Leviticus 25:14
in Leviticus 25If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buy of thy neighbor’s hand, ye shall not wrong one another.
KJV
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
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This verse in Leviticus 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIn short, the buyer must not give less, nor the seller take more, than the just value of the thing, considered as necessarily returning at the year of jubilee. It must be settled what the clear yearly value of the land was, and then how many years' purchase it was worth till the year of jubilee.
This site's exposition
If you make a sale to your neighbor
on Leviticus 25:14-16
Nobody in Israel buys land. The price is set by the number of harvests left before the jubile, many years raising it and few years lowering it, so every sale is a lease priced by the crops still to come. The command against oppression is laid on both sides of the bargain, the man selling and the man buying, since either one can use the calendar against the other.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ye shall not oppress one another - Ye shall take no advantage of each other’s ignorance either in buying or selling; for he that buys an article at less than it is worth, or sells one for more than it is worth, taking advantage in both cases of the ignorance of the vender or buyer, is no better than a thief, as he actually robs his neighbor of as much property as he has bought the article at below or sold it above its current value.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sell ought - i. e., any piece of ground. Oppress one another - Rather, overreach one another. (Compare 1Sa 12:3-4).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“This refers to overcharging in money matters.”. ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF YEARS AFTER THE JUBILEE THOU SHALT BUY OF THY NEIGHBOR.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִמְכְּר֤וּ | timkeru | you will sell | H4376 → | 80 times |
| מִמְכָּר֙ | mikar | a thing sold | H4465 → | 10 times |
| לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ | laamitekha | to fellow citizen your | H5997 → | 12 times |
| א֥וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| קָנֹ֖ה | kanoh | you will buy | H7069 → | 84 times |
| מִיַּ֣ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ | ʾamitekha | fellow citizen your | H5997 → | 12 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תּוֹנ֖וּ | tonu | you maltreat | H3238 → | 20 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָחִֽיו׃ | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → | 630 times |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
תִמְכְּר֤וּyou will sell
timkeruH4376 →80 times
מִמְכָּר֙a thing sold
mikarH4465 →10 times
לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָto fellow citizen your
laamitekhaH5997 →12 times
א֥וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
קָנֹ֖הyou will buy
kanohH7069 →84 times
מִיַּ֣דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָfellow citizen your
ʾamitekhaH5997 →12 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תּוֹנ֖וּyou maltreat
tonuH3238 →20 times
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָחִֽיו׃brother his
ʾachivH251 →630 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 19:13You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
it leads to
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
- Deuteronomy 24:14–15
Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
- James 5:4
Through
Leviticus 25:17Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:14
You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 19:32
You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 25:43
You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
- Leviticus 19:14
Through
Ezekiel 22:7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:16
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exodus 22:21–22
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 27:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.