Leviticus 25
1 The Lord told Moses on Mount Sinai,
And Jehovah spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2 “Tell the Israelites: When you enter the land that I'm giving you, the land itself must also observe a Sabbath rest in honor of the Lord.
Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When ye come into the land that I will give you, the land shall celebrate a sabbath to Jehovah.
3 Six years you can cultivate your fields, take care of your vineyards, and harvest your crops.
Six years shalt thou sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof,
4 But the seventh year is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath in honor of the Lord. Don't plant your fields or care for your vineyards.
but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest for the land, a sabbath to Jehovah. Thy field shalt thou not sow, and thy vineyard shalt thou not prune.
5 Don't harvest what may have grown up in your fields, or collect the grapes from your vineyards that you haven't cared for. The land is to have a year of complete rest.
That which springeth up from the scattered seed of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thine undressed vines thou shalt not gather: a year of rest shall it be for the land.
6 You can eat whatever the land produces during the Sabbath year. This applies to yourself, your male and female slaves, paid workers and foreigners who live with you,
And the sabbath of the land shall be for food for you, for thee, and for thy bondman, and for thy handmaid, and for thy hired servant, and for him that dwelleth as a sojourner with thee, and for thy cattle,
7 and to your livestock and the wild animals living in your land. Whatever grows can be used for food.
and for the beasts that are in thy land: all the produce thereof shall be for food.
8 Count seven ‘sabbaths’ of years, in other words, seven times seven years, so that the seven sabbaths of years come to forty-nine years.
And thou shalt count seven sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; so that the days of the seven sabbaths of years be unto thee forty-nine years.
9 Then blow the trumpet all through the country on the tenth day of the seventh month, which is the Day of Atonement. Make sure this signal is heard throughout your whole country.
Then shalt thou cause the loud sound of the trumpet to go forth in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the day of atonement shall ye cause the trumpet to go forth throughout your land.
10 You are to dedicate the fiftieth year and announce freedom everywhere in the country for all who live there. This is to be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to reclaim your property and to be part of your family once more.
And ye shall hallow the year of the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; a [year of] jubilee shall it be unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family;
11 The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you. Don't sow the land; don't harvest what may have grown up in your fields, or collect the grapes from your vineyards that you haven't cared for.
a year of jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap its aftergrowth, nor gather [the fruit of] its undressed vines.
12 It is a Jubilee and it is to be holy to you. You can eat whatever the land produces.
For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; out of the field shall ye eat its produce.
13 In this Jubilee Year, every one of you shall return to your own property.
In this year of the jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14 If you sell land to your neighbor, or buy land from him, don't exploit one another.
And if ye sell ought unto your neighbour, or buy of your neighbour's hand, ye shall not overreach one another.
15 When you buy from your neighbor work out how many years have passed since the last Jubilee, for he is to sell to you depending on how many years of harvest remain.
According to the number of years since the jubilee, thou shalt buy of thy neighbour; according to the number of years of the produce, he shall sell unto thee.
16 The more years that are left, the more you shall pay; the fewer years that are left, the less you shall pay, because he is actually selling you a specific number of harvests.
According to the greater number of the years, thou shalt increase the price thereof; and according to the fewness of years, thou shalt diminish the price of it; for it is the number of crops that he selleth unto thee.
17 Don't exploit one another, but have respect for your God, because I am the Lord your God.
And ye shall not oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am Jehovah your God.
18 Keep my rules and observe my regulations, so you can live in safety in the land.
And ye shall do my statutes, and observe mine ordinances and do them: thus shall ye dwell in your land securely.
19 Then the land will produce good harvest, so you will have plenty to eat and live in safety there.
And the land shall yield its fruit, and ye shall eat and be satisfied, and dwell therein securely.
20 But if you ask, ‘What are we going to in the seventh year if we do not sow or harvest our crops?’
And if ye say, What shall we eat in the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather in our produce;
21 I will bless you in the sixth year, so that the land will produce a crop that will be enough for three years.
then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, that it may bring forth produce for three years;
22 As you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating from that harvest, which will last until your harvest in the ninth year.
and ye shall sow in the eighth year, and ye shall eat of the old fruit until the ninth year; until her produce come in, ye shall eat the old.
23 Land must not be permanently sold, because it really belongs to me. To me you are only foreigners and travelers passing through.
And the land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
24 So whatever land you buy to own, you must make arrangements so it can be returned to its original owner.
And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
25 If one of your people becomes poor and sells you some of their land, their close family can come and buy back what they have sold.
If thy brother grow poor, and sell of his possession, then shall his redeemer, his nearest relation, come and redeem that which his brother sold.
26 However, if they don't have anyone who can buy it back, but in the meantime their financial situation improves and they have enough to buy back the land,
And if the man have no one having right of redemption, and his hand have acquired and found what sufficeth for its redemption,
27 they will work how many years it has been since the sale, and pay back the balance to the person who bought it, and go back to their property
then shall he reckon the years since the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; and so return unto his possession.
