23 And the land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 25 If thy brother grow poor, and sell of his possession, then shall his redeemer, his nearest relation, come and redeem that which his brother sold. 26 And if the man have no one having right of redemption, and his hand have acquired and found what sufficeth for its redemption, 27 then shall he reckon the years since the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; and so return unto his possession. 28 And if his hand have not found what sufficeth for him to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of the purchaser, until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. 29 And if any one sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he shall have the right of redemption up to the end of the year of the sale thereof; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption. 30 But if it be not redeemed until a whole year is complete, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. 31 But the houses in villages that have no wall round about them shall be reckoned as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. 32 But as to the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites shall have a perpetual right of redemption. 33 And if any one redeem from one of the Levites, then the house that was sold, in the city of his possession, shall go out in the jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 And the field of the suburbs of their cities shall not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession. 35 And if thy brother grow poor, and he be fallen into decay beside thee, then thou shalt relieve him, [be he] stranger or sojourner, that he may live beside thee. 36 Thou shalt take no usury nor increase of him; and thou shalt fear thy God; that thy brother may live beside thee. 37 Thy money shalt thou not give him upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. 38 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
39 And if thy brother grow poor beside thee, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: 40 as a hired servant, as a sojourner, shall he be with thee; until the year of jubilee shall he serve thee. 41 Then shall he depart from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42 For they are my bondmen, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as [men] sell bondmen. 43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; and thou shalt fear thy God. 44 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. 45 Moreover of the children of them that dwell as sojourners with you, of them may ye buy, and of their family that is with you, which they beget in your land, and they shall be your possession.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 25:23-45
Commentary on Leviticus 25:23-34
(Read Leviticus 25:23-34)
If the land were not redeemed before the year of jubilee, it then returned to him that sold or mortgaged it. This was a figure of the free grace of God in Christ; by which, and not by any price or merit of our own, we are restored to the favour of God. Houses in walled cities were more the fruits of their own industry than land in the country, which was the direct gift of God's bounty; therefore if a man sold a house in a city, he might redeem it only within a year after the sale. This encouraged strangers and proselytes to come and settle among them.
Commentary on Leviticus 25:35-38
(Read Leviticus 25:35-38)
Poverty and decay are great grievances, and very common; the poor ye have always with you. Thou shalt relieve him; by sympathy, pitying the poor; by service, doing for them; and by supply, giving to them according to their necessity, and thine ability. Poor debtors must not be oppressed. Observe the arguments here used against extortion: "Fear thy God." Relieve the poor, "that they may live with thee;" for they may be serviceable to thee. The rich can as ill spare the poor, as the poor can the rich. It becomes those that have received mercy to show mercy.
Commentary on Leviticus 25:39-55
(Read Leviticus 25:39-55)
A native Israelite, if sold for debt, or for a crime, was to serve but six years, and to go out the seventh. If he sold himself, through poverty, both his work and his usage must be such as were fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are required to give to their servants that which is just and equal, John 8:32. We cannot ransom our fellow-sinners, but we may point out Christ to them; while by his grace our lives may adorn his gospel, express our love, show our gratitude, and glorify his holy name.