Leviticus 25:39-55
English Standard Version
39 (A)“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 (B)Then he shall go out from you, (C)he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return (D)to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are (E)my servants,[a] whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 (F)You shall not rule over him (G)ruthlessly but (H)shall fear your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. 45 (I)You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel (J)you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
Redeeming a Poor Man
47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and (K)your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may (L)redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he (M)grows rich he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be (N)rated as the time of a hired worker. 51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. 52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. 53 He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. (O)He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then (P)he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. 55 For it is (Q)to me that the people of Israel are servants.[b] They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
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- Leviticus 25:42 Hebrew slaves
- Leviticus 25:55 Or slaves
Leviticus 25:39-55
International Standard Version
39 “If your brother with you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you, you are not to make him serve like a bond slave.[a] 40 Instead, he is to serve with you like a hired servant or a traveler who lives with you, until the year of jubilee. 41 Then he and his children with him may leave[b] to return to his family and his ancestor’s inheritance. 42 Since they’re my servants whom I’ve brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. 43 You are not to rule over them with harshness. You are to fear your God.”
Release of Slaves
44 “As for your male and maid slaves who will be with you, you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations. 45 You may also buy from resident aliens who live among you and their families who are with you, whom they fathered in your land. They may become your property. 46 You may give them as inherited property to your children[c] after you, to own as properties in perpetuity. You may make bond slaves of them, but no one is to rule over his fellow Israeli with harshness.
47 “If a resident alien or traveler becomes rich,[d] but your relative who lives next to him is so poor that he sells himself to that resident alien or traveler among you or to a member of the resident alien’s family, 48 he has the right to be redeemed after he sells himself. One of his brothers may redeem him. 49 His uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him or any blood[e] relative from his tribe may redeem him. If[f] he becomes rich,[g] then he may redeem himself.
50 “He is to bring an accounting to the one who bought him, starting from the year he had sold himself until the year of jubilee. The price of his sale is to correspond to the number of years comparable to the time a hired servant stays with him. 51 If there are still many years left, he is to refund the cost[h] of his redemption. 52 But if only a few years are left until the year of jubilee, he is to bring an accounting of the years that he is to refund for his redemption. 53 Like a hired servant, he is to remain with him year after year, but he is not to rule over him with what you see as severity. 54 If he isn’t redeemed by these, then he is to be set free in the year of jubilee—he and his children[i] with him— 55 because the Israelis are my servants. They’re my servants, since I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 25:39 Lit. slave of slaves
- Leviticus 25:41 Lit. may go out from you
- Leviticus 25:46 Lit. sons
- Leviticus 25:47 Lit. his hand overtakes
- Leviticus 25:49 Lit. flesh
- Leviticus 25:49 So LXX and Syriac
- Leviticus 25:49 Lit. his hand overtakes
- Leviticus 25:51 Or price-money
- Leviticus 25:54 Lit. his sons
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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