Deuteronomy 23:20

Summary

The verse permits charging interest to a nokhri ("foreigner", H5237) while forbidding it toward one's 'ach ("brother/countryman", H0251I). The stated purpose of this distinction is that Yehovah the God of the addressee may bless him in every undertaking within the land he is about to enter and possess.

Key words

• na.khe.Ri ("foreigner", H5237) — masculine singular adjective functioning as the object of permitted interest-charging, marked by the preposition la ("to the").
• ta.Shikh ("you will charge interest", H5391B) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, used identically in both halves of the verse (once permissive, once negated), showing the same verb governs both clauses.
• 'a.Chi.kha ("your countryman", H0251I + H9021) — construct noun with pronominal suffix, specifying the group excluded from interest-charging as belonging to the addressee ("your brother/kinsman").
• ye.va.rekh.kha ("he may bless you", H1288) — piel jussive with object suffix, expressing the intended or desired result ("let him bless you") introduced by le.Ma.'an ("so that", H4616).
• mish.Lach ya.De.kha ("the undertaking of your hand", H4916A + H3027U) — a construct chain literally "the sending-out of your hand," idiomatic for any activity or enterprise one undertakes.

What the text says

The verse is built as two parallel short clauses using the same verb ta.Shikh (H5391B, hiphil imperfect of the interest-charging root): first affirmed toward the nokhri ("foreigner," H5237), then negated (lo', H3808) toward the 'ach ("countryman," H0251I) with the second-person possessive suffix -kha attached. The repetition of the identical verb form in both halves creates a structural contrast: same action, opposite legal status depending on the object marked by the preposition (la- "to the" in both cases).

The second half of the verse is a purpose clause introduced by le.Ma.'an (H4616, "so that"), governing the piel jussive ye.va.rekh.kha (H1288, "may he bless you") with Yehovah (H3068G) as subject and 'e.lo.Hei.kha ("your God," H0430G construct + suffix) in apposition. The blessing is scoped by the prepositional phrase be.khol mish.Lach ya.De.kha ("in every undertaking of your hand," H3605 + H4916A + H3027U), a construct chain describing the totality of the addressee's activities. This is further located "on the land" ('al-ha'Aretz, H5921A + H0776G) that is defined by a relative clause: "where you are about to go" ('a.Sher 'a.Tah va' Sha.ma, using the qal participle va' H0935G, "the one going/coming") "to take possession of it" (le.rish.Ta.h, qal infinitive H3423H with object suffix H9034).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders both instances of ta.Shikh with the single Greek verb ἐκτοκιεῖς ("you will charge interest"), matching the Hebrew's identical verb repetition. The Vulgate, however, expands the second clause: "Fratri autem tuo absque usura id quo indiget, commodabis" ("but to your brother you will lend without interest that which he needs"), adding the notion of lending to someone "in need" (quo indiget) not explicit in the Hebrew or LXX. The Vulgate also renders H3068G as "Dominus" and H0430G as "Deus tuus," consistent with the Hebrew's Yehovah 'elohekha structure, though the compound divine name form differs stylistically from the transliteration "Yehovah" used here.