainty of repayment. The lender treats the loan, in some practical sense, as half-gift.
A six-rule framework for the modern Christian lender
- If the borrower is a brother in distress, do not charge interest. Lev 25:36-37 is direct. The relationship is covenant family, not bank.
- Prefer the gift over the loan. A gift you can afford preserves the relationship; a loan often destroys it.
- Lend only what you can afford to lose. Treat every personal loan as a probable gift (Luke 6:34-35).
- Refuse the surety trap. Prov 6, 11, 17, 22 — co-signing for a borrower is not the same as lending; the warnings against surety are categorical.
- Document the terms in writing for any non-trivial amount. Reduces conflict (Prov 27:23-24) and protects the relationship.
- Forgive when you cannot collect without harming the borrower. Deut 15 builds release into the calendar; Jesus' Matt 18:23-35 makes forgiveness of debt a kingdom mark.
Continue your study
Continue with our surety in the Bible, tithing in the Old Testament, biblical tithing guide, biblical money mindset.
All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version.