Leviticus 25:54

Translation
King James Version
And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
Ask
KJV (with Strong's)
And if he be not redeemed H1350 in these years, then he shall go out H3318 in the year H8141 of jubile H3104, both he, and his children H1121 with him.
Ask
Complete Jewish Bible
"'If he has not been redeemed by any of these procedures, nevertheless he will go free in the year of yovel -he and his children with him.
Ask
Berean Standard Bible
Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee.
Ask
American Standard Version
And if he be not redeemed by these means, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him.
Ask
World English Bible Messianic
If he isn’t redeemed by these means, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee, he, and his children with him.
Ask
Geneva Bible (1599)
And if he be not redeemed thus, he shall go out in the yeere of Iubile, he, and his children with him.
Ask
Young's Literal Translation
`And if he is not redeemed in these years , then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
Ask
See also
Exodus 21:2Exodus 21:3Isaiah 49:9Isaiah 49:25Leviticus 25:40Leviticus 25:41Isaiah 52:3
In the KJVVerse 3,524 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Leviticus 25:54 functions as the ultimate divine safeguard within the Mosaic legislation of the Jubilee, guaranteeing that any Israelite who had entered into servitude due to economic distress would inevitably regain their freedom, along with their children, in the fiftieth year. This verse powerfully underscores God's unwavering commitment to the foundational principles of liberty, social justice, and the restoration of dignity and ancestral inheritance within the covenant community, thereby preventing the permanent disenfranchisement of any family.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is strategically placed at the culmination of the detailed regulations concerning the Year of Jubilee within Leviticus 25. The broader chapter meticulously outlines the divine statutes for both the Sabbatical Year (every seventh year, involving land rest and debt remission) and the Jubilee (every fiftieth year, a grand societal reset). The preceding verses, particularly Leviticus 25:39-55, specifically address the conditions under which an Israelite might sell themselves into temporary servitude, whether to a fellow Israelite or to a foreign resident. The law explicitly mandates that such individuals were not to be treated as chattel slaves but rather as hired servants or sojourners, with their service functioning as a temporary means of survival or debt repayment. Various provisions for earlier redemption by a family member or by the servant themselves are detailed in Leviticus 25:48-52. Leviticus 25:54 serves as the final, non-negotiable clause, acting as a divine failsafe that guarantees freedom even if no kinsman-redeemer could be found or if the period of service had not expired before the Jubilee. It is the capstone of God's comprehensive provision for liberty and social equity.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: In the ancient Near East, economic hardship frequently compelled individuals or entire families to sell themselves into servitude as a means of survival. However, the Mosaic Law, particularly the institution of the Jubilee, stands in radical contrast to the often harsh and permanent practices of surrounding nations by imposing strict limits on the duration and nature of such servitude. Israelite society was fundamentally structured around the theological premise that the land ultimately belonged to God, and the people were merely His tenants or sojourners (Leviticus 25:23). This divine ownership meant that neither land nor personal freedom could be permanently alienated. The Jubilee system was a revolutionary economic and social policy meticulously designed to prevent the permanent concentration of wealth and land in the hands of a few, ensuring that every family retained their ancestral inheritance and that extreme poverty would not lead to perpetual bondage. This provided a crucial safety net, fostering a more equitable and compassionate society and reinforcing the covenant relationship between God and His people, who had themselves been miraculously delivered from slavery in Egypt.
  • Key Themes: Leviticus 25:54 contributes significantly to several overarching theological and narrative themes within the book of Leviticus and the broader Pentateuch. Foremost among these is the theme of Divine Sovereignty and Ownership, emphasizing that God is the ultimate owner of all land and all people, thereby limiting human claims to permanent possession or control. This undergirds the theme of Justice and Equity, as the Jubilee system was designed to prevent the accumulation of wealth and the perpetuation of poverty, ensuring a periodic redistribution of resources and restoration of family dignity. The verse also highlights the theme of Redemption and Liberation, both physical and economic, as God provides a guaranteed mechanism for release from servitude, echoing Israel's own liberation from Egyptian bondage. Furthermore, it reinforces the theme of Covenant Faithfulness, demonstrating God's commitment to the well-being of His covenant people and His provision for their flourishing within the land He had given them, as seen throughout the laws of Deuteronomy. The Jubilee is a powerful expression of God's grace, providing a fresh start and preventing the erosion of the tribal and family structures essential to Israelite society.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • redeemed (Hebrew, gâʼal', H1350): This verb carries profound theological significance, meaning "to buy back," "to reclaim," "to set free," or "to act as a kinsman-redeemer." In the context of Leviticus 25, it refers to the act by which a family member (the go'el) could pay a sum to release a relative from servitude before the Jubilee. The go'el was a specific, vital role within Israelite society, responsible for protecting the family's integrity, property, and lineage. The fact that the Jubilee provides an automatic "redemption" even without a human go'el highlights God's ultimate role as the divine Redeemer, ensuring liberty when human means or resources fail.
  • go out (Hebrew, yâtsâʼ', H3318): A primitive root meaning "to go (causatively, bring) out," "to depart," or "to issue forth." In this verse, "he shall go out" signifies a definitive, physical departure from the state of servitude and a return to one's original state of liberty and independence. It implies a complete cessation of the bond of service, a release from obligation, and a re-entry into full societal and familial rights. This action is not conditional but a divinely mandated liberation, underscoring the absolute nature of the Jubilee's provisions.
  • jubile (Hebrew, yôwbêl', H3104): Derived from the word for "ram's horn" or "trumpet," the yôwbêl refers to the specific instrument used to announce the beginning of this fiftieth year. The sound of the shofar (ram's horn) was a public, unmistakable declaration, signifying a momentous, divinely ordained reset. This auditory signal underscored the universal and undeniable nature of the freedom and restoration proclaimed. It was a year of "liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10), a time of profound societal transformation.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And if he be not redeemed in these [years]": This initial clause acknowledges the real-world possibility that the provisions for earlier redemption by a kinsman (as detailed in Leviticus 25:48-52) or by the servant themselves (through accumulated earnings) might not materialize. Despite the various opportunities for an earlier release, circumstances such as extreme poverty, lack of a capable kinsman, or prolonged hardship could prevent such a redemption from occurring. This phrase highlights the inherent vulnerability of the impoverished individual and the potential for their difficult situation to persist without a final, overarching divine intervention.
  • "then he shall go out in the year of jubile": This is the core declaration of the verse, emphasizing the absolute, unconditional, and non-negotiable nature of the Jubilee release. Regardless of the remaining term of service, the amount of outstanding debt, or the failure of human-initiated redemption efforts, the arrival of the Jubilee year automatically triggered freedom. The phrase "he shall go out" signifies a physical departure from servitude and a return to one's original state of liberty, dignity, and independence. This was not a matter for negotiation or discretion but a divinely mandated, universal liberation, enforced by God's decree.
  • "[both] he, and his children with him": This crucial addition underscores the comprehensive and generational nature of the restoration provided by the Jubilee. The freedom extended beyond the individual servant to encompass their entire family unit, specifically their children. This ensured that the next generation would not inherit the burden of their parents' servitude but would begin their lives in freedom, with the opportunity to return to their ancestral land and re-establish their family's heritage and economic stability. It profoundly reflects God's concern for generational blessing, the prevention of cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement, and the preservation of the family unit as the foundational structure of Israelite society.

