And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
Parallel translations
- WEB As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him. He shall not rule with harshness over him in your sight.
- BSB He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.
- NKJV He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight.
- NASB He shall be with him like a worker hired year by year; he shall not rule over him with severity in your sight.
- NLT The foreigner must treat them as workers hired on a yearly basis. You must not allow a foreigner to treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly.
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
The Israelite was to be treated as a yearly hired worker, not a slave, and never ruled over harshly. God demands humane treatment of His people.
Overview
The law required that the indentured Israelite be treated with dignity, like a wage-earning employee, even under a foreign master, and Israelite witnesses were to ensure it. Harsh, oppressive rule was forbidden. This reflects God's compassion for the vulnerable and His insistence that His covenant people not be degraded.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Lev 25:46And 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 rigour.
- Lev 25:43Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 25:53 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.