Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Leviticus » Chapter 25 » Verse 36-53

Leviticus 25:36-53 King James Version (KJV)

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36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

38 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 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:

40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee.

41 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.

42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.

44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.

47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:

48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:

49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.

51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.

53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.

Leviticus 25:36-53 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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36 Take H3947 thou no usury H5392 of him, or increase: H8636 but fear H3372 thy God; H430 that thy brother H251 may live H2416 with thee.

37 Thou shalt not give H5414 him thy money H3701 upon usury, H5392 nor lend H5414 him thy victuals H400 for increase. H4768

38 I am the LORD H3068 your God, H430 which brought you forth H3318 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 to give H5414 you the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 and to be your God. H430

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

40 But as an hired servant, H7916 and as a sojourner, H8453 he shall be with thee, and shall serve H5647 thee unto the year H8141 of jubile: H3104

41 And then shall he depart H3318 from thee, both he and his children H1121 with him, and shall return H7725 unto his own family, H4940 and unto the possession H272 of his fathers H1 shall he return. H7725

42 For they are my servants, H5650 which I brought forth H3318 out of the land H776 of Egypt: H4714 they shall not be sold H4376 as H4466 bondmen. H5650

43 Thou shalt not rule H7287 over him with rigour; H6531 but shalt fear H3372 thy God. H430

44 Both thy bondmen, H5650 and thy bondmaids, H519 which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen H1471 that are round about H5439 you; of them shall ye buy H7069 bondmen H5650 and bondmaids. H519

45 Moreover of the children H1121 of the strangers H8453 that do sojourn H1481 among you, of them shall ye buy, H7069 and of their families H4940 that are with you, which they begat H3205 in your land: H776 and they shall be your possession. H272

46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance H5157 for your children H1121 after H310 you, to inherit H3423 them for a possession; H272 they shall be your bondmen H5647 for ever: H5769 but over your brethren H251 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 ye shall not rule H7287 one H376 over another H251 with rigour. H6531

47 And if a sojourner H1616 or stranger H8453 wax rich H5381 by thee, H3027 and thy brother H251 that dwelleth by him wax poor, H4134 and sell H4376 himself unto the stranger H1616 or sojourner H8453 by thee, or to the stock H6133 of the stranger's H1616 family: H4940

48 After H310 that he is sold H4376 he may be redeemed again; H1353 one H259 of his brethren H251 may redeem H1350 him:

49 Either his uncle, H1730 or his uncle's H1730 son, H1121 may redeem H1350 him, or any that is nigh H7607 of kin H1320 unto him of his family H4940 may redeem H1350 him; or if he be able, H5381 he may redeem H1350 himself. H3027

50 And he shall reckon H2803 with him that bought H7069 him from the year H8141 that he was sold H4376 to him unto the year H8141 of jubile: H3104 and the price H3701 of his sale H4465 shall be according unto the number H4557 of years, H8141 according to the time H3117 of an hired servant H7916 shall it be with him.

51 If there be yet many H7227 years H8141 behind, according H6310 unto them he shall give again H7725 the price of his redemption H1353 out of the money H3701 that he was bought H4736 for.

52 And if there remain H7604 but few H4592 years H8141 unto the year H8141 of jubile, H3104 then he shall count H2803 with him, and according H6310 unto his years H8141 shall he give him again H7725 the price of his redemption. H1353

53 And as a yearly H8141 H8141 hired servant H7916 shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule H7287 with rigour H6531 over him in thy sight. H5869

Leviticus 25:36-53 American Standard (ASV)

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36 Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.

38 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, `and' to be your God.

39 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.

40 As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee:

41 then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

42 For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God.

44 And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shalt have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land: and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor.

47 And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxed rich, and thy brother be waxed poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger `or' sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family;

48 after that he is sold he may be redeemed: one of his brethren may redeem him;

49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxed rich, he may redeem himself.

50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him.