28 If they can't raise enough to pay the person back for the land, the buyer will remain its owner until the Jubilee Year. But in the Jubilee the land will be returned so that the original owner can so that they can go back to their property.
And if his hand have not found what sufficeth for him to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of the purchaser, until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
29 If someone sells a house located in a walled town, they have the right to buy it back for a full year after selling it. It can be bought back any time during that year.
And if any one sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he shall have the right of redemption up to the end of the year of the sale thereof; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption.
30 If it isn't bought back be the end of a full year, then ownership of the house in the walled town is permanently transferred to the one who bought it and their descendants. It won't be returned in the Jubilee.
But if it be not redeemed until a whole year is complete, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee.
31 But houses in villages that don't have walls around them are to be treated as located in the fields. They can be bought back, and will be returned in the Jubilee.
But the houses in villages that have no wall round about them shall be reckoned as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee.
32 However, the Levites always have the right to buy back their houses in the towns that belong to them.
But as to the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites shall have a perpetual right of redemption.
33 Whatever the Levites own can be bought back, even houses sold in their towns, and must be returned in the Jubilee. That's because the houses in the towns of the Levites are what they were given to own as their share among the Israelites.
And if any one redeem from one of the Levites, then the house that was sold, in the city of his possession, shall go out in the jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
34 However, the fields surrounding their towns must not be sold because they belong to the Levites permanently.
And the field of the suburbs of their cities shall not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
35 If any of your people become poor and can't survive, you must help them in the same way you would help a foreigner or a stranger, so that they can go on living in your neighborhood.
And if thy brother grow poor, and he be fallen into decay beside thee, then thou shalt relieve him, [be he] stranger or sojourner, that he may live beside thee.
36 Don't make them pay you any interest or demand more than they borrowed, but respect your God so that they can remain living in your area.
Thou shalt take no usury nor increase of him; and thou shalt fear thy God; that thy brother may live beside thee.
37 Don't lend them silver with interest or sell them food at an inflated price.
Thy money shalt thou not give him upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
38 Remember, I am the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
39 If any of your people become poor and have to sell themselves to work for you, don't force them to work as a slave.
And if thy brother grow poor beside thee, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
40 Have them live with you like a paid worker who is staying with you for a while. They are to work for you until the Jubilee Year.
as a hired servant, as a sojourner, shall he be with thee; until the year of jubilee shall he serve thee.
41 Then they and their children must be freed, and they can go back to their family and to their family's property.
Then shall he depart from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
42 Israelites are not to be sold as slaves because they belong to me as my slaves—I led them out of Egypt.
For they are my bondmen, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as [men] sell bondmen.
43 Don't treat them with brutality. Have respect for your God.
Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; and thou shalt fear thy God.
44 Buy your male and female slaves from the surrounding nations.
And as for thy bondman and thy handmaid whom thou shalt have — of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and handmaids.
45 You can also buy them from foreigners who have come to live among you, or from their descendants born in your land. You can treat them as your property.
Moreover of the children of them that dwell as sojourners with you, of them may ye buy, and of their family that is with you, which they beget in your land, and they shall be your possession.
46 You can pass them on to your children to inherit as property after you die. You can make them slaves for life, but you must not brutally treat any of your own people, the Israelites, as a slave.
And ye shall leave them as an inheritance to your children after you, to inherit them as a possession: these may ye make your bondmen for ever; but as for your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule over one another with rigour.
47 If a foreigner among you becomes successful, and one of your people living nearby becomes poor and sells themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner's family,
And if a stranger or sojourner become wealthy beside thee, and thy brother beside him grow poor, and sell himself unto the stranger, who is settled by thee, or to a scion of the stranger's family,
48 they still have the right of being bought back after the sale. A member of their family can buy them back—
after that he is sold there shall be right of redemption for him; one of his brethren may redeem him.
49 an uncle or cousin or any close relative from their family can buy them back. If they become successful, they can buy themselves back.
Either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or one of his next relations of his family may redeem him; or if his means be sufficient, he may redeem himself.
50 The person concerned and their buyer will work out the time from the year of the sale up to the Jubilee Year. The price will depend on the number of years, calculated using the daily rate for a paid worker.
And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of the years, according to the days of a hired servant shall he be with him.
51 If there are many years left, they must pay a larger percentage of the purchase price.
If there are yet many years, according unto them shall he return his redemption [money] out of the money that he was bought for;
52 If there are only a few years remaining before the Jubilee Year, then they only have to pay a percentage depending on the number of years still left.
and if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his [remaining] years [of service] shall he give him back his redemption [money].
53 They are to live with their foreign owner just like a paid worker, hired from year to year, but see to it that the owner doesn't treat him brutally.
As a hired servant shall he be with him year by year; [his master] shall not rule with rigour over him before thine eyes.
54 If they are not bought back in any of the ways described, they and their children shall be freed in the Jubilee Year.
And if he be not redeemed in this manner, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he and his children with him.
55 For the Israelites belong to me as my slaves. They are my slaves—I led them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
For the children of Israel are servants unto me; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
