Proverbs 28:8

"He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase, Gathereth for him that hath pity of the poor."

Usury, defined as excessive interest, was based upon a percentage of money loaned required to be paid in addition to the principal; `increase' referred to such agreements in which grain and other products were loaned, contingent upon the lender being repaid with an "increase in kind." Borrow three bushels, pay back four!

This proverb states that unscrupulous loan sharks who amassed fortunes by such tactics were merely gathering up wealth that a successor would distribute to the poor. Although this must have happened in certain cases, the passage should be viewed as the way God intended it to be, rather than as the way things generally occurred.