New International Version
Leviticus 25:39
39“ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.
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:
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave.
Context of Leviticus 25:39
37You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. 38I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. “ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. 40They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their 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 shall go free, without paying anything.
- Exodus 22:3but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. “Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.
- Deuteronomy 15:12If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.
- 1 Kings 9:22But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.
- 2 Kings 4:1The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
- Nehemiah 5:5Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”
- Jeremiah 34:14‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.
- Leviticus 25:46You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
- Exodus 1:14They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
- Jeremiah 25:14They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
- Jeremiah 27:7All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.
- Jeremiah 30:8“ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave 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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