Leviticus 25:43 · Bible study
Leviticus 25:43 Commentary: Fear Your God
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore how Leviticus 25:43 uses the fear of God to limit harsh rule, rooted in God's ownership of His people.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God forbids harsh rule over fellow Israelites and commands reverent awe toward Him.
- Key words: perek (harshness, severity), radah (rule), yare (fear), Elohim (God).
- Main debate: Whether 'harshness' includes only physical severity or also demeaning and unnecessary labor.
- Theological theme: God's ownership of His people as the basis for ethical treatment.
- Best use: To teach that legitimate authority is always accountable to God and must reflect His character.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.
KJV King James Version 1769
Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
thou rulest not over him with rigour, and thou hast been afraid of thy God.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; and thou shalt fear thy God.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Afflict him not by might: but fear thy God.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
No te enseñorearás de él con dureza, mas tendrás temor de tu Dios.
Não serás senhor dele com dureza, mas terás temor de teu Deus.
Tu ne domineras point sur lui avec dureté, et tu craindras ton Dieu.
Und sollst nicht mit Strenge über sie herrschen, sondern dich fürchten vor deinem Gott.
Gij zult geen heerschappij over hem hebben met wreedheid; maar gij zult vrezen voor uw God.
Non lo dominerai con asprezza, ma temerai il tuo Dio.
Nie będziesz panował nad nimi surowie, ale się będziesz bał Pana Boga twego.
не господствуй над ним с жестокостью и бойся Бога твоего.
不可 嚴嚴地 轄管 他，只要敬畏你的 神。
Do not be a hard master to him, but have the fear of God before you.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Leviticus 25:43
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Leviticus 25:43 forms a moral boundary around the use of power. The Hebrew word perek (harshness, severity) refers to labor that is excessive, needless, or degrading. Adam Clarke defines it as service that is 'not determined' or 'whereof there is no need', work that breaks a person without purpose. The prohibition is absolute: the Israelite who sells himself due to poverty must not be treated as a permanent slave. The positive command, 'fear your God,' is the motivational heart. Matthew Henry and John Gill both connect this fear to the memory of Egypt: as God saw Israel's oppression, so He sees any cruelty among His people. Wesley adds that fear of God restrains because He avenges the oppressed. Barnes captures the theological logic: 'Yahweh was the Lord and Master of His people. To treat a Hebrew as a slave was therefore to interfere with the rights of Yahweh.' The verse thus transplants the master’s ultimate accountability from human structures to the divine throne.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The command forbids harsh rule over fellow Israelites and grounds that prohibition in reverent fear of God, who owns His people.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition of 'harshness' (perek) | Cruel or oppressive treatment is forbidden. | Clarke specifies unnecessary or undetermined labor; other commentators apply the principle more broadly to any degrading condition. |
| Applicability beyond Israel | The immediate command applies to relations between Israelites. | Some (Clarke) extend the principle to 'every people under heaven'; others see it as limited to the covenant community. |
| Nature of the fear of God | Fear of God restrains harsh rule. | Wesley emphasizes God’s vengeance as the deterrent; others see it as reverent awe rooted in gratitude for deliverance. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse sits within the Jubilee legislation of Leviticus 25 (verses 39-55), part of the Holiness Code (chapters 17-26). Israelite society distinguished sharply between native-born Hebrews and foreign slaves. When an Israelite fell into poverty and sold himself to a fellow Israelite, he was not to be treated as a permanent slave but as a hired worker until the Year of Jubilee, when he would return to his ancestral land (v.40-41). The theological rationale appears in verse 42: 'For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.' God owns Israel; they are not property of any human master.
The Hebrew word perek (harshness) appears also in the description of Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:13-14), where the same root describes the 'ruthless' service imposed by Pharaoh. By using that word here, the law code pictures a stark contrast: in Egypt, ruthless rule came from foreigners; in the promised land, God's people must not replicate that oppression among their own kin. The phrase 'fear your God' (yare Eloheikha) echoes the midwives of Exodus 1:17 and 21, who 'feared God' and resisted Pharaoh's infanticide. Fear of God is not terror but reverent awe that moves a person to obey God's commands even when human authority seems unchecked.
