Deuteronomy 15:18

It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
hard	יִקְשֶׁ֣ה yik.Sheh	H7185	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thee	בְעֵינֶ֗ךָ ve.'ei.Ne.kha	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
away	בְּשַׁלֵּֽחֲךָ֙ be.sha.le.cha.Kha	H7971	to send away · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
free	חָפְשִׁי֙ cha.fe.Shi	H2670	exempt (from bondage · adjective, masculine singular absolute
worth	שְׂכַ֣ר se.Khar	H7939	payment of contract · noun, common masculine singular construct
double	מִשְׁנֶה֙ mish.Neh	H4932	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
servant	שָׂכִ֔יר sa.Khir	H7916	a man at wages by the day or year · adjective, masculine singular absolute
serving	עֲבָֽדְךָ֖ 'a.va.de.Kha	H5647	to work (in any sense) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
six	שֵׁ֣שׁ shesh	H8337	six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the h… · noun, common both genders singular construct
years	שָׁנִ֑ים sha.Nim	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
LORD	יְהוָ֣ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
bless	וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֙ u.ve.rakh.Kha	H1288	to kneel · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
doest	תַּעֲשֶֽׂה ta.'a.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 16:14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all th…
Isaiah 21:16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Luke 17:7-8 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down t…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Here is, I. A repetition of the law that had been given concerning Hebrew servants who had sold themselves for servants, or were sold by their parents through extreme poverty, or were sold by the court of judgment for some crime committed. The law was, 1. That they should serve but six years, and in the seventh should go out free, Deu 15:12. Compare Exo 21:2. And, if the year of jubilee happened before they served out their time, that would be their discharge. God's Israel were a free people, and must not be compelled to perpetual slavery; thus are God's spiritual Israel called unto liberty. 2. That if, when their six years' service had expired, they had no mind to go out free, but would rat…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:18

he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee--that is, he is entitled to double wages because his service was more advantageous to you, being both without wages and for a length of time, whereas hired servants were engaged yearly (Lev 25:53), or at most for three years (Isa 16:14).

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:18

It shall not seem hard to thee when thou sendest him away free from thee,.... He should not grudge him his liberty, nor what he gives to him when he dismisses him: for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee in serving thee six years; since a hired servant a man is obliged to pay him wages for his work, besides his food, whereas a bondservant received no wages. Aben Ezra remarks, that this proves that a man might not hire himself for more than three years; or however, whereas a hired servant was sometimes hired for so many years, and this is the longest time of any we read of, a servant serving his master six years, his service must be worth double the service of an hired servant,…

Read the whole note in the console

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Deuteronomy 15:12-18 12. And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 12. Si venditus fuerit tibi frater tuus Hebraeus, vel Hebraea, et servierit tibi sex annis: anno septimo dimittes eum liberum a te. 13. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 13. Et quum dimittes eum liberum a te, non dimittes eum vacuum. 14. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 14. Onerando onerabis eum, de pecudibu…

Dictionary and topics

Freedom — The law of Moses pointed out the cases in which the servants of the Hebrews were to receive their freedom (Ex. 21:2-4, 7, 8; Lev. 25:39-42, 47-55; Deut. 15:12-18). Under the Roman law the “freeman”…
Beneficence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Employee · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Liberality · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Masters · Benevolent, blessed — Benevolent, blessed
Sabbatic Year · Creditors required to release — Creditors required to release
Servant · .Laws of Moses concerning — .Laws of Moses concerning
Servants · Slaves or bond: More valuable than hired servants — Slaves or bond: More valuable than hired servants

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 15:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:18

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:18

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 15:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 15:18

John Gill on Deuteronomy 15:18

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 15:18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 15:18

Rashi on Deuteronomy 15:18