Leviticus 25:39

KJV1611 – Modern English

And if your brother who dwells by you becomes poor, and is sold to you; you shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְכִֽי־יָמ֥וּךְ אָחִ֛יךָ עִמָּ֖ךְ וְנִמְכַּר־לָ֑ךְ לֹא־תַעֲבֹ֥ד בּ֖וֹ עֲבֹ֥דַת עָֽבֶד׃

Transliteration

And-if-yāmûk ʾāḥîkā with-you and-nimkar-to-you not-taʿăbōd in-him ʿăbōdat ʿābed.

Grammar Details

• *yāmûk*: 3rd person masculine singular qal imperfect - he becomes poor
• *ʾāḥîkā*: masculine singular noun with 2nd person masculine singular possessive suffix - your brother
• *nimkar*: 3rd person masculine singular niphal perfect - he is sold
• *taʿăbōd*: 2nd person masculine singular qal imperfect - you shall work
• *ʿăbōdat*: feminine singular construct - work of/service of
• *ʿābed*: masculine singular noun - slave/servant

Word Meanings

• *yāmûk*: becomes poor/grows poor/is impoverished
• *nimkar*: is sold/sells himself/is sold as property
• *ʿăbōdat* *ʿābed*: slave labor/servile work

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And if thy brother that dwelth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And if thy brother{H251} be waxed poor{H4134} with thee, and sell{H4376} himself unto thee; thou shalt not make{H5647} him to serve{H5656} as a bond-servant.{H5650}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And if thy brother{H251} that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor{H4134}{(H8799)}, and be sold{H4376}{(H8738)} unto thee; thou shalt not compel{H5647}{(H8799)} him to serve{H5656} as a bondservant{H5650}:

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Yf thi brother that dwelleth by the waxe poore and sell him selfe vnto the thou shalt not let him laboure as a bondseruaunte doeth:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Whan thy brother waxeth poore besyde the, and selleth himself vnto the, thou shalt not holde him as a bode ma:

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  If thy brother also that dwelleth by thee, be impouerished, and be sold vnto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serue as a bond seruant,

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  If thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poore, and be solde vnto thee, thou shalt not compell hym to serue as a bonde seruaunt:

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ 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:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  "'If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `And when thy brother becometh poor with thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And if your brother becomes poor and gives himself to you for money, do not make use of him like a servant who is your property;

• World English Bible (2000)

  "'If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  “‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service.

Referenced Verses

• Exod 21:2 : 2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free, without paying anything.
• 1 Kgs 9:22 : 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
• 2 Kgs 4:1 : 1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the LORD: and the creditor has come to take my two sons to be slaves.
• Neh 5:5 : 5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and indeed, we bring into bondage our sons and daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are already in bondage; nor is it in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.
• Lev 25:46 : 46 And you shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen forever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, you shall not rule one over another with rigor.
• Deut 15:12-14 : 12 And if your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress: of that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
• Exod 22:3 : 3 If the sun has risen upon him, there shall be bloodshed for him, for he should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
• Jer 25:14 : 14 For many nations and great kings shall enslave them also: and I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
• Jer 27:7 : 7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his grandson, until the very time of his land comes: and then many nations and great kings shall enslave him.
• Jer 30:8 : 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more enslave him.
• Jer 34:14 : 14 At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to you; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you. But your fathers did not listen to me, nor incline their ear.
• Exod 1:14 : 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, which they made them serve, was with rigor.