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Leviticus 25:35 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

35 And if your brother becomes poor and is not able to make a living, then you are to keep him with you, helping him as you would a man from another country who is living among you.

Cross Reference

Deuteronomy 15:7-8 BBE

If in any of your towns in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, there is a poor man, one of your countrymen, do not let your heart be hard or your hand shut to him; But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of.

1 John 3:17 BBE

But if a man has this world's goods, and sees that his brother is in need, and keeps his heart shut against his brother, how is it possible for the love of God to be in him?

Acts 11:29 BBE

And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea:

Luke 6:35 BBE

But be loving to those who are against you and do them good, and give them your money, not giving up hope, and your reward will be great and you will be the sons of the Most High: for he is kind to evil men, and to those who have hard hearts.

Proverbs 14:31 BBE

He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.

Psalms 112:9 BBE

He has given with open hands to the poor; his righteousness is for ever; his horn will be lifted up with honour.

Psalms 112:5 BBE

All is well for the man who is kind and gives freely to others; he will make good his cause when he is judged.

Psalms 41:1 BBE

<To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.> Happy is the man who gives thought to the poor; the Lord will be his saviour in the time of trouble.

Psalms 37:26 BBE

All the day he is ready to have mercy and to give; his children are a blessing.

2 Corinthians 8:9 BBE

For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth.

James 2:5-6 BBE

Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him? But you have put the poor man to shame. Are not the men of wealth rulers over you? do they not take you by force before their judges?

Hebrews 13:2 BBE

Take care to keep open house: because in this way some have had angels as their guests, without being conscious of it.

Galatians 2:10 BBE

Only it was their desire that we would give thought to the poor; which very thing I had much in mind to do.

2 Corinthians 9:12-15 BBE

For this work of giving not only takes care of the needs of the saints, but is the cause of much praise to God; For when, through this work of giving, they see what you are, they give glory to God for the way in which you have given yourselves to the good news of Christ, and for the wealth of your giving to them and to all; While their hearts go out to you in love and in prayer for you, because of the great grace of God which is in you. Praise be to God for what he has given, which words have no power to say.

2 Corinthians 9:1 BBE

But there is no need for me to say anything in my letter about the giving to the saints:

Exodus 23:9 BBE

Do not be hard on the man from a strange country who is living among you; for you have had experience of the feelings of one who is far from the land of his birth, because you yourselves were living in Egypt, in a strange land.

Romans 12:20 BBE

But if one who has hate for you is in need of food or of drink, give it to him, for in so doing you will put coals of fire on his head.

Romans 12:18 BBE

As far as it is possible for you be at peace with all men.

Romans 12:13 BBE

Giving to the needs of the saints, ready to take people into your houses.

John 12:8 BBE

The poor you have ever with you, but me you have not for ever.

Mark 14:7 BBE

The poor you have ever with you, and whenever you have the desire you may do them good: but me you have not for ever.

Matthew 25:35 BBE

For I was in need of food, and you gave it to me: I was in need of drink, and you gave it to me: I was wandering, and you took me in;

Proverbs 19:17 BBE

He who has pity on the poor gives to the Lord, and the Lord will give him his reward.

Proverbs 17:5 BBE

Whoever makes sport of the poor puts shame on his Maker; and he who is glad because of trouble will not go free from punishment.

Proverbs 14:20-21 BBE

The poor man is hated even by his neighbour, but the man of wealth has numbers of friends. He who has no respect for his neighbour is a sinner, but he who has pity for the poor is happy.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 BBE

Do not be hard on a servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your countrymen or a man from another nation living with you in your land. Give him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 BBE

Judging uprightly in the cause of the widow and of the child who has no father, and giving food and clothing in his mercy to the man from a strange country. So be kind to the man from a strange country who is living among you, for you yourselves were living in a strange country in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 25:25 BBE

If your brother becomes poor, and has to give up some of his land for money, his nearest relation may come and get back that which his brother has given up.

Leviticus 19:34 BBE

Let him be to you as one of your countrymen and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange land, in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Commentary on Leviticus 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 25

Le 25:1-7. Sabbath of the Seventh Year.

2-4. When ye come into the land which I give you—It has been questioned on what year, after the occupation of Canaan, the sabbatic year began to be observed. Some think it was the seventh year after their entrance. But others, considering that as the first six years were spent in the conquest and division of the land (Jos 5:12), and that the sabbatical year was to be observed after six years of agriculture, maintain that the observance did not commence till the fourteenth year.

the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord—This was a very peculiar arrangement. Not only all agricultural processes were to be intermitted every seventh year, but the cultivators had no right to the soil. It lay entirely fallow, and its spontaneous produce was the common property of the poor and the stranger, the cattle and game. This year of rest was to invigorate the productive powers of the land, as the weekly Sabbath was a refreshment to men and cattle. It commenced immediately after the feast of ingathering, and it was calculated to teach the people, in a remarkable manner, the reality of the presence and providential power of God.

Le 25:8-23. The Jubilee.