51 If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his years shall he give back the price of his redemption.

53 As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.

Leviticus 25:36-53 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

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36 thou takest no usury from him, or increase; and thou hast been afraid of thy God; and thy brother hath lived with thee;

37 thy money thou givest not to him in usury, and for increase thou givest not thy food;

38 I `am' Jehovah your God, who hath brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give to you the land of Canaan, to become your God.

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

40 as an hireling, as a settler, he is with thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, --

41 then he hath gone out from thee, he and his sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession of his fathers he doth turn back.

42 `For they `are' My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold `with' the sale of a servant;

43 thou rulest not over him with rigour, and thou hast been afraid of thy God.

44 `And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom thou hast `are' of the nations who `are' round about you; of them ye buy man-servant and handmaid,

45 and also of the sons of the settlers who are sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who `are' with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a possession;

46 and ye have taken them for inheritance to your sons after you, to occupy `for' a possession; to the age ye lay service upon them, but upon your brethren, the sons of Israel, one with another, thou dost not rule over him with rigour.

47 `And when the hand of a sojourner or settler with thee attaineth `riches', and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the family of a sojourner,

48 after he hath been sold, there is a right of redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him,

49 or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed.

50 `And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with him.

51 `If yet many years, according to them he giveth back his redemption `money', from the money of his purchase.

52 `And if few are left of the years till the year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth give back his redemption `money';

53 as an hireling, year by year, he is with him, and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes.

Leviticus 25:36-53 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

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36 Thou shalt take no usury nor increase of him; and thou shalt fear thy God; that thy brother may live beside thee.

37 Thy money shalt thou not give him upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

38 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.

39 And if thy brother grow poor beside thee, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

40 as a hired servant, as a sojourner, shall he be with thee; until the year of jubilee shall he serve thee.

41 Then shall he depart from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

42 For they are my bondmen, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as [men] sell bondmen.

43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; and thou shalt fear thy God.

44 And as for thy bondman and thy handmaid whom thou shalt have -- of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and handmaids.

45 Moreover of the children of them that dwell as sojourners with you, of them may ye buy, and of their family that is with you, which they beget in your land, and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall leave them as an inheritance to your children after you, to inherit them as a possession: these may ye make your bondmen for ever; but as for your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule over one another with rigour.

47 And if a stranger or sojourner become wealthy beside thee, and thy brother beside him grow poor, and sell himself unto the stranger, who is settled by thee, or to a scion of the stranger's family,

48 after that he is sold there shall be right of redemption for him; one of his brethren may redeem him.

49 Either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or one of his next relations of his family may redeem him; or if his means be sufficient, he may redeem himself.

50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of the years, according to the days of a hired servant shall he be with him.

51 If there are yet many years, according unto them shall he return his redemption [money] out of the money that he was bought for;

52 and if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his [remaining] years [of service] shall he give him back his redemption [money].

53 As a hired servant shall he be with him year by year; [his master] shall not rule with rigour over him before thine eyes.

Leviticus 25:36-53 World English Bible (WEB)

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36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God; that your brother may live among you.

37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.

38 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

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

40 As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee:

41 then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers.

42 For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves.

43 You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.

44 "'As for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have; of the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.

45 Moreover of the children of the strangers who sojourn among you, of them you may buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have conceived in your land; and they will be your property.

46 You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them may you take your slaves forever: but over your brothers the children of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness.

47 "'If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him has grown poor, and sells himself to the stranger or foreigner living among you, or to a member of the stranger's family;

48 after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him;

49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any who is a close relative to him of his family may redeem him; or if he has grown rich, he may redeem himself.

50 He shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him to the Year of Jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him.

51 If there are yet many years, according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

52 If there remain but a few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according to his years of service he shall give back the price of his redemption.

53 As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with harshness over him in your sight.

Leviticus 25:36-53 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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36 Take no interest from him, in money or in goods, but have the fear of your God before you, and let your brother make a living among you.

37 Do not take interest on the money which you let him have or on the food which you give him.

38 I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, that I might be your God.

39 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;

40 But let him be with you as a servant working for payment, till the year of Jubilee;

41 Then he will go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his family and to the property of his fathers.

42 For they are my servants whom I took out from the land of Egypt; they may not become the property of another.

43 Do not be a hard master to him, but have the fear of God before you.

44 But you may get servants as property from among the nations round about; from them you may take men-servants and women-servants.

