Exodus 22:27

Hebrew Bible

25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest. 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious. 28You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people. 29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

LXX Exodus 22:27

Septuagint

25 Now if you lend silver to a poor brother near you, you shall not press him; you shall not apply interest to him. 26 And if, as pledge, you take in pledge the neighbor’s garment, before the set- ting of the sun you shall restore it. 27 For this is his cloak; this alone is the garment for his shame. In what shall he sleep? If then he should cry out to me, I will listen to him, for I am merciful. 28 You shall not revile gods, and you shall not speak ill of your people’s rulers. 29 First fruits of your threshing floor and press you shall not hold back. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 You shall do the same with your bull calf and your sheep and your draft animal. For seven days it shall be under its mother, but on the eighth day you shall restore it to me.

 Notes and References

"... Contextual translation shows up when a rendering seems to be affected by the immediate surroundings (sometimes triggered by cultural or theological considerations, or by textual difficulties or obscurities) ... A context from the translator's cultural setting may have influenced Exodus 22.27, where theous, 'gods', renders elohim, whereas the immediate context requires 'judges'. Buchner suggests that the translator is making a gracious gesture to his polytheistic milieu; the rendering, however, could be understood as automatic rather than contextual. This example shows how difficult it can be to define a translator's intention ..."

Dines, Jennifer M. The Septuagint (p. 123) T&T Clark, 2004

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