For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB For to me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
- KJV For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
- NKJV For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
- NASB For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
- NLT For the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
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
Israel could not be permanently enslaved because they already belong to God, who redeemed them from Egypt. Their true Master is the LORD.
Overview
This gives the theological foundation for the whole law of servitude: the Israelites are God's servants, freed from Egypt to serve Him alone. No human owner can claim final title over those who belong to Yahweh. This anticipates the believer's identity as one bought by Christ and now His glad bondservant rather than sin's slave.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Lev 25:42Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.
- Gal 5:13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
- 1 Cor 9:21To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.
- Ps 116:16Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
- Exod 13:3So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
- 1 Cor 9:19Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
- Rom 6:17–18But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.
- Rom 6:14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
- Isa 43:3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- Rom 6:22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.
- 1 Cor 7:22–23For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.
- Exod 20:2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Luke 1:74–75deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
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 25:55 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.