45 And in addition, you may get, for money, servants from among the children of other nations who are living with you, and from their families which have come to birth in your land; and these will be your property.

46 And they will be your children's heritage after you, to keep as their property; they will be your servants for ever; but you may not be hard masters to your countrymen, the children of Israel.

47 And if one from another nation living among you gets wealth, and your countryman, at his side, becomes poor and gives himself for money to the man from another nation or to one of his family;

48 After he has given himself he has the right to be made free, for a price, by one of his brothers,

49 Or his father's brother, or the son of his father's brother, or any near relation; or if he gets money, he may make himself free.

50 And let the years be numbered from the time when he gave himself to his owner till the year of Jubilee, and the price given for him will be in relation to the number of years, on the scale of the payment of a servant.

51 If there is still a long time, he will give back, on account of it, a part of the price which was given for him.

52 And if there is only a short time, he will take account of it with his master, and in relation to the number of years he will give back the price of making him free.

53 And he will be with him as a servant working for payment year by year; his master is not to be cruel to him before your eyes.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 25

Commentary on Leviticus 25 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 25

The law of this chapter concerns the lands and estates of the Israelites in Canaan, the occupying and transferring of which were to be under the divine direction, as well as the management of religious worship; for, as the tabernacle was a holy house, so Canaan was a holy land; and upon that account, as much as any thing, it was the glory of all lands. In token of a peculiar title which God had to this land, and a right to dispose of it, he appointed,

  • I. That every seventh year should be a year of rest from occupying the land, a sabbatical year (v. 1-7). In this God expected from them extraordinary instances of faith and obedience, and they might expect from God extraordinary instances of power and goodness in providing for them (v. 18-22).
  • II. That every fiftieth year should be a year of jubilee, that is,
    • 1. A year of release of debts and mortgages, and return to the possession of their alienated lands (v. 8-17). Particular directions are given,
      • (1.) Concerning the sale and redemption of lands (v. 23-28).
      • (2.) Of houses in cities and villages, with a proviso for Levite-cities (v. 29-34).
    • 2. A year of release of servants and bond-slaves.
      • (1.) Here is inserted a law for the kind usage of poor debtors (v. 35-38).
      • (2). Then comes the law for the discharge of all Israelites that were sold for servants, in the year of jubilee, if they were not redeemed before.
        • [1.] If they were sold to Israelites (v. 39-46). And,
        • [2.] If sold to proselytes (v. 47-55). All these appointments have something moral and of perpetual obligation in them, though in the letter of them they were not only peculiar to the Jews, but to them only while they were in Canaan.

Lev 25:1-7

The law of Moses laid a great deal of stress upon the sabbath, the sanctification of which was the earliest and most ancient of all divine institutions, designed for the keeping up of the knowledge and worship of the Creator among men; that law not only revived the observance of the weekly sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of them, added the institution of a sabbatical year: In the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, v. 4. And hence the Jews collect that vulgar tradition that after the world has stood six thousand years (a thousand years being to God as one day) it shall cease, and the eternal sabbath shall succeed-a weak foundation on which to build the fixing of that day and hour which it is God's prerogative to know. This sabbatical year began in September, at the end of harvest, the seventh month of their ecclesiastical year: and the law was,

