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Leviticus 25:44

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
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.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

If you need servants or slaves, you should buy them from the foreign nations around you, not from your fellow Israelites.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

This verse instructed ancient Israelites that any slaves they owned should come from surrounding non-Israelite nations, not from their own people.

📚 Historical Context

This passage is part of the Jubilee laws in Leviticus, which regulated economic and social relationships in ancient Israel. These laws were given around 1400 BC when slavery was a common economic institution throughout the ancient world. The distinction made here was meant to protect fellow Israelites from permanent enslavement while acknowledging the existing practice of slavery from other nations.

Explore Similar Verses

Leviticus 25:46
You may pass them down as an inheritance to your children after you, for them to own as property; they can be your servants permanently. But you must not rule harshly over your fellow Israelites.
Leviticus 25:47
If a foreigner or visitor living among you becomes wealthy, and your fellow Israelite who lives nearby becomes poor and has to sell himself as a servant to that foreigner or to someone from the foreigner's family:
Joshua 8:33
All of Israel—their leaders, officials, and judges—stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant before the Levite priests who carried it. This included both foreigners living among them and native-born Israelites. Half the people stood facing Mount Gerizim, and half stood facing Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had previously commanded them to do when blessing the people of Israel.

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Translation & Methodology Sources

The original manuscript text provided is based on the King James Version (KJV), which is in the public domain. Our modern English simplifications are generated via proprietary philological synthesis, cross-referenced against Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and the Textus Receptus to ensure unwavering theological and etymological precision.

Read our full translation methodology →