^25:39“ ‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service.⁷⁵^25:40He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner;⁷⁶ he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, ^25:41but then⁷⁷ he may go free,⁷⁸ he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors.⁷⁹^25:42Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale.⁸⁰^25:43You must not rule over him harshly,⁸¹ but you must fear your God.

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Footnotes

75 Heb “you shall not serve against him service of a slave.” A distinction is being made here between the status of slave and indentured servant.
76 See the note on above.
77 Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here.
78 Heb “may go out from you.”
79 Heb “fathers.”
80 Or perhaps reflexive Niphal rather than passive, “they shall not sell themselves [as in] a slave sale.”
81 Heb “You shall not rule in him in violence”; cf. “with severity”; “ruthlessly.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“If your brother among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, you must not force him to do slave labor. Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he may work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then he and his children are to be released from you, and he may return to his clan and his ancestral property. They are not to be sold as slaves, because they are my servants that I brought out of the land of Egypt. You are not to rule over them harshly but fear your God.

NLTNew Living Translation

“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“ ‘And if your countryman who is with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, you shall not treat him as a slave. He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee. 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 ancestors he shall return. Because they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold as a slave. You shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but you shall revere your God.

KJV 1900King 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: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: 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. For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

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