  • 1. That at the seed-time, which immediately followed the end of their in-gathering, they should sow no corn in their land, and that they should not in the spring dress their vineyards, and consequently that they should not expect either harvest or vintage the next year.
  • 2. That what their ground did produce of itself they should not claim any property or use in, otherwise than from hand to mouth, but leave it for the poor, servants, strangers, and cattle, v. 5-7. It must be a sabbath of rest to the land; they must neither do any work about it, nor expect any fruit from it; all annual labours must be intermitted in the seventh year, as much as daily labours on the seventh day. The Jews say they "began not to reckon for the sabbatical year till they had completed the conquest of Canaan, which was in the eighth year of Joshua; the seventh year after that was the first sabbatical year, and so the fiftieth year was the jubilee.' This year there was to be a general release of debts (Deu. 15:1, 2), and a public reading of the law in the feast (Deu. 31:10, 11), to make it the more solemn. Now,
    • (1.) God would hereby show them that he was their landlord, and that they were tenants at will under him. Landlords are wont to stipulate with their tenants when they shall break up their ground, how long they shall till it, and when they shall let it rest: God would thus give, grant, and convey, that good land to them, under such provisos and limitations as should let them know that they were not proprietors, but dependents on their Lord.
    • (2.) It was a kindness to their land to let it rest sometimes, and would keep it in heart (as our husbandmen express it) for posterity, whose satisfaction God would have them to consult, and not to use the ground as if it were designed only for one age.
    • (3.) When they were thus for a whole year taken off from all country business, they would have the more leisure to attend the exercises of religion, and to get the knowledge of God and his law.
    • (4.) They were hereby taught to be charitable and generous, and not to engross all to themselves, but to be willing that others should share with them in the gifts of God's bounty, which the earth brought forth of itself.
    • (5.) They were brought to live in a constant dependence upon the divine providence, finding that, as man lives not by bread alone, so he has bread, not by his own industry alone, but, if God pleases, by the word of blessing from the mouth of God, without any care or pains of man, Mt. 4:4.
    • (6.) They were reminded of the easy life man lived in paradise, when he ate of every good thing, not, as since, in the sweat of his face. Labour and toil came in with sin.
    • (7.) They were taught to consider how the poor lived, that did neither sow nor reap, even by the blessing of God upon a little.
    • (8.) This year of rest typified the spiritual rest which all believers enter into through Christ, our true Noah, who giveth us comfort and rest concerning our work, and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed, Gen. 5:29. Through him we are eased of the burden of worldly care and labour, both being sanctified and sweetened to us, and we are enabled and encouraged to live by faith. And, as the fruits of this sabbath of the land were enjoyed in common, so the salvation wrought out by Christ is a common salvation; and this sabbatical year seems to have been revived in the Christian church, when the believers had all things common, Acts 2:44.

