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

37Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor lend him thy food for increase. 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. And if thy brotherthat dwelleth by thee shall have become poor, and be sold to thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a slave: 40But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee to the year of jubilee: 41And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return.

Leviticus 25:39 word by word

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

• brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
• poorמוּךְmûk · be poorH4134
• soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• compelעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• serveעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
• slaveעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650

Cross-references for Leviticus 25:39

• Exodus 21:2If thou shalt buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall depart free for nothing.
• Exodus 22:3If the sun shall have risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
• Deuteronomy 15:12And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, shall be sold to thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
• 1 Kings 9:22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no slaves: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
• 2 Kings 4:1Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the LORD: and the creditor hath come to take to my two sons to be his slaves.
• Nehemiah 5:5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought to bondage already : neither is it in our power to redeem them ; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
• Jeremiah 34:14At the end of seven years release ye every man his brother an Hebrew, who hath been sold to thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not to me, neither inclined their ear.
• Leviticus 25:46And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your slaves for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
• Exodus 1:14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigour.
• Jeremiah 25:14For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
• Jeremiah 27:7And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land shall come: and then many nations and great kings shall bring him into subjection.
• Jeremiah 30:8For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more bring him into subjection:

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