Literary Devices

Leviticus 25:54 employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound and compassionate message. The most prominent is Divine Mandate, evident in the declarative, unconditional language ("then he shall go out"), which underscores God's sovereign authority in establishing and enforcing these laws. This is not a suggestion or a recommendation but a firm command, highlighting the non-negotiable nature of the Jubilee's provisions. Symbolism is central, with the "year of jubile" serving as a powerful symbol of ultimate liberation, comprehensive restoration, and a divinely ordained societal reset. It represents God's ideal for a just and equitable community, where cycles of poverty and permanent dispossession are broken. The release of the individual and, crucially, their children, also carries the symbolism of a new beginning, the preservation of family lineage, and the restoration of ancestral inheritance, reflecting God's commitment to the holistic well-being and future flourishing of the entire household. The structure of the verse, moving from a potential negative (not redeemed) to an assured positive (shall go out), creates a sense of Divine Assurance, emphasizing God's ultimate guarantee of freedom.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Leviticus 25:54 encapsulates several foundational theological principles that reveal the very character of God. It underscores His nature as a God of profound justice and boundless mercy, who actively intervenes to protect the vulnerable, alleviate suffering, and ensure equity within His covenant community. The Jubilee laws, culminating in this verse, reveal God's ultimate ownership of both the land and His people, meaning that no human could permanently enslave another or permanently alienate land that ultimately belonged to the Creator. This system was meticulously designed to prevent the concentration of wealth and power, fostering a society where dignity, freedom, and ancestral inheritance were periodically restored, reflecting God's desire for holistic well-being and the breaking of oppressive cycles. It highlights the theme of redemption as a core aspect of God's relationship with humanity, demonstrating His active role in setting His people free, both physically and spiritually, from various forms of bondage.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

