Leviticus 25:44 — Meaning and Application

For they {are} my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. {as...: Heb. with the sale of a bondman}

Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

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.

Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that {are} with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

And 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. {they...: Heb. ye shall serve yourselves with them}