Exodus 22:25
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. 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.
The verse is one of the statutes or judgments in Exodus 21-23, part of the detailed specifications given through Moses on the mount after the Ten Commandments, given by Christ Himself to train Israel in how to treat one another. When money is lent to a poor fellow Israelite, the lender must not act toward him as a usurer nor lay usury upon him, which means no interest is to be charged and his need is not to be exploited to enrich the lender by further impoverishing him or to burden him. Instead the needy brother is to be lent what is sufficient for his need with an open hand, without hardening the heart or shutting the hand. A person of means may help the poor and take only what can be mercifully charged, and charging ten or twelve percent is robbery before God even when human law permits it.
The verse belongs with God's other protections for people in hardship, including care for widows and orphans, restoration of a neighbor's pledged garment, the third-year tithe, and leaving the spontaneous produce of the fallow seventh year to those in need, for God hears the cries of the afflicted and is gracious. These provisions were given to keep fresh before Israel that God owns all and to give them opportunity to be channels of blessing, to train them out of selfishness and develop breadth and nobility of character. The verse expresses God's care for the afflicted and His demand for justice and compassion in business, guarding the interests of His people and showing how impartial His ways and how exalted His requirements are.
The direction does not belong to a Christless dispensation and is not of a lower order than present requirements, but stands to be strictly obeyed and diligently studied and presented today, being needed now just as verily as in the days of Moses, although many depart from it. Solomon should have made this training in how to treat one another his first thought in connection with building the temple, in order to obtain all possible strength and ability from the people. Studied in detail with the rest of the laws written in the book, the verse will cause contention to cease, cause men to love as brethren with softened and subdued hearts, guard against doing injustice, and guide dealings with one another.