8-11. thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years—This most extraordinary of all civil institutions, which received the name of "Jubilee" from a Hebrew word signifying a musical instrument, a horn or trumpet, began on the tenth day of the seventh month, or the great day of atonement, when, by order of the public authorities, the sound of trumpets proclaimed the beginning of the universal redemption. All prisoners and captives obtained their liberties, slaves were declared free, and debtors were absolved. The land, as on the sabbatic year, was neither sowed nor reaped, but allowed to enjoy with its inhabitants a sabbath of repose; and its natural produce was the common property of all. Moreover, every inheritance throughout the land of Judea was restored to its original owner.

10. ye shall hallow the fiftieth year—Much difference of opinion exists as to whether the jubilee was observed on the forty-ninth, or, in round numbers, it is called the fiftieth. The prevailing opinion, both in ancient and modern times, has been in favor of the latter.

12. ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field, &c.—All that the ground yielded spontaneously during that period might be eaten for their necessary subsistence, but no persons were at liberty to hoard or form a private stock in reserve.

13. ye shall return every man unto his possession, &c.—Inheritances, from whatever cause, and how frequently soever they had been alienated, came back into the hands of the original proprietors. This law of entail, by which the right heir could never be excluded, was a provision of great wisdom for preserving families and tribes perfectly distinct, and their genealogies faithfully recorded, in order that all might have evidence to establish their right to the ancestral property. Hence the tribe and family of Christ were readily discovered at his birth.

17. Ye shall not oppress one another, but thou shalt fear thy God—This, which is the same as Le 25:14, related to the sale or purchase of possessions and the duty of paying an honest and equitable regard, on both sides, to the limited period during which the bargain could stand. The object of the legislator was, as far as possible, to maintain the original order of families, and an equality of condition among the people.

21, 22. I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years, &c.—A provision was made, by the special interposition of God, to supply the deficiency of food which would otherwise have resulted from the suspension of all labor during the sabbatic year. The sixth year was to yield a miraculous supply for three continuous years. And the remark is applicable to the year of Jubilee as well as the sabbatic year. (See allusions to this extraordinary provision in 2Ki 19:29; Isa 37:30). None but a legislator who was conscious of acting under divine authority would have staked his character on so singular an enactment as that of the sabbatic year; and none but a people who had witnessed the fulfilment of the divine promise would have been induced to suspend their agricultural preparations on a recurrence of a periodical Jubilee.

23-28. The land shall not be sold for ever—or, "be quite cut off," as the Margin better renders it. The land was God's, and, in prosecution of an important design, He gave it to the people of His choice, dividing it among their tribes and families—who, however, held it of Him merely as tenants-at-will and had no right or power of disposing of it to strangers. In necessitous circumstances, individuals might effect a temporary sale. But they possessed the right of redeeming it, at any time, on payment of an adequate compensation to the present holder; and by the enactments of the Jubilee they recovered it free—so that the land was rendered inalienable. (See an exception to this law, Le 27:20).

29-31. if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold—All sales of houses were subject to the same condition. But there was a difference between the houses of villages (which, being connected with agriculture, were treated as parts of the land) and houses possessed by trading people or foreigners in walled towns, which could only be redeemed within the year after the sale; if not then redeemed, these did not revert to the former owner at the Jubilee.

32-34. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, &c.—The Levites, having no possessions but their towns and their houses, the law conferred on them the same privileges that were granted to the lands of the other Israelites. A certain portion of the lands surrounding the Levitical cities was appropriated to them for the pasturage of their cattle and flocks (Nu 35:4, 5). This was a permanent endowment for the support of the ministry and could not be alienated for any time. The Levites, however, were at liberty to make exchanges among themselves; and a priest might sell his house, garden, and right of pasture to another priest, but not to an Israelite of another tribe (Jer 41:7-9).

35-38. if thy brother be waxen poor, … relieve him—This was a most benevolent provision for the poor and unfortunate, designed to aid them or alleviate the evils of their condition. Whether a native Israelite or a mere sojourner, his richer neighbor was required to give him food, lodging, and a supply of money without usury. Usury was severely condemned (Ps 15:5; Eze 18:8, 17), but the prohibition cannot be considered as applicable to the modern practice of men in business, borrowing and lending at legal rates of interest.

39-46. if thy brother … be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond-servant—An Israelite might be compelled, through misfortune, not only to mortgage his inheritance, but himself. In the event of his being reduced to this distress, he was to be treated not as a slave, but a hired servant whose engagement was temporary, and who might, through the friendly aid of a relative, be redeemed at any time before the Jubilee. The ransom money was determined on a most equitable principle. Taking account of the number of years from the proposal to redeem and the Jubilee, of the current wages of labor for that time, and multiplying the remaining years by that sum, the amount was to be paid to the master for his redemption. But if no such friendly interposition was made for a Hebrew slave, he continued in servitude till the year of Jubilee, when, as a matter of course, he regained his liberty, as well as his inheritance. Viewed in the various aspects in which it is presented in this chapter, the Jubilee was an admirable institution, and subservient in an eminent degree to uphold the interests of religion, social order, and freedom among the Israelites.