Usury is the practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest. In the Bible, usury refers to interest in general, and before the creation of usury laws, it could refer to interest in general. However, in modern times, usury refers to exorbitantly high interest rates. The King James Version uses the word usury in its now obsolete sense. For example, in Exodus 22:25, the basic rule regarding interest is “If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury” (KJV) .
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were forbidden from charging “usury,” or interest, on loans to fellow Jews who were experiencing poverty (Deuteronomy 23:19). However, they were allowed to charge interest on loans to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:20) . The prohibition grew out of the agricultural status of the people, in which ordinary business loans were not needed, and loans as were required should be made only as to friends and brothers in need.
The New Testament does not directly condemn interest-taking, and it is even tolerated in the Parable of the Talents. However, the Bible warns against becoming too concerned with money, telling us that we cannot serve both God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24). We are reminded that the desire to be rich leads to destruction and that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:9-10) .
In summary, usury in the Bible refers to interest in general, and the Israelites were forbidden from charging interest on loans to fellow Jews who were experiencing poverty. The New Testament does not directly condemn interest-taking, but it warns against becoming too concerned with money.
