Common misinterpretations include viewing this as a universal prohibition against all interest or usury in any context, overlooking its specific application to ancient Israel's covenant obligations; others erroneously apply it to condemn modern banking or capitalism outright, ignoring New Testament teachings on stewardship and grace; some misuse it to justify discriminatory lending practices today, missing the passage's focus on fostering welfare and unity among God's people under the Old Covenant rather than endorsing ethnic favoritism.
Deuteronomy 23:20
King James Version (1769)
20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
This Mosaic Law permits Israelites to charge interest on loans to foreigners but prohibits it among fellow Israelites, emphasizing communal solidarity, generosity, and protection from economic exploitation within the covenant community, with God's promised blessing on their prosperity in the Promised Land as motivation for such brotherly conduct.