The profound principles embedded in Leviticus 25:54 resonate deeply with believers today, inviting us to reflect on God's enduring heart for freedom, justice, and comprehensive restoration. Just as the Jubilee provided a guaranteed release from physical and economic bondage, it points to a deeper, spiritual liberation that God desires for all humanity. This verse challenges us to examine our own lives and societies, prompting us to ask how we might embody God's compassion for the oppressed and actively work towards alleviating systemic injustices and breaking cycles of poverty and marginalization. It calls us to recognize that true freedom is not merely the absence of external constraints but a holistic state of being, rooted in our right relationship with God and our commitment to His kingdom values of equity and abundant life. The ultimate and unconditional release promised in the Jubilee offers a powerful metaphor for the hope we have in Christ, who secures our eternal freedom and an imperishable inheritance.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does God's commitment to guaranteed freedom in the Jubilee challenge my understanding of liberty and justice in contemporary society, particularly regarding economic and social disparities?
  • In what practical ways can I, as a follower of Christ, actively participate in bringing about restoration and alleviating oppression in my community, reflecting the spirit and principles of the Jubilee?
  • How does the ultimate and unconditional release offered in the Jubilee deepen my appreciation for the spiritual redemption and freedom I have received through Christ, and how should this shape my gratitude and service?

FAQ

What was the primary purpose of the Year of Jubilee?

Answer: The primary purpose of the Year of Jubilee, observed every fiftieth year, was to serve as a comprehensive societal reset for Israel, ensuring the periodic restoration of land, liberty, and family inheritance. It was designed to prevent the permanent concentration of wealth and land in the hands of a few, to alleviate extreme poverty, and to ensure that no Israelite would remain in perpetual servitude. The Jubilee reinforced the theological principle that the land and the people ultimately belonged to God (Leviticus 25:23) and that humans were merely stewards. It provided a crucial mechanism for families to regain their dignity, ancestral property, and freedom, fostering a more equitable and compassionate society in line with God's covenant with Israel.

How did the Jubilee differ from the Sabbatical Year?

Answer: While both the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah) and the Jubilee were years of rest and release, they had distinct purposes, frequencies, and scopes. The Sabbatical Year occurred every seventh year (Leviticus 25:1-7), requiring the land to lie fallow, debts to be remitted (Deuteronomy 15:1-2), and Hebrew servants to be released (Deuteronomy 15:12). The Jubilee, on the other hand, occurred every fiftieth year (after seven cycles of seven years, Leviticus 25:8-10). Its provisions were broader and more comprehensive: not only were debts remitted and servants released, but all ancestral lands that had been sold were returned to their original families, and all Israelite bondservants, along with their children, were set free, regardless of when their servitude began (Leviticus 25:13). The Jubilee was a grander, more encompassing reset, symbolizing a complete restoration of social and economic order, ensuring that no family would be permanently dispossessed.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Leviticus 25:54, with its promise of ultimate, guaranteed release in the Year of Jubilee, powerfully foreshadows the spiritual liberation accomplished through Jesus Christ. Just as the Jubilee provided freedom from physical and economic bondage, Christ offers a far greater and eternal freedom from the bondage of sin, spiritual death, and the curse of the law. The concept of the go'el, or kinsman-redeemer, finds its ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Jesus, who, being fully God and fully man, became our Kinsman and paid the ultimate price to redeem us, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with His precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). His life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection inaugurated the true "Year of the Lord's favor," as prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-2, a passage Jesus Himself proclaimed as fulfilled in His ministry in Luke 4:18-19. Through Him, we are set free from the slavery of sin (John 8:34-36), reconciled to God, and granted an eternal, imperishable inheritance that can never be lost or taken away (Ephesians 1:11). The Jubilee's restoration of ancestral land and family connection points to our spiritual restoration and our secure, permanent place in God's eternal family, inheriting the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).

Copy as

Commentary on Leviticus 25 verses 39–55

We have here the laws concerning servitude, designed to preserve the honour of the Jewish nation as a free people, and rescued by a divine power out of the house of bondage, into the glorious liberty of God's sons, his first-born. Now the law is,

