but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first.

(SEE 22:2)

May God give you dew from heaven and make your fields fertile! May he give you plenty of grain and wine!

Esau said, "This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the first-born son, and now he has taken away my blessing. Haven't you saved a blessing for me?"

If any Israelites living near you become so poor that they sell themselves to you as a slave, you shall not make them do the work of a slave.

At that time they and their children shall leave you and return to their family and to the property of their ancestors.

The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said, "Sir, my husband has died! As you know, he was a God-fearing man, but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband's debt."

Some time later many of the people, both men and women, began to complain against the other Jews.

Others said, "We have had to mortgage our fields and vineyards and houses to get enough grain to keep us from starving."

We are of the same race as the other Jews. Aren't our children just as good as theirs? But we have to make slaves of our children. Some of our daughters have already been sold as slaves. We are helpless because our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us."

The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.

he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory.

They shall stay with you as hired workers and serve you until the next Year of Restoration.

The people of Israel are the LORD's slaves, and he brought them out of Egypt; they must not be sold into slavery.

"At the end of every seventh year you are to cancel the debts of those who owe you money.

"If any Israelites, male or female, sell themselves to you as slaves, you are to release them after they have served you for six years. When the seventh year comes, you must let them go free.

Give to them generously from what the LORD has blessed you with---sheep, grain, and wine.

He commanded them, "At the end of every seven years, when the year that debts are canceled comes around, read this aloud at the Festival of Shelters.

King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem had made an agreement to set free

All the people and their leaders agreed to free their slaves and never to enslave them again. They did set them free,

Then the LORD,

every seven years they were to set free any Hebrew slave who had served them for six years. But your ancestors would not pay any attention to me or listen to what I said.

But then you changed your minds again and dishonored me. All of you took back the slaves whom you had set free as they desired, and you forced them into slavery again.