Leviticus 25:53
in Leviticus 25He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.
KJV
And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
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This verse in Leviticus 25
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him
on Leviticus 25:53-55
The chapter ends where it began, on the question of who owns what. The Israelite in a stranger's house is treated as a man hired by the year, the neighbours are made responsible for watching how he is used, and the jubile takes him out with his children whether or not anyone paid for him. Verse 55 repeats the claim of verse 42, that the children of Israel are servants to God because he brought them out of Egypt, and it closes with I am the LORD your God. Two sentences carry the whole law of this chapter, the land is mine at verse 23 and they are my servants here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), in thy sight, which intimated that the Jewish magistrates should particularly have an eye to him, and, if he were abused, should take cognizance of it, and redress his grievances, though the injured servant did not himself complain. Also he was to go free at the year of jubilee,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
1 And the L ORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v1-2
And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him,....
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּשְׂכִ֥יר | kiskhir | like a hired laborer of | H7916 → | 17 times |
| שָׁנָ֛ה | shanah | a year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| בְּשָׁנָ֖ה | beshanah | in a year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִמּ֑וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִרְדֶּ֥נּֽוּ | yirdenu | he will rule over him | H7287 → | 26 times |
| בְּפֶ֖רֶךְ | beferekh | with harshness | H6531 → | 6 times |
| לְעֵינֶֽיךָ׃ | leeineikha | to eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
כִּשְׂכִ֥ירlike a hired laborer of
kiskhirH7916 →17 times
שָׁנָ֛הa year
shanahH8141 →877 times
בְּשָׁנָ֖הin a year
beshanahH8141 →877 times
יִהְיֶ֣הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
עִמּ֑וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִרְדֶּ֥נּֽוּhe will rule over him
yirdenuH7287 →26 times
בְּפֶ֖רֶךְwith harshness
beferekhH6531 →6 times
לְעֵינֶֽיךָ׃to eyes your
leeineikhaH5869 →887 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 25:43You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
it leads to
- Colossians 4:1
Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
- Leviticus 25:46
You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his…
- Exodus 1:13–14
They worked the Israelites ruthlessly
- Leviticus 25:17
Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
- Ezekiel 34:4
You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
- Colossians 4:1
Through
Leviticus 25:46You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his…
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:2
The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their…
- Leviticus 25:43
You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
- Isaiah 14:2
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.