Bible Strands
Leviticus 25:39
If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, establishing covenant law for the land He is about to give them. He speaks as their deliverer who brought them out of Egypt and will remain their God.
The words — The Hebrew term עֲבֹ֥דַת (‘a.Vo.dat) denotes forced or slave labor, while לֹא (lo'-) explicitly negates the command to impose it.
The thread — This prohibition against coercive labor for a destitute Israelite runs alongside the six-year servitude limit in Exodus 21:2 and contrasts with Solomon’s exemption for Israelite soldiers in 1 Kings 9:22.
Why it lands — The text commands that a fellow Israelite who sells himself due to poverty must not be forced into slave labor. It requires treating economic vulnerability as a covenant boundary rather than a legal justification for enslavement.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Exodus 21:2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
- 1 Kings 9:22 But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.
- Leviticus 25:46 You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.
- 2 Kings 4:1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
- Nehemiah 5:5 We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
- Exodus 1:14 and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
- Exodus 22:3 But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.
- Deuteronomy 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
- Jeremiah 25:14 For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”
- Jeremiah 27:7 All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.