Passage

Leviticus 25.39-46

Book: Leviticus · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"37. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase. 38. I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God."

"39. And if thy brother be waxed poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee; thou shalt not make him to serve as a bond-servant. 40. As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee: 41. then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42. For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. 43. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. 44. And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shalt have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 45. Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46. And ye shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor."

"47. And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxed rich, and thy brother be waxed poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family; 48. after that he is sold he may be redeemed: one of his brethren may redeem him;" (Leviticus 25:37-48, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"37. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God."

"39. “‘If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave. 40. As a hired servant, and as a temporary resident, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee: 41. then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers. 42. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. 43. You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God. 44. “‘As for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have; of the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45. Moreover of the children of the aliens who live among you, of them you may buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have conceived in your land; and they will be your property. 46. You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them may you take your slaves forever; but over your brothers the children of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness."

"47. “‘If an alien or temporary resident with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him has grown poor, and sells himself to the stranger or foreigner living among you, or to a member of the stranger’s family; 48. after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him;" (Leviticus 25:37-48, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"37. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. 38. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God."

"39. 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: ^{compel: Heb. serve thyself with him with the service, etc} 40. But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: 41. And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42. For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. ^{as: Heb. with the sale of a bondman} 43. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God. 44. Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 45. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour. ^{they: Heb. ye shall serve yourselves with them}"

"47. And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: ^{wax rich: Heb. his hand obtain, etc} 48. After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:" (Leviticus 25:37-48, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"37. thy money thou givest not to him in usury, and for increase thou givest not thy food; 38. I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give to you the land of Canaan, to become your God."

"39. 'And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service; 40. as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee,, 41. then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back. 42. 'For they [are] My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold [with] the sale of a servant; 43. thou rulest not over him with rigour, and thou hast been afraid of thy God. 44. 'And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom thou hast [are] of the nations who [are] round about you; of them ye buy man-servant and handmaid, 45. and also of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who [are] with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a possession; 46. and ye have taken them for inheritance to your sons after you, to occupy [for] a possession; to the age ye lay service upon them, but upon your brethren, the sons of Israel, one with another, thou dost not rule over him with rigour."

"47. 'And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth [riches], and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner, 48. after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him," (Leviticus 25:37-48, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Israelite Slavery Possession-vs-Ownership Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.