Lev 25:8-22

Here is,

  • I. The general institution of the jubilee, v. 8. etc.
    • 1. When it was to be observed: after seven sabbaths of years (v. 8), whether the forty-ninth or fiftieth is a great question among learned men: that it should be the seventh sabbatical year, that is, the forty-ninth (which by a very common form of speech is called the fiftieth), seems to me most probable, and is, I think, made pretty clear and the objections removed by that learned chronologer Calvisius; but this is not a place for arguing the question. Seven sabbaths of weeks were reckoned from the passover to the feast of pentecost (or fiftieth day, for so pentecost signifies), and so seven sabbaths of years from one jubilee to another, and the seventh is called the fiftieth; and all this honour is put upon the sevenths for the sake of God's resting the seventh day from the work of creation.
    • 2. How it was to be proclaimed, with sound of trumpet in all parts of the country (v. 5), both to give notice to all persons of it, and to express their joy and triumph in it; and the word jobel, or jubilee, is supposed to signify some particular sound of the trumpet distinguishable from any other; for the trumpet that gives an uncertain sound is of little service, 1 Co. 14:8. The trumpet was sounded in the close of the day of atonement; thence the jubilee commenced, and very fitly; when they had been humbling and afflicting their souls for sin, then they were made to hear this voice of joy and gladness, Ps. 51:8. When their peace was made with God, then liberty was proclaimed; for the removal of guilt is necessary to make way for the entrance of all true comfort, Rom. 5:1, 2. In allusion to this solemn proclamation of the jubilee, it was foretold concerning our Lord Jesus that he should preach the acceptable year of the Lord, Isa. 61:2. He sent his apostles to proclaim it with the trumpet of the everlasting gospel, which they were to preach to every creature. And it stands still foretold that at the last day the trumpet shall sound, which shall release the dead out of the bondage of the grave, and restore us to our possessions.
    • 3. What was to be done in that year extraordinary; besides the common rest of the land, which was observed every sabbatical year (v. 11, 12), and the release of personal debts (Deu. 15:2, 3), there was to be the legal restoration of every Israelite to all the property, and all the liberty, which had been alienated from him since the last jubilee; so that never was any people so secured in their liberty and property (those glories of a people) as Israel was. Effectual care was taken that while they kept close to God these should not only not be taken from them by the violence of others, but not thrown away by their own folly.
      • (1.) The property which every man had in his dividend of the land of Canaan could not be alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee, and then he or his should return to it, and have a title to it as undisputed, and the possession of it as undisturbed, as ever (v. 10, 13): "You shall return every man to his possession; so that if a man had sold or mortgaged his estate, or any part of it, it should then return to him or his heirs, free of all charge and encumbrance. Now this was no wrong to the purchaser, because the year of jubilee was fixed, and every man knew when it would come, and made his bargain accordingly. By our law indeed, if lands be granted to a man and his heirs, upon condition that he should never sell or alienate them, the grant is good, but the condition is void and repugnant: Iniquum est ingenuis hominibus (say the lawyers) non esse liberam rerum suarum alienationem-It is unjust to prevent free men from alienating their own possessions. Yet it is agreed in the books that if the king grant lands to a man in fee upon condition he shall not alienate, the condition is good. Now God would show his people Israel that their land was his, and they were his tenants; and therefore he ties them up that they shall not have power to sell, but only to make leases for any term of years, not going beyond the next jubilee. By this means it was provided,
        • [1.] That their genealogies should be carefully preserved, which would be of use for clearing our Saviour's pedigree.
        • [2.] That the distinction of tribes should be kept up; for, though a man might purchase lands in another tribe, yet he could not retain them longer than till the year of jubilee, and then they would revert of course.