The surrounding verses (44-46) permit permanent slavery of foreigners, a point that later readers have found troubling. This differential treatment reflects the ancient Near Eastern context where national and religious identity shaped social structures. The New Testament would later reframe relationships between all believers as brothers and sisters in Christ (Philemon 16), pressing beyond the Old Testament boundaries.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Leviticus 25:43. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
Early Christian writers applied this verse to household relationships, arguing that masters should treat slaves with gentleness (cf. Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:1). In the medieval period, theologians cited Leviticus 25:43 to condemn usury and excessive labor demands. Reformers such as John Calvin drew on it to argue that civil rulers are under God’s law. In modern times, the verse has been used by Christian ethicists to defend workers’ rights and to critique systems that treat human beings as disposable. Across traditions, the phrase 'fear your God' has been read as both a command and a promise: a command to restrain power, and a promise that God sees and will act on behalf of the powerless.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Prohibition: No Harsh Rule, The Hebrew perek covers any labor that is excessive, purposeless, or degrading (Clarke). God draws a line: you may not treat a fellow Israelite as Egypt treated you.
- The Motivation: Fear of God, This fear is not dread but reverent awe that remembers God’s deliverance from Egypt. As Gill notes, it restrains because we fear to offend the God who saved us.
- The Foundation: God’s Ownership, Verse 42 declares, “They are my servants.” We do not own people; God does. Our authority is always delegated, always accountable.
Five-point outline
- Context: Israelite servitude is temporary and brotherly (vv.39-41).
- Reason: God alone owns His people (v.42).
- Command: Do not rule with rigor (v.43a).
- Ground: Fear God who saw your own bondage (v.43b, echoing Exodus 1).
- Contrast: Foreign slaves vs. brothers reveals God’s special claim on the covenant community (vv.44-46).
Illustration hooks
- A manager who expects employees to work unpaid overtime, ignoring their need for rest and family.
- A parent who uses shame and threats rather than guidance, forgetting that their child belongs to God.
- A church leader who treats volunteers as tools for the ministry instead of as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean all authority is bad, or only abusive authority?
- How can I recognize when my expectations cross into 'harshness'?
- Why does the Bible use the word 'fear' to motivate good behavior?
Leading a Discussion
This verse sets a limit on power. It reminds us that every human authority stands under God's authority. As you discuss, consider how the memory of God's deliverance might shape the way you treat people who depend on you.
Discussion questions
- What does the word 'harshness' (perek) suggest about the kind of service forbidden here?
- Why does the verse connect the prohibition to 'fear your God'? What makes fear of God a safeguard against cruelty?
- Look at Exodus 1:13-14 and 1:17. How does the memory of Egypt shape the command in Leviticus 25:43?
- Verse 42 says 'they are my servants.' How does God's ownership of His people change the way we treat one another?
- In what areas of your life do you hold authority (parent, boss, leader, even informal influence)? How might this verse challenge your patterns?
- How can we encourage one another to fear God in a healthy way without becoming afraid of God?
- What would it look like to treat someone under your authority as a 'hired servant' rather than as property?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 1:13 | The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve, |
| Exodus 1:14 | and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve. |
| Exodus 1:17 | But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive. |
| Exodus 1:21 | Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. |
| Exodus 2:23 | In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. |
| Exodus 3:7 | Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. |
| Exodus 3:9 | Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. |
| Exodus 5:14 | The officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why haven’t you fulfilled your quota both yesterday and today, in making brick as before?” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws on a Jewish definition: rigorous service means work that is undefined or unnecessary. He expands this to include labor beyond a person's strength, in unhealthy conditions, or without adequate food. For Clarke this command is not limited to ancient Israel but applies to all people in every age.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that mistreating a fellow Hebrew is not merely a social wrong but a direct violation of God's own rights. Because Yahweh is the Lord and Master of His people, harsh treatment of a Hebrew interferes with God's exclusive authority over them.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible notes a clear difference in how Israelite and foreign servants were treated under the law. An Israelite bought as a servant was not to be forced into permanent slavery but treated like a hired worker, with the Jubilee year limiting the term. Foreign slaves, however, could be held permanently as bondservants.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws a direct link between cruel rule and a failure to fear God. The command not to treat a servant harshly is grounded not in human compassion but in reverence for God, who alone defines how authority may be exercised.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill ties the command directly to Israel's own experience: the same Hebrew word for "rigour" describes how the Egyptians oppressed them. God forbids treating a fellow Israelite with the same cruelty they suffered, calling them instead to fear the God who rescued them from harsh bondage.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry's central point is that God's claim on Israel as His own redeemed servants forbids permanent ownership of one Israelite by another. Because God brought them out of Egypt, an impoverished brother must be treated as a hired worker, never as a bondslave, and must go free at the Jubilee.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley emphasizes that even when we hold power over others and have no reason to fear them, we must still fear God. God has commanded kindness toward the vulnerable, and He will certainly avenge their cause if they are oppressed.