Leviticus 25:25–54

25 “ ‘When yourm brother becomes poor and he sells part of his property, thenn ⌊his nearest redeemer⌋o shall come, and he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother. 26 Butp ifq a man ⌊does not have⌋r a redeemer, thens ⌊he prospers⌋t and he finds enough for his redemption, 27 thenu he shall calculate the years of its selling, and he shall refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his property. 28 Butv if his hand does not find enough to refund to him, thenw ⌊what he has sold⌋x shall be in the buyer’s hand until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall go out of the buyer’s handy in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his property.

29 “ ‘And if a man sells ⌊a residential house in a walled city⌋,z thena it shall be his redemption until completing ⌊a year after his selling⌋;b its redemption ⌊shall last⌋c ⌊a year⌋.d 30 Bute if it is not redeemed ⌊before a full year has passed⌋,f theng the house that is ⌊in the walled city⌋h shall belong to the buyer ini perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out of the buyer’s handj in the Jubilee. 31 However,k village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered ⌊open country⌋;l there is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out of the buyer’s hand.m

32 “ ‘As forn the cities of the Levites, that is, the houses ino their property’s cities, it shall be ⌊a lasting redemption⌋p for the Levites. 33 And whatever anyone redeems from the Levites thenq must go out of the buyer’s handr in the Jubilee, including a house’s selling ⌊in his city’s property⌋,s because the houses int the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the ⌊Israelites⌋.u 34 Butv aw field of their cities’ pastureland must not be sold, because ⌊it is their property for all time⌋.x

35 “ ‘And if youry countrymanz becomes poor and ⌊if he becomes dependent on you⌋,a thenb you shall support him like an alien and like a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. 36 Youc must not take interest ord usury from him, bute you shall revere your God, and your countrymanf shall live with you. 37 Youg must not give your money to him with interest orh give your food fori profit. 38 I am Yahweh yourj God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give ⌊you⌋k the land of Canaan, to be as God for you.

39 “ ‘And if yourl countrymanm who is with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, ⌊you shall not treat him as a slave⌋.n 40 He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And he and his sons with him shall go out from you, and he shall return to his clan, and to the property of his ancestorso he shall return. 42 Because they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold ⌊as a slave⌋.p 43 Youq shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, butr you shall revere your God.

44 “ ‘As fors yourt slave and youru slave woman who arev yours,w from the nations that are all around you,x from them youy may buy a slave orz a slave woman. 45 And youa may buy also from the childrenb of the temporary residents who are dwelling with you as aliens and from their clan who are with you, who have children in your land; indeed,c they may be as property for you. 46 And youd may pass them on as an inheritance to youre sonsf after youg to take possession of as property ⌊for all time⌋h—youi may let them work. Butj as for yourk countrymen,l the ⌊Israelites⌋,m youn shall not rule with ruthlessness over ⌊one another⌋.o

47 “ ‘And if the alien orp the temporary resident who are with youq ⌊prosper⌋,r buts your countrymant who is with him becomes poor and he is sold to an alien, a temporary resident who is with you, or to a descendant of an alien’s clan, 48 after he is sold redemption shall be for him; one of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or ⌊one of⌋u ⌊his close relatives⌋v from his clan may redeem him; or if ⌊he prospers⌋,w he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall calculate with his buyer from the year of ⌊his selling himself⌋x until the Jubilee; and the value of his selling shall be according to the number of years—it shall be with him likey a hired worker’s days. 51 If there are still many years, ⌊in keeping with them⌋z he shall restore his redemption ⌊in proportion to his purchase price⌋.a 52 And if there are a few years left until the Year of Jubilee, thenb he shall calculate for himself; he shall restore his redemption ⌊according to the number of his years⌋.c 53 He shall be with him ⌊as a yearly hired worker⌋;d he shall not rule over him with ruthlessness ⌊in youre sight⌋.f 54 And if he is not redeemed byg any of these ways,h theni he and his sons with him shall go out in the Year of Jubilee.

Read more Explain verse Share

m	Singular
n	Or “and”
o	Literally “his redeemer the nearest to him”
p	Or “And”
q	Or “when”
r	Literally “it is not for him”
s	Or “and”
t	Literally “his hand produces”
u	Or “and”
v	Or “And”
w	Or “and”
x	Literally “his thing sold”
y	Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
z	Literally “a house of a dwelling of a city wall”
a	Or “and”
b	Literally “a year of his selling”
c	Literally “shall be”
d	Literally “days”
e	Or “And”
f	Literally “until the fulfilling of for him/it an entire year”
g	Or “and”
h	Literally “in the city that for it a wall”
i	Hebrew “for”
j	Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
k	Or “And” or “But”
l	Literally “the field of the land”
m	Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
n	Or “And”
o	Hebrew “of”
p	Or “a permanent redemption”; literally “redemption of eternity” or “redemption of long duration”
q	Or “and”
r	Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
s	Literally “the city of his property”
t	Hebrew “of”
u	Literally “sons/children of Israel”
v	Or “And”
w	Hebrew “the”
x	Literally “a property of eternity it is for them” or “a property of long duration it is for them”
y	Singular throughout this verse
z	Or “brother”
a	Literally “and his hand is shaky with you”
b	Or “and”
c	Singular throughout this verse
d	Or “and”
e	Or “and”
f	Or “brother”
g	Singular throughout this verse
h	Or “and”
i	Or “in” or “with”
j	Plural throughout this verse
k	Literally “to you”
l	Singular throughout this verse
m	Or “brother”
n	Literally “you shall not let him work the work of a slave” or “you shall not enslave him the work of a slave”
o	Or “fathers”
p	Literally “a selling of a slave”
q	Singular throughout this verse
r	Or “and”
s	Or “And”
t	Singular
u	Singular
v	Or “may be” (permission; cf. NASU, ESV, NRSV) or “can be” (ability)
w	Singular
x	Plural
y	Plural
z	Or “and”
a	Plural throughout this verse
b	Or “sons”
c	Or “and”
d	Plural
e	Plural
f	Or “children”
g	Plural
h	Literally “to eternity” or “forever” or “for a long duration”
i	Plural
j	Or “And”
k	Plural
l	Or “brothers”
m	Literally “sons/children of Israel”
n	Singular
o	Literally “a man over his brother”
p	Or “and”
q	Singular throughout this verse
r	Literally “the hand produces”
s	Or “and”
t	Or “brother”
u	Literally “from”
v	Literally “the direct relative of his flesh”
w	Literally “his hand produces”
x	Literally “his being sold for him”
y	Or “as”
z	Literally “to the mouth of them”
a	Literally “from the price of his acquisition”
b	Or “and”
c	Literally “according to the mouth of his years”
d	Literally “as a hired worker of a year in a year”
e	Singular
f	Literally “to your eyes” or “for your eyes”
g	Or “in”
h	Bracketed words provided from the sense of the context
i	Or “and”

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