'Free' in the Bible

then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.’

Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt].

“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.

But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’

If he does not do these three things for her, then shall she leave free, without payment of money.

“If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye.

And if he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the tooth.

‘Now if a man has intimate relations with a woman who is a slave acquired for [marriage to] another man, but who has not been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment [after an investigation]; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free;

But if he is unable to redeem it, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of the purchaser until the Year of Jubilee; but at the Jubilee it shall revert, and he may return to his property.

But if it is not redeemed for him within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently and irrevocably to the purchaser throughout his generations. It does not revert back in the Year of Jubilee.

The houses of the villages that have no surrounding walls, however, shall be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and revert in the Year of Jubilee.

Therefore, what is [purchased] from the Levites may be redeemed [by a Levite], and the house that was sold in the city they possess reverts in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their [ancestral] property among the Israelites.

Even if he is not redeemed during these years and under these provisions, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men].

Then the priest shall have her take an oath and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness [while married], then be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse;

But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she will be free and conceive children.

Further, the husband will be free from guilt, but that woman [if guilty] shall bear her guilt.’”

“If your fellow Israelite, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you shall set him free [from your service].

When you set him free, you shall not let him go away empty-handed.

“It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has served you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

But it shall be that if you have no delight and take no pleasure in her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes. You certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not deal with her as a slave or mistreat her, because you have humbled her [by forced marriage].

“When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out [to fight] with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

“For the Lord will vindicate His people,And will have compassion on His servants,When He sees that their strength (hand) is gone,And none remains, whether bond or free.

She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as I have time after time and shake myself free.” For Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot [identifying the transgressor].” Then Saul and Jonathan were selected [by lot], but the other men went free.

The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. The king will reward the man who kills him with great riches, and will give him his daughter [in marriage] and make his father’s house (family) free [from taxes and service] in Israel.”

“God is my strong fortress;He sets the blameless in His way.

therefore behold, I am bringing evil on the house (royal line) of Jeroboam, and I will cut off (destroy) from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free, in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.

Behold [says the Lord], I am bringing evil (catastrophe) on you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;

For the entire house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free, in Israel.

For the Lord saw the affliction (suffering) of Israel as very bitter; there was no one left, bond or free, nor any helper for Israel.

Now these are the singers, heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites, living in the temple chambers, free from other service because they were on duty day and night.

Now therefore, hear me and return the captives whom you have captured from your brothers (fellow descendants of Israel, i.e. Jacob), for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.”

Then he said to them, “Levites, listen to me! Now consecrate (dedicate) yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and get the filth [of idol worship] out of the Holy Place.

For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves [that is, become ceremonially clean and free from all sin]; so the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, in order to make them holy for the Lord.

He also told (ordered) the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion that was due to the priests and Levites, so that they might [be free to] devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.

“The small and the great are there,And the servant is free from his master.

“I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!I will give free expression to my complaint;I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

I was blameless before Him,And I kept myself free from my sin.

God is to us a God of acts of salvation;And to God the Lord belong escapes from death [setting us free].

Draw near to my soul and redeem it;Ransom me because of my enemies [so that they do not delight in my distress].

He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run];He did not spare their souls from death,But turned over their lives to the plague.

The king sent and released him,The ruler of the peoples [of Egypt], and set him free.

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;The Lord answered me and set me free.

Save my life, O Lord, for Your name’s sake;In Your righteousness bring my life out of trouble.

Who executes justice for the oppressed,Who gives food to the hungry.The Lord sets free the prisoners.

A man of great anger will bear the penalty [for his quick temper and lack of self-control];For if you rescue him [and do not let him learn from the consequences of his action], you will only have to rescue him over and over again.

She makes [fine] linen garments and sells them;And supplies sashes to the merchants.

Blessed [prosperous and admired] are you, O land, when your king is a man of noble birth, and your princes and officials feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

(The Bridegroom)“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,By the gazelles or by the does of the field [which run free],That you do not rouse nor awaken my loveUntil she pleases.”

He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshedAnd shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;

“My dwelling (body) is pulled up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent;I have rolled up my life as a weaver [rolls up the finished web].He cuts me free from the warp [of the loom];From day to night You bring me to an end.

“[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose,To undo the bonds of wickedness,To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke,To let the oppressed go freeAnd break apart every [enslaving] yoke?

“For long ago you broke your yoke [in deliberate disobedience]And tore off your bonds [of the law that I gave you];You said, ‘I will not serve and obey You!’For on every high hillAnd under every green treeYou have lain down [in idolatrous worship] like a [compliant] prostitute.

“O generation [that you are], consider and regard carefully the word of the Lord.Have I been a wilderness to Israel [like a land without food],A land of thick and deep darkness [like a path without light]?Why do My people say, ‘We [have broken loose and we] are free to roam [at will];We will no longer come to You’?

and [then dare to] come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My Name, and say, ‘We are protected and set free [by this act of religious ritual]!’—only to go on with this wickedness and these disgusting and loathsome things?

that every man should let his Hebrew slaves, male and female, go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother.

So all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that everyone would let his male servant and his female servant go free, and that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.

But afterward they backed out [of the covenant] and made the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free return [to them], and brought the male servants and the female servants again into servitude.

“At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself [into servitude] or who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall release him from [serving] you; but your forefathers did not listen [submissively] to Me or obey Me.

Yet you backed out [of the covenant] and profaned My Name, and each man took back his servants, male and female, whom had been set free in accordance with their desire, and you brought them into servitude [again] to be your male servants and your female servants.”’

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against your magic bands [and veils] by which you hunt [human] lives as birds and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the lives you hunt go free, even those lives whom you hunt as birds.

The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple

and the outer chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.

The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space were one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].”

Now at the feast [of the Passover] the governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner whom the people chose.

So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

So he set Barabbas free for them; but after having Jesus severely whipped (scourged), he handed Him over to be crucified.

And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble.”

When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness].”

Now at the [Passover] feast Pilate used to set free for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to set free for you the King of the Jews?”

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set Barabbas free for them; and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over [to his soldiers] to be crucified.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”

I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”

At that very hour Jesus healed many people of sicknesses and infirmities and evil spirits; and He gave [the gracious gift of] sight to many who were blind.

Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

For while you are going with your opponent [at law] to appear before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge does not [rule against you and] turn you over to the officer, and the officer does not throw you into prison.

But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel and set our nation free. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.

And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].”

They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone. What do You mean by saying, ‘You will be set free’?”

So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free.

Out came the man who had been dead, his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and release him.”

But Peter said to him, “May your money be destroyed along with you, because you thought you could buy the [free] gift of God with money!

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

But with regard to the Gentiles who have believed [in Christ], we have sent them a letter with our decision that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from [consuming] blood and from [the meat of] what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.”

But the free gift [of God] is not like the trespass [because the gift of grace overwhelms the fall of man]. For if many died by one man’s trespass [Adam’s sin], much more [abundantly] did God’s grace and the gift [that comes] by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to [benefit] the many.

Nor is the gift [of grace] like that which came through the one who sinned. For on the one hand the judgment [following the sin] resulted from one trespass and brought condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift resulted from many trespasses and brought justification [the release from sin’s penalty for those who believe].

For if by the trespass of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one (Adam), much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in [eternal] life through the One, Jesus Christ.

And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose].

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God’s will].

But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law [regarding marriage], so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

that the creation itself will also be freed from its bondage to decay [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of the children of God.