Exodus 22:25-27

"If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest. If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him before the sun goeth down: for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skirt' wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious."

The old versions used "usury" for the word "interest" in this passage, but the word "usury" in Hebrew usage did not carry the connotation of exorbitant and excessive interest as does our English word. It simply means "interest" as translated here.

Jewish writers insist upon a meaning in this passage which may well be valid. They give as an alternative reading for the words "with thee that is poor," making it to read, "even when poverty is with thee."[21] The meaning of this is: "Even if you yourself are short of money, you must still set aside part of what you have for the poor."[22]

Is it wrong to charge interest on loans today? With regard to "loans" made to brothers in Christ, as a matter of charity, in order to reduce their distress, or hunger, or such, the answer must be affirmative. Not only should a loan like that be without interest, but it should be without thought of any repayment at all, a gift to a brother in need.

There is a different situation in which we believe the charging of interest is not merely right and honorable but absolutely necessary. Wherever money, which is capital, is loaned for the purpose of creating, maintaining, or expediting commercial ventures, the interest charge is necessary, honorable, and vital. It is the only way to prevent the defrauding of the lender. For example, if the annual rate of inflation is at 10 percent; and a commercial loan is extended, it will require an additional return of 10 percent added to the principal, just to assure the return of the same value received by the borrower from the lender. Without the interest charge, the lender would be merely giving his money away, and the Word of God nowhere suggests or commands anything like that!

"If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment to pledge ..." The garment in view here is that large, substantial blanket, or pancho, used not only as the principal covering in daytime, but also as the only bedclothes the man had. The taking of a garment like that in pledge was forbidden. The fact of the lender's having to return it every night would have meant, in effect, that the borrower could keep it! Many of the Jews of a later day sorely abused the rights of the poor. "Ye oppress the poor ... ye crush the needy ... they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes!" (Amos 2:6,4:1). The principle here applied to any absolutely necessary possession, such as the mill, or either of its stones (Deuteronomy 24:6).