My brothers, my servants, and I are lending money and grain to the poor, but we must stop charging them interest.

[He] who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

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.

This makes sense because many lenders would not ever pay back their loans, if they could actually get away with it without any penalties

According the the Jewish prophets, the perfect, righteous man was one who, regardless of wealth or prestige, remained staunch in their refusal to practice usury of any kind, even to the smallest degree. Honesty, integrity, holiness, and the ban on the taking of interest, went together just as Moses, indeed, just as God Himself, had originally commanded. Two separate passages of Ezekiel sums this attitude up:

As Solomon intoned, in the Book of Proverbs, ‘Poor people are slaves of the rich. ‘ (Proverbs 22:7) Also, one needed to be wary of those who might have the power to refuse to pay back any loans. This is the way of the world and lenders would be wise to heed this advice. The Bible writes as follows:

He will…bless all your work, so that you will lend to many nations, but you will not have to borrow from any.

You should not lend anything to someone more powerful than you. If you do, you might as well consider it lost.

The people of Israel were repeatedly commanded by God to remain obedient to His laws and to be wary of any nation which was more financially powerful and who might even try lending money to Israel. As the LORD God warns advisedly, ‘They will have money to lend you, but you will have none to lend them. In the end they will be your rulers.’ (Deuteronomy ) If one is absolutely forced to borrow any money at all, the following rule should be applied:

Sound business advice includes the imperative to avoid poverty at all costs and to never be a borrower, but always a lender

The Old Testament also warns against being greedy when it comes to the collection of collateral on any loan. Lenders are advised to be less cautious and to trust that those who borrow money will, in fact, pay it back. The general idea is for those with money to not be so quick to demand collateral and to accept less, all the while giving more to others. The Bible reads:

When you lend someone something, you are not to take as security his millstones used for grinding his grain. This would take away the family’s means of preparing food to stay alive.

When you lend someone something, do not go into his house to get the garment he is going to give you as security.

In several different places, the Bible advises those who have the money to freely lend it out to those who need it. The Gospels state: ‘When someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.’ (Matthew 5:42) This includes friends, neighbors, and the poor. Scriptures link also promises those who lend without interest that the LORD God Himself will reward them for their good deeds. The reward for their generosity will not only come in this life, but also in the next. Besides, lending at no interest is something the LORD God wants his followers to do. The pertinent passages can be read as follows: