⁴⁷Suppose a foreigner living with you becomes rich, while a fellow-Israelite becomes poor and sells himself as a slave to that foreigner or to a member of his family. ⁴⁸After he is sold, he still has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers ⁴⁹or his uncle or his cousin or another of his close relatives may buy him back; or if he himself earns enough, he may buy his own freedom. ⁵⁰He must consult the one who bought him, and they must count the years from the time he sold himself until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for his release on the basis of the wages paid to a hired servant. ^51–52He must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left, ⁵³as if he had been hired on an annual basis. His master must not treat him harshly. ⁵⁴If he is not set free in any of these ways, he and his children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration. ⁵⁵An Israelite cannot be a permanent slave, because the people of Israel are the Lord’s slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the Lord their God.

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