Leviticus 25

1 And the Lord spak to Moises in the hil of Synai,

Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,

2 and seide, Speke thou to the sones of Israel, and thou schalt seye to hem, Whanne ye han entrid in to the lond which Y schal yyue to you, `the erthe kepe the sabat of the Lord;

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.

3 sixe yeeris thou schalt sowe thi feeld, and sixe yeeris thou schalt kitte thi vyner, and thou schalt gadere the fruytis ther of;

For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops.

4 forsothe in the seuenthe yeer schal be sabat of the erthe of the restyng of the Lord;

But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.

5 thou schalt not sowe the feeld, and thou schalt not kitte the vyner, thou schalt not repe tho thingis whiche the erthe bryngith forth `bi fre wille, and thou schalt not gadere the grapis of thi firste fruytis, as vyndage; for it is the yeer of restyng of the lond; but tho schulen be to you in to mete,

You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.

6 to thee, and to thi seruaunt, to thin handmaide, and to thin hirid man, and to the comelyng which is a pilgrym at thee; alle thingis that `comen forth,

Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you,

7 schulen yyue mete to thi werk beestis and smale beestis.

and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.

8 Also thou schalt noumbre to thee seuene woukis of yeeris, that is, seuene sithes seuene, whiche togidere maken nyn and fourti yeer;

And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years.

9 and thou schalt sowne with a clarioun in the seuenthe monethe, in the tenthe dai of the monethe, in the tyme of propiciacioun, `that is, merci, in al youre lond.

Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.

10 And thou schalt halewe the fiftithe yeer, and thou schalt clepe remissioun to alle the dwellers of thi lond; for thilke yeer is iubilee; a man schal turne ayen to hys possessioun, and ech man schal go ayen to the firste meynee,

So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.

11 for it is iubilee, and the fiftithe yeer. Ye schulen not sowe, nether ye schulen repe thingis, that comen forth freli in the feeld, and ye schulen not gadere the firste fruytis of vyndage, for the halewyng of iubilee;

The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.

12 but anoon ye schulen ete thingis takun awey;

For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.

13 in