New English Translation
Leviticus 25:39
39“‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service.
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 must not lend him your money at interest and you must not sell him food for profit. 38I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan – to be your God. “‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. 40He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, 41but then he may go free, he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors.
Read all of Leviticus 25Leviticus 25:39 word by word
וְכִֽי־יָמ֥וּךְ אָחִ֛יךָ עִמָּ֖ךְ וְנִמְכַּר־לָ֑ךְ לֹא־תַעֲבֹ֥ד בּ֖וֹ עֲבֹ֥דַת עָֽבֶד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Leviticus 25:39
- Exodus 21:2“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free without paying anything.
- Exodus 22:3If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft.
- Deuteronomy 15:12If your fellow Hebrew – whether male or female – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free.
- 1 Kings 9:22Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.
- 2 Kings 4:1Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.”
- Nehemiah 5:5And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.”
- Jeremiah 34:14“Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.
- Leviticus 25:46You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly.
- Exodus 1:14They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.
- Jeremiah 25:14For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation too. I will repay them for all they have done!’”
- Jeremiah 27:7All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon.
- Jeremiah 30:8When the time for them to be rescued comes,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will rescue you from foreign subjugation. I will deliver you from captivity. Foreigners will then no longer subjugate them.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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