Biblical Concept: Interest
Prologue:
"Finally, there seem to be but three Ways for a
Nation to acquire Wealth. The first is by War as the Romans did in plundering
their conquered Neighbours. This is Robbery. The
second by Commerce which is generally Cheating. The third by Agriculture the
only honest Way; wherein Man receives a real Increase of the Seed thrown into
the Ground, in a kind of continual Miracle wrought by the Hand of God in his favour, as a Reward for his innocent Life, and virtuous
Industry."
-- Benjamin Franklin (Positions to be Examined, 4 April 1769)
Vocabulary:
%v;n" (nashak)
Meaning: to bite
Origin: a prim. root
Usage: bit, bite, bites, bitten, creditors, interest.
________
NAS Genesis 49:17 "Dan shall be a
serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That bites the horse's heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
NAS Exodus 22:25 "If you lend
money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to
him; you shall not charge him interest.
NAS Leviticus 25:36 'Do not take
usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live
with you. (See National Suicide:
CREDIT CARD RACKET WHY
DOES WASHINGTON ENCOURAGE BANK USURY? pp. 115-120.) (The Biblical word usurious = extra charge = extra fees
charged by various financial institutions.)
37 'You shall not give him your
silver at interest, nor your food for gain.
NAS Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent
fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of
Israel died.
8 Then the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come
about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live."
9 And Moses made a bronze serpent
and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man,
when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
NAS Deuteronomy 23:19 "You shall not
charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything
that may be loaned at interest.
20 "You may charge interest to
a foreigner, but to your countryman you shall not charge interest, so that the
LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are
about to enter to possess.
NAS Psalm 15:5 He does not put out
his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who
does these things will never be shaken.
NAS Proverbs 23:32 At the last it bites
like a serpent, And stings like a viper.
NAS Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his
wealth by interest and usury, Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.
NAS Ecclesiastes 10:8 He who digs a pit
may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.
11 If the serpent bites before
being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
NAS Jeremiah 8:17 "For behold, I
am sending serpents against you, Adders, for which there is no charm, And they
will bite you," declares the LORD.
NAS Ezekiel 18:8 if he does not lend money
on interest or take increase, if he keeps his hand from iniquity, and
executes true justice between man and man,
13 he lends money on
interest and takes increase; will he live? He will not live! He has committed
all these abominations, he will surely be put to death; his blood will be on
his own head.
17 he keeps his hand from the poor,
does not take interest or increase, but executes My ordinances, and
walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father's iniquity, he will surely
live.
NAS Ezekiel 22:12 "In you they
have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you
have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten
Me," declares the Lord God.
NAS Amos 5:19 As when a man flees
from a lion, And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the
wall, And a snake bites him.
NAS Amos 9:3 "And though
they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from
there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the
sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them.
NAS Micah 3:5 Thus says the LORD
concerning the prophets Who lead my people astray; When they have something to
bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace," But against him who puts
nothing in their mouths, They declare holy war.
NAS Habakkuk 2:7 "Will not your
creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you
will become plunder for them.