What Does Leviticus 25:14 Mean in the King James?
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse makes the exchange and the relationship inseparable: neither buying nor selling turns a neighbor’s need into permission to exploit them.
THE MEANING
In every exchange, the other person remains a neighbor, not merely a means to an advantage. Seller and buyer stand under the same boundary: neither may exploit the other in the transfer.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a deal is fair whenever both sides agree, even if one person uses the other’s vulnerability for gain.
THE ROOT
תִּמְכְּרוּ
timkeru
GROWS FROM
מכר
מכר (makhar) means to sell or transfer something for value.
The verse uses the same root for “sell” and “ought,” the thing being sold: מִמְכָּר (mimkar), merchandise or something sold. The transaction’s object and action are joined in Hebrew, while the command keeps both people in view.
ALSO GROWS
mimkar: A thing sold; merchandise
מִמְכָּר
This word appears in the verse itself, sharing the root of “sell” and making the act and its object part of one word family.
mokher: A seller; one who sells
מֹכֵר
This branch names the person performing the sale, showing the root’s reach from the act to the person involved.
קֹנֶה
qoneh
GROWS FROM
קנה
קנה (qanah) means to acquire, gain, or buy.
“buy” in this verse is qoneh. Buying is named as acquiring, yet the buyer’s gain does not cancel the seller’s standing as a neighbor. The verse places acquisition and sale under the same limit on exploitation.
ALSO GROWS
qoneh: One who acquires or buys
קוֹנֶה
This is the buyer named by the root: the one who gains the thing remains bound by the verse’s shared boundary.
miqneh: Acquired property or livestock
מִקְנֶה
This branch names what is acquired, linking the buyer’s possession to the neighbor from whom it comes.
THE PATTERN
Exchange remains just when the measure honors the other person as fully as it honors the goods and price.
A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.THE THREAD
Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.The same Hebrew verb translated “oppress” returns, carrying the boundary beyond the price of a transaction into dealings with a neighbor more broadly. The exchange is one place where the relationship’s integrity becomes visible.
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