        • [3.] That none should grow exorbitantly rich, by laying house to house, and field to field (Isa. 5:8), but should rather apply themselves to the cultivating of what they had than the enlarging of their possessions. The wisdom of the Roman commonwealth sometimes provided that no man should be master of above 500 acres.
        • [4.] That no family should be sunk and ruined, and condemned to perpetual poverty. This particular care God took for the support of the honour of that people, and the preserving, not only of that good land to the nation in general, but of every man's share to his family in particular, for a perpetual inheritance, that it might the better typify that good part which shall never be taken away from those that have it.
      • (2.) The liberty which every man was born to, if it were sold or forfeited, should likewise return at the year of jubilee: You shall return every man to his family, v. 10. Those that were sold into other families thereby became strangers to their own; but in this year of redemption they were to return. This was typical of our redemption by Christ from the slavery of sin and Satan, and our restoration to the glorious liberty of the children of God. Some compute that the very year in which Christ died was a year of jubilee, and the last that ever was kept. But, however that be, we are sure it is the Son that makes us free, and then we are free indeed.
  • II. A law upon this occasion against oppression in buying and selling of land; neither the buyer nor the seller must overreach, v. 14-17. In short, the buyer must not give less, nor the seller take more, than the just value of the thing, considered as necessarily returning at the year of jubilee. It must be settled what the clear yearly value of the land was, and then how many years' purchase it was worth till the year of jubilee. But they must reckon only the years of the fruits (v. 15), and therefore must discount for the sabbatical years. It is easy to observe that the nearer the jubilee was the less must the value of the land be. According to the fewness of the years thou shalt diminish the price. But we do not find it so easy practically to infer thence that the nearer the world comes to its period the less value we should put upon the things of it: because the time is short, and the fashion of the world passeth away, let those that buy be as though they possessed not. One would put little value on an old house, that is ready to drop down. All bargains ought to be made by this rule, You shall not oppress one another, nor take advantage of one another's ignorance or necessity, but thou shalt fear thy God. Note, The fear of God reigning in the heart would effectually restrain us from doing any wrong to our neighbour in word or deed; for, though man be not, God is the avenger of those that go beyond or defraud their brethren, 1 Th. 4:6. Perhaps Nehemiah refers to this very law (ch. 5:15), where he tells us that he did not oppress those he had under his power, because of the fear of God.
  • III. Assurance given them that they should be no losers, but great gainers, by observing these years of rest. It is promised,
    • 1. That they should be safe: You shall dwell in the land in safety, v. 18, and again, v. 19. The word signifies both outward safety and inward security and confidence of spirit, that they should be quiet both from evil and from the fear of evil.
    • 2. That they should be rich: You shall eat your fill. Note, If we be careful to do our duty, we may cheerfully trust God with our comfort.
    • 3. That they should not want food convenient that year in which they did neither sow nor reap: I will command my blessing in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years, v. 21. This was,
      • (1.) A standing miracle, that, whereas at other times one year did but serve to bring in another, the productions of the sixth year should serve to bring in the ninth. Note, The blessing of God upon our provision will make a little go a great way, and satisfy even the poor with bread, Ps. 132:15.
      • (2.) A lasting memorial of the manna which was given double on the sixth day for two days.
      • (3.) It was intended for an encouragement to all God's people, in all ages, to trust him in the way of duty, and to cast their care upon him. There is nothing lost by faith and self-denial in our obedience.

