Bible Verses About Contracts: Scriptures illustrative of the binding force of

`When thou buyest a Hebrew servant--six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;

if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he is owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;

if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters--the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.

`And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons--I do not go out free;

then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him--to the age.

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

`When any person doth sin, and hath committed a trespass against Jehovah, and hath lied to his fellow concerning a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning violent robbery, or hath oppressed his fellow;

`Then it hath been, when he sinneth, and hath been guilty, that he hath returned the plunder which he hath taken violently away, or the thing which he hath got by oppression, or the deposit which hath been deposited with him, or the lost thing which he hath found;

or all that concerning which he sweareth falsely, he hath even repaid it in its principal, and its fifth he is adding to it; to him whose it is he giveth it in the day of his guilt-offering.

`And his guilt-offering he bringeth in to Jehovah, a ram, a perfect one, out of the flock, at thy estimation, for a guilt-offering, unto the priest,

and the priest hath made atonement for him before Jehovah, and it hath been forgiven him, concerning one thing of all that he doth, by being guilty therein.'

And the inhabitants of Gibeon have heard that which Joshua hath done to Jericho and to Ai,

and they work, even they, with subtilty, and go, and feign to be ambassadors, and take old sacks for their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up,

and sandals, old and patched, on their feet, and old garments upon them, and all the bread of their provision is dry--it was crumbs.

And they go unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and say unto him, and unto the men of Israel, `From a land far off we have come, and now, make with us a covenant;'

and the men of Israel say unto the Hivite, `It may be in our midst ye are dwelling, and how do we make with thee a covenant?'

and they say unto Joshua, `Thy servants we are .' And Joshua saith unto them, `Who are ye? and whence come ye?'

And they say unto him, `From a land very far off have thy servants come, for the name of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard His fame, and all that He hath done in Egypt,

and Joshua maketh with them peace, and maketh with them a covenant, to keep them alive; and swear to them do the princes of the company.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of three days after that they have made with them a covenant, that they hear that they are their neighbours--that in their midst they are dwelling.

and the sons of Israel have not smitten them, for sworn to them have the princes of the company by Jehovah God of Israel, and all the company murmur against the princes.

And all the princes say unto all the company, `We--we have sworn to them by Jehovah, God of Israel; and now, we are not able to come against them;

this we do to them, and have kept them alive, and wrath is not upon us, because of the oath which we have sworn to them.'

And the princes say unto them, `They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the company, as the princes spake to them.'

And Joshua calleth for them, and speaketh unto them, saying, `Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, and ye in our midst dwelling?