Leviticus 25:44

New Living Translation

"However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
As for your bondservants, and your bondmaids, whom you shall have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall you buy bondservants and bondmaids.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
"‘As for your slave and your slave woman who are yours, from the nations that are all around you, from them you may buy a slave or a slave woman.

New Century Version
"‘Your men and women slaves must come from other nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.

New English Translation
"‘As for your male and female slaves who may belong to you—you may buy male and female slaves from the nations all around you.

Amplified Bible
'As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you.

New American Standard Bible
'As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thy bond seruant also, & thy bond maid, which thou shalt haue, shalbe of the heathen that are rounde about you: of them shall ye bye seruants and maydes.

Legacy Standard Bible
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the nations that are around you.

Contemporary English Version
If you want slaves, buy them from other nations

Complete Jewish Bible
"‘Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men- and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you.

Darby Translation
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.

Easy-to-Read Version
"About your men and women slaves: You may get men and women slaves from the other nations around you.

English Standard Version
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you.

George Lamsa Translation
But as for your male servants and your female servants whom you may have from among the people that are round about you, of them shall you buy bondmen and bondwomen.

Good News Translation
If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations around you.

Christian Standard Bible®
Your male and female slaves are to be from the nations around you; you may purchase male and female slaves.

Literal Translation
And your male slave and your female slave whom you have shall be from the nations who are all around you, you shall buy them as male slave or female slave;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But yf thou wylt haue bode seruauntes and maydens, thou shalt bye them of the Heithen, that are rounde aboute you:

American Standard Version
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.

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

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thy bondseruaunt and thy bondemayde which thou shalt haue, shalbe of the heathen that are rounde about you: of them shall ye purchase seruauntes and maydes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou mayest have: of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

King James Version (1611)
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt haue, shall be of the Heathen, that are round about you: of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And whatever number of men-servants and maid-servants thou shalt have, thou shalt purchase male and female servants from the nations that are round about thee.

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

Berean Standard Bible
Your male and female slaves shall come from the nations around you; from them you may purchase slaves.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A seruaunt and handmaide be to you of naciouns that ben in youre cumpas,

Young's Literal Translation
`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,

Update Bible Version
And as for your male slave, and your female slave, whom you shall have; of the nations that are round about you, of them you shall buy a male slave and a female slave.

Webster's Bible Translation
Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, [shall be] of the heathen that are around you; of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids.

World English Bible
As for your bondservants, and your bondmaids, whom you shall have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall you buy bondservants and bondmaids.

New King James Version
And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have--from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.

New Life Bible
Those men and women you may have who are sold as servants will be from the nations around you.

New Revised Standard
As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And as for thy bondman and thy bond-maid which thou shalt have, of the nations that are round about you - from them, may ye buy bondman and bond-maid.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you:

Revised Standard Version
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you.

THE MESSAGE
"The male and female slaves which you have are to come from the surrounding nations; you are permitted to buy slaves from them. You may also buy the children of foreign workers who are living among you temporarily and from their clans which are living among you and have been born in your land. They become your property. You may will them to your children as property and make them slaves for life. But you must not tyrannize your brother Israelites.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you.

Contextual Overview

³⁹ "If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. ⁴⁰ Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. ⁴² The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly. ⁴⁴ "However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you. ⁴⁵ You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, ⁴⁶ passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way. ⁴⁷ "Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family, ⁴⁸ they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 12:44, Psalms 2:8, Psalms 2:9, Isaiah 14:1, Isaiah 14:2, Revelation 2:26, Revelation 2:27

Reciprocal: Exodus 21:2 - an Hebrew Numbers 31:18 - keep alive for yourselves Deuteronomy 5:14 - thy manservant

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have,.... Such it seems were allowed them, if they had need of them; but if they had them, they were to be not of the nation of Israel, but of other nations; this is an anticipation of an objection, as Jarchi observes; if so, who shall I have to minister to me? The answer follows, they

[shall be] of the heathen that are round about thee, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids; that is, of the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians, as Aben Ezra, that were their neighbours, that lived round about them, of any but the seven nations, which they were ordered utterly to destroy; wherefore Jarchi observes it is said, "that are round about thee"; not in the midst of the border of your land, for them they were not to save alive, Deuteronomy 20:16.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Property in foreign slaves is here distinctly permitted. It was a patriarchal custom Genesis 17:12. Such slaves might be captives taken in war (Numbers 31:6 following; Deuteronomy 20:14), or those consigned to slavery for their crimes, or those purchased of foreign slave-dealers. The price of a slave is supposed to have varied from thirty to fifty shekels. See Leviticus 27:3-4, note; Exodus 21:32, note; Zechariah 11:12-13, note; Matthew 26:15, note. It was the object of Moses, not at once to do away with slavery, but to discourage and to mitigate it. The Law would not suffer it to be forgotten that the slave was a man, and protected him in every way that was possible at the time against the injustice or cruelty of his master. See the notes at Exodus 21:0.

Leviticus 25:46

Your bondmen forever - i. e. they were not necessarily to be released in the sabbatical year nor at the Jubilee.