Leviticus 25:39

Leviticus 25:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
• New King James Version (NKJV)‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave.

Context of Leviticus 25:39

37You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for profit. 38I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. ‘Now if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. 40He shall be with you as a hired worker, as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. 41He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers.

Leviticus 25:39 word by word

וְכִֽי־יָמ֥וּךְ אָחִ֛יךָ עִמָּ֖ךְ וְנִמְכַּר־לָ֑ךְ לֹא־תַעֲבֹ֥ד בּ֖וֹ עֲבֹ֥דַת עָֽבֶד׃Read the interlinear

• ifכִּיkîy · forH3588
• a countrymanאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
• of yours becomesמוּךְmûk · be poorH4134
• withעִם‛im · withH5973
• you that he sellsמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• himself to you, you shall not subjectעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• him to a slave’sעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656

Cross-references for Leviticus 25:39

• Exodus 21:2“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you.
• Exodus 22:3If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account--A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
• Deuteronomy 15:12“If your fellow countryman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free.
• 1 Kings 9:22But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.
• 2 Kings 4:1Now a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
• Nehemiah 5:5And now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
• Jeremiah 34:14“At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me.
• Leviticus 25:46You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.
• Exodus 1:14and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.
• Jeremiah 25:14(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”
• Jeremiah 27:7All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.
• Jeremiah 30:8‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will break his yoke from their necks and will tear to pieces their restraints; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

Commentaries on Leviticus 25:39

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 39The law here appears harmoniously to supplement the earlier one in Exodus 21:1-6. It was another check applied periodically to the tyranny of the rich. Compare Jeremiah 34:8-17.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 39-55Verses 39-55 A native Israelite, if sold for debt, or for a crime, was to serve but six years, and to go out the seventh. If he sold himself, through poverty, both his work and his usage must be such as were fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are required to give to their servants that which is just and equal, Col 4:1. At the year of jubilee the servant should go out free, he and his children, and should return to his own family. This typified…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-55Just as seven days made a week ending in a Sabbath day, every seven years ended with a Sabbath year. After seven Sabbath years, or 49 years, came a special year called the Year of Jubilee. Like so many holy days, these times were meant for reflecting on Israel's shared identity and their relationship with God. Every Israelite, both free and servant, had a place in God’s kingdom. So, those bound in servitude were set free during the Year of Jubilee…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 39-4639-46. if thy brother ... be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond-servant--An Israelite might be compelled, through misfortune, not only to mortgage his inheritance, but himself. In the event of his being reduced to this distress, he was to be treated not as a slave, but a hired servant whose engagement was temporary, and who might, through the friendly aid of a relative, be redeemed at any time before the…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 25:39

• Beneficence
• Debtor
• Jubilee
• Poor
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Accord
• Compel
• Debtor
• Decay
• Fill
• Freedom
• Increase
• Loan
• Poor
• Redeem

Commentaries on Leviticus 25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings