Deuteronomy 15:6 New King James Version (NKJV)
For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
The Bible issues a single specific warning regarding a particular danger of borrowing. Proverbs 22:7 clearly states the nature of that danger, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” The verse makes it clear that debt imposes an obligation.
Scripture, however, does not forbid lending or borrowing; it forbids only the evil practice of imposing exorbitant interest, as well as unwise borrowing. Proverbs 6:1–5 is the first of two teachings on good financial health in this chapter of Proverbs.
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be” Meaning
This quote means that one should neither borrow money from friends, risk being in debt to them and not being able to pay them back, and that they should not lend money out either. Then one might be at the risk of never retrieving one's funds and losing friends.
The lender
This is the person or entity that lends a certain amount of money on credit to an applicant, who is the borrower, who must repay the amount borrowed, plus the interest agreed upon in the contract, within a predetermined time frame.
Proverbs 22:7-9 King James Version (KJV)
The rich ruleth over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.
A common interpretation is that Jesus was reacting to the practice of money changers routinely cheating the people, but Marvin L. Krier Mich observes that a good deal of money was stored at the temple, where it could be loaned by the wealthy to the poor who were in danger of losing their land to debt.
ESV Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. NIV Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. NASB One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord, And He will repay him for his good deed.
Proverbs 6:2, says, “You are snared with the words of your mouth.” Snared means to be trapped. Your words can trip you, what you say can cause you to stumble, and it can keep you from your potential. Don't set the limits for your life with your words.
That being so, Jesus' command to “lend, expecting nothing in return” means that we should lend, and if our borrowers repay us, great, but if they don't, we should not hold them to it, effectively turning our loans into gifts. And that would certainly demonstrate above average virtue on our part.
You ask a good question. Let's look carefully at what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:42. Jesus is speaking about a request for either a gift ("the one who begs") or a loan ("the one who borrows"). In either case, without discriminating, Jesus says that we should give and not refuse the one asking of us.
In sum, early Christian doctrine prohibited usury, which was originally understood as a ban on charging any interest on any kind of loan. 62 Charging interest was understood as a violation of commutative justice because it robbed the borrower of the fruits of his own capital.
Deuteronomy 15:6 - If you are faithful in obeying God's commandments, you will be blessed and able to lend and not borrow. Deuteronomy 28:12 - You will lend to many nations but not have to borrow. Matthew 5:42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Jesus said it: Matthew 5:42: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Just be smart about it. Christians are never told not to lend/borrow. Under Moses, there were regulations about usury, but they were about keeping the poor out of slavery.
Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” If you owe someone money, they'll control your life until you pay it back. How much could you save if you had no payments? How much could you GIVE if you had no payments? That life is possible.
One example comes from Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you.” In this sentence, Paul has summarized the biblical message: that we are to be kind, compassionate and forgiving.
This proverb makes clear that God cares about the poor and God calls us to care for the poor, to listen to the cry of the poor, to respond to the cry of the poor. And God going so far here as to say, “When you close your ear to the cry of the poor, then I will close my ear to you”.
A person who is "good in the eye" sincerely seeks the good of others; they actively look for ways to help. This proverb directly connects this attitude with actions: we know such a person has a "good eye" because we see them sharing with those less fortunate. The word "poor" identifies the feeble, weak, and helpless.
The Old Testament "condemns the practice of charging interest on a poor person because a loan should be an act of compassion and taking care of one's neighbor"; it teaches that "making a profit off a loan from a poor person is exploiting that person (Exodus 22:25–27)." Similarly, charging of interest (Hebrew: נֶֽשֶׁךְ, ...
ESV Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. NIV Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
The Bible does not prohibit borrowing. However, it has strong words of caution. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). And there's this: “God paid a high price for you, don't be enslaved to the world” (1 Corinthians 7:23, NLT).
Ecclesiastes 5:10 In-Context
10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. 3 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
[10] Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.