Lev 25:23-38

Here is,

  • I. A law concerning the real estates of the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and the transferring of them.
    • 1. No land should be sold for ever from the family to whose lot it fell in the division of the land. And the reason given is, The land is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me, v. 23.
      • (1.) God having a particular propriety in this land, he would by this restraint keep them sensible of it. The possessions of good people, who, having given up themselves to God, have therewith given up all they have to him, are in a particular manner at his disposal, and his disposal of them must be submitted to.
      • (2.) They being strangers and sojourners with him in that land, and having his tabernacle among them, to alienate their part of that land would be in effect to cut themselves off from their fellowship and communion with God, of which that was a token and symbol, for which reason Naboth would rather incur the wrath of a king than part with the inheritance of his fathers, 1 Ki. 21:3.
    • 2. If a man was constrained through poverty to sell his land for the subsistence of his family, yet, if afterwards he was able, he might redeem it before the year of jubilee (v. 24, 26, 27), and the price must be settled according to the number of years since the sale and before the jubilee.
    • 3. If the person himself was not able to redeem it, his next kinsman might (v. 25): The redeemer thereof, he that is near unto him, shall come and shall redeem, so it might be read. The kinsman is called Goel, the redeemer (Num. 5:8; Ruth 3:9), to whom belonged the right of redeeming the land. And this typified Christ, who assumed our nature, that he might be our kinsman, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, and, being the only kinsman we have that is able to do it, to him belonged the right of redemption. As for all our other kinsmen, their shoe must be plucked off (Ruth 4:6, 7); they cannot redeem. But Christ can and hath redeemed the inheritance which we by sin had forfeited and alienated, and made a new settlement of it upon all that by faith become allied to him. We know that this Redeemer liveth, Job 19:25. And some make this duty of the kinsman to signify the brotherly love that should be among Christians, inclining them to recover those that are fallen, and to restore them with the spirit of meekness.
    • 4. If the land was not redeemed before the year of jubilee, then it should return of course to him that had sold or mortgaged it: In the jubilee it shall go out, v. 28. This was a figure of the free grace of God towards us in Christ, by which, and not by any price or merit of our own, we are restored to the favour of God, and become entitled to paradise, from which our first parents, and we in them, were expelled for disobedience.
    • 5. A difference was made between houses in walled cities, and lands in the country, or houses in country villages. Houses in walled cities were more the fruits of their own industry than land in the country, which was the immediate gift of God's bounty; and therefore, if a man sold a house in a city, he might redeem it any time within a year after the sale, but otherwise it was confirmed to the purchaser for ever, and should not return, no, not at the year of the jubilee, v. 29, 30. This provision was made to encourage strangers and proselytes to come and settle among them. Though they could not purchase land in Canaan to them and their heirs, yet they might purchase houses in walled cities, which would be most convenient for those who were supposed to live by trade. But country houses could be disposed of no otherwise than as lands might.
    • 6. A clause is added in favour of the Levites, by way of exception from these rules.
      • (1.) Dwelling houses in the cities of the Levites might be redeemed at any time, and, if not redeemed, should revert in the year of jubilee (v. 32, 33), because the Levites had no other possessions than cities and their suburbs, and God would show that the Levites were his peculiar care; and it was for the interest of the public that they should not be impoverished, or wormed out of their inheritances.
      • (2.) The fields adjoining to their cities (Num. 35:4, 5) might not be sold at any time, for they belonged, not to particular Levites, but to the city of the Levites, as a corporation, who could not alienate without a wrong to their tribe; therefore, if any of those fields were sold, the bargain was void, v. 34. Even the Egyptians took care to preserve the land of the priests, Gen. 47:22. And there is no less reason for the taking of the maintenance of the gospel ministry under the special protection of Christian governments.
  • II. A law for the relief of the poor, and the tender usage of poor debtors, and these are of more general and perpetual obligation than the former.
    • 1. The poor must be relieved, v. 35. Here is,
      • (1.) Our brother's poverty and distress supposed: If thy brother be waxen poor; not only thy brother by nation as a Jew, but thy brother by nature as a man, for it follows, though he be a stranger or a sojourner. All men are to be looked upon and treated as brethren, for we have all one Father, Mal. 2:10. Though he is poor, yet still he is thy brother, and is to be loved and owned as a brother. Poverty does not destroy the relation. Though a son of Abraham, yet he may wax poor and fall into decay. Note, Poverty and decay are great grievances, and very common: The poor you have always with you.
      • (2.) Our duty enjoined: Thou shalt relieve him. By sympathy, pitying the poor; by service, doing for them; and by supply, giving to them according to their necessity and thy ability.
    • 2. Poor debtors must not be oppressed: If thy brother be waxen poor, and have occasion to borrow money of thee for the necessary support of his family, take thou no usury of him, either for money or victuals, v. 36, 37. And thus far this law binds still, but could never be thought binding where money is borrowed for purchase of lands, trade, or other improvements; for there it is reasonable that the lender share with the borrower in the profit. The law here is plainly intended for the relief of the poor, to whom it is sometimes as great a charity to lend freely as to give. Observe the arguments here used against extortion.
      • (1.) God patronizes the poor: "Fear thy God, who will reckon with thee for all injuries done to the poor: thou fearest not them, but fear him.'
      • (2.) Relieve the poor, that they may live with thee, and some way or other they may be serviceable to thee. The rich can as ill spare the hands of the poor as the poor can the purses of the rich.
      • (3.) The same argument is used to enforce this precept that prefaces all the ten commandments: I am the Lord your God which brought you out of Egypt, v. 38. Note, It becomes those that have received mercy to show mercy. If God has been gracious to us, we ought not to be rigorous with our brethren.

