And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
Parallel translations
- WEB When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty.
- BSB And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
- NKJV And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
- NASB And when you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed.
- NLT “When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When freeing a servant, the master was not to send him away empty-handed. Release was to be generous, not grudging.
Overview
Freedom alone was not enough; the freed servant was to leave with resources to begin again. This prevented a cycle in which poverty forced immediate re-enslavement. The principle of sending the freed away well-supplied mirrors God's own grace and points toward the abundant provision believers receive when set free in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 3:27–28Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
- Mal 3:5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Jer 22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
- Gen 31:42Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
- Lev 25:42–44For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
- Exod 3:21And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
- Col 4:1Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 15:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.