I. That a native Israelite should never be made a bondman for perpetuity. If he was sold for debt, or for a crime, by the house of judgment, he was to serve but six years, and to go out the seventh; this was appointed, Exo 21:2. But if he sold himself through extreme poverty, having nothing at all left him to preserve his life, and if it was to one of his own nation that he sold himself, in such a case it is here provided, 1. That he should not serve as a bond-servant (Lev 25:39), nor be sold with the sale of a bondman (Lev 25:42); that is, "it must not be looked upon that his master that bought him had as absolute a property in him as in a captive taken in war, that might be used, sold, and bequeathed, at pleasure, as much as a man's cattle; no, he shall serve thee as a hired servant, whom the master has the use of only, but not a despotic power over." And the reason is, They are my servants, Lev 25:42. God does not make his servants slaves, and therefore their brethren must not. God had redeemed them out of Egypt, and therefore they must never be exposed to sale as bondmen. The apostle applies this spiritually (Co1 7:23), You are bought with a price, be not the servants of men, that is, "of the lusts of men, no, nor of your own lusts;" for, having become the servants of God, we must not let sin reign in our mortal bodies, Rom 6:12, Rom 6:22. 2. That while he did serve he should not be ruled with rigour, as the Israelites were in Egypt, Lev 25:43. Both his work and his usage must be such as were fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are still required to give to their servants that which is just and equal, Col 4:1. They may be used, but must not be abused. Those masters that are always hectoring and domineering over their servants, taunting them and trampling upon them, that are unreasonable in exacting work and giving rebukes, and that rule them with a high hand, forget that their Master is in heaven; and what will they do when he rises up? as holy Job reasons with himself, Job 31:13, Job 31:14. 3. That at the year of jubilee he should go out free, he and his children, and should return to his own family, Lev 25:41. This typified our redemption from the service of sin and Satan by the grace of God in Christ, whose truth makes us free, Joh 7:32. The Jewish writers say that, for ten days before the jubilee-trumpet sounded, the servants that were to be discharged by it did express their great joy by feasting, and wearing garlands on their heads: it is therefore called the joyful sound, Psa 89:15. And we are thus to rejoice in the liberty we have by Christ.

II. That they might purchase bondmen of the heathen nations that were round about them, or of those strangers that sojourned among them (except of those seven nations that were to be destroyed); and might claim a dominion over them, and entail them upon their families as an inheritance, for the year of jubilee should give no discharge to them, Lev 25:44, Lev 25:46. Thus in our English plantations the negroes only are used as slaves; how much to the credit of Christianity I shall not say. Now, 1. This authority which they had over the bondmen whom they purchased from the neighbouring nations was in pursuance of the blessing of Jacob, Gen 27:29, Let people serve thee. 2. It prefigured the bringing in of the Gentiles to the service of Christ and his church. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, Psa 2:8. And it is promised (Isa 61:5), Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your vine-dressers; see Rev 2:26, Rev 2:27. The upright shall have the dominion in the morning, Psa 49:14. 3. It intimates that none shall have the benefit of the gospel jubilee but those only that are Israelites indeed, and the children of Abraham by faith: as for those that continue heathenish, they continue bondmen. See this turned upon the unbelieving Jews themselves, Gal 4:25, where Jerusalem, when she had rejected Christ, is said to be in bondage with her children. Let me only add here that, though they are not forbidden to rule their bondmen with rigour, yet the Jewish doctors say, "It is the property of mercy, and way of wisdom, that a man should be compassionate, and not make his yoke heavy upon any servant that he has."

III. That if an Israelite sold himself for a servant to a wealthy proselyte that sojourned among them care should be taken that he should have the same advantages as if he had sold himself to an Israelite, and in some respects greater. 1. That he should not serve as a bondman, but as a hired servant, and not to be ruled with rigour (Lev 25:53), 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, Lev 25:54. Though the sons of strangers might serve them for ever, yet the sons of Israel might not serve strangers for ever; yet the servant here, having made himself a slave by his own act and deed, should not go out in the seventh year of release, but in the jubilee only. 2. That he should have this further advantage that he might be redeemed again before the year of jubilee, Lev 25:48, Lev 25:49. He that had sold himself to an Israelite might, if ever he was able, redeem himself, but his relations had no right to redeem him. "But if a man sold himself to a stranger," the Jews say, "his relations were urged to redeem him; if they did not, it was fit that he should be redeemed at the public charge," which we find done, Neh 5:8. The price of his ransom was to be computed according to the prospect of the year of jubilee (Lev 25:50-52), as in the redemption of land, Lev 25:15, Lev 25:16. The learned bishop Patrick quotes one of the Jewish rabbin for an evangelical exposition of that appointment (Lev 25:48), One of his brethren shall redeem him. "This Redeemer," says the rabbi, "is the Messiah, the Son of David." They expected this Messiah to be their Redeemer out of their captivity, and to restore them to their own land again; but we welcome him as the Redeemer who shall come to Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for he shall save his people from their sins; and under this notion there were those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 39–55. Public domain.
Copy as
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as

Continue studying Leviticus 25:54 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.

Read & Compare

Commentaries

Original Language & Research

Sermons, Hymns & Audio

TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.