Lev 25:39-55

We have here the laws concerning servitude, designed to preserve the honour of the Jewish nation as a free people, and rescued by a divine power out of the house of bondage, into the glorious liberty of God's sons, his first-born. Now the law is,

  • I. That a native Israelite should never be made a bondman for perpetuity. If he was sold for debt, or for a crime, by the house of judgment, he was to serve but six years, and to go out the seventh; this was appointed, Ex. 21:2. But if he sold himself through extreme poverty, having nothing at all left him to preserve his life, and if it was to one of his own nation that he sold himself, in such a case it is here provided,
    • 1. That he should not serve as a bond-servant (v. 39), nor be sold with the sale of a bondman (v. 42); that is, "it must not be looked upon that his master that bought him had as absolute a property in him as in a captive taken in war, that might be used, sold, and bequeathed, at pleasure, as much as a man's cattle; no, he shall serve thee as a hired servant, whom the master has the use of only, but not a despotic power over.' And the reason is, They are my servants, v. 42. God does not make his servants slaves, and therefore their brethren must not. God had redeemed them out of Egypt, and therefore they must never be exposed to sale as bondmen. The apostle applies this spiritually (1 Co. 7:23), You are bought with a price, be not the servants of men, that is, "of the lusts of men, no, nor of your own lusts;' for, having become the servants of God, we must not let sin reign in our mortal bodies, Rom. 6:12, 22.
    • 2. That while he did serve he should not be ruled with rigour, as the Israelites were in Egypt, v. 43. Both his work and his usage must be such as were fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are still required to give to their servants that which is just and equal, Col. 4:1. They may be used, but must not be abused. Those masters that are always hectoring and domineering over their servants, taunting them and trampling upon them, that are unreasonable in exacting work and giving rebukes, and that rule them with a high hand, forget that their Master is in heaven; and what will they do when he rises up? as holy Job reasons with himself, Job 31:13, 14.
    • 3. That at the year of jubilee he should go out free, he and his children, and should return to his own family, v. 41. This typified our redemption from the service of sin and Satan by the grace of God in Christ, whose truth makes us free, Jn. 8:32. The Jewish writers say that, for ten days before the jubilee-trumpet sounded, the servants that were to be discharged by it did express their great joy by feasting, and wearing garlands on their heads: it is therefore called the joyful sound, Ps. 89:15. And we are thus to rejoice in the liberty we have by Christ.
  • II. That they might purchase bondmen of the heathen nations that were round about them, or of those strangers that sojourned among them (except of those seven nations that were to be destroyed); and might claim a dominion over them, and entail them upon their families as an inheritance, for the year of jubilee should give no discharge to them, v. 44, 46. Thus in our English plantations the negroes only are used as slaves; how much to the credit of Christianity I shall not say. Now,
    • 1. This authority which they had over the bondmen whom they purchased from the neighbouring nations was in pursuance of the blessing of Jacob, Gen. 27:29, Let people serve thee.
    • 2. It prefigured the bringing in of the Gentiles to the service of Christ and his church. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, Ps. 2:8. And it is promised (Isa. 61:5), Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your vine-dressers; see Rev. 2:26, 27. The upright shall have the dominion in the morning, Ps. 49:14.
    • 3. It intimates that none shall have the benefit of the gospel jubilee but those only that are Israelites indeed, and the children of Abraham by faith: as for those that continue heathenish, they continue bondmen. See this turned upon the unbelieving Jews themselves, Gal. 4:25, where Jerusalem, when she had rejected Christ, is said to be in bondage with her children. Let me only add here that, though they are not forbidden to rule their bondmen with rigour, yet the Jewish doctors say, "It is the property of mercy, and way of wisdom, that a man should be compassionate, and not make his yoke heavy upon any servant that he has.'
  • III. That if an Israelite sold himself for a servant to a wealthy proselyte that sojourned among them care should be taken that he should have the same advantages as if he had sold himself to an Israelite, and in some respects greater.
    • 1. That he should not serve as a bondman, but as a hired servant, and not to be ruled with rigour (v. 53), in thy sight, which intimated that the Jewish magistrates should particularly have an eye to him, and, if he were abused, should take cognizance of it, and redress his grievances, though the injured servant did not himself complain. Also he was to go free at the year of jubilee, v. 54. Though the sons of strangers might serve them for ever, yet the sons of Israel might not serve strangers for ever; yet the servant here, having made himself a slave by his own act and deed, should not go out in the seventh year of release, but in the jubilee only.
    • 2. That he should have this further advantage that he might be redeemed again before the year of jubilee, v. 48, 49. He that had sold himself to an Israelite might, if ever he was able, redeem himself, but his relations had no right to redeem him. "But if a man sold himself to a stranger,' the Jews say, "his relations were urged to redeem him; if they did not, it was fit that he should be redeemed at the public charge,' which we find done, Neh. 5:8. The price of his ransom was to be computed according to the prospect of the year of jubilee (v. 50-52), as in the redemption of land, v. 15, 16. The learned bishop Patrick quotes one of the Jewish rabbin for an evangelical exposition of that appointment (v. 48), One of his brethren shall redeem him. "This Redeemer,' says the rabbi, "is the Messiah, the Son of David.' They expected this Messiah to be their Redeemer out of their captivity, and to restore them to their own land again; but we welcome him as the Redeemer who shall come to Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for he shall save his people from their sins; and under this notion there were those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.