Leviticus 25:39-55

New International Version

³⁹“‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.^(A) ⁴⁰They are to be treated as hired workers^(B) 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^(C) of their ancestors.^(D) ⁴²Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt,^(E) they must not be sold as slaves. ⁴³Do not rule over them ruthlessly,^(F) but fear your God.^(G)

⁴⁴“‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. ⁴⁵You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 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.

⁴⁷“‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves^(H) to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, ⁴⁸they retain the right of redemption^(I) after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives^(J) may redeem them: ⁴⁹An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper,^(K) they may redeem themselves. ⁵⁰They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee.^(L) The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker^(M) for that number of years. ⁵¹If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them. ⁵²If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly.^(N) ⁵³They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.^(O)

⁵⁴“‘Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, ⁵⁵for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt.^(P) I am the Lord your God.^(Q)

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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] ⁴⁰Instead, he is to serve with you like a hired servant or a traveler who lives with you, until the year of jubilee. ⁴¹Then he and his children with him may leave^[b] to return to his family and his ancestor’s inheritance. ⁴²Since they’re my servants whom I’ve brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. ⁴³You 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. ⁴⁵You 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. ⁴⁶You 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, ⁴⁸he has the right to be redeemed after he sells himself. One of his brothers may redeem him. ⁴⁹His 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. ⁵¹If there are still many years left, he is to refund the cost^[h] of his redemption. ⁵²But 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. ⁵³Like 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. ⁵⁴If 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— ⁵⁵because 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.”