Leviticus 25:39-46

Holman Christian Standard Bible

³⁹ “If your brother among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you,^(A) you must not force him to do slave labor. ⁴⁰ Let him stay with you as a hired hand or temporary resident; he may work for you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then he and his children are to be released from you, and he may return to his clan and his ancestral property.^{(B) 42} They are not to be sold as slaves,^[a] because they are My slaves that I brought out of the land of Egypt. ⁴³ You are not to rule over them harshly^(C) but fear your God. ⁴⁴ Your male and female slaves are to be from the nations around you; you may purchase male and female slaves. ⁴⁵ You may also purchase them from the foreigners staying with you, or from their families living among you—those born in your land. These may become your property. ⁴⁶ You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But concerning your brothers, the Israelites, you must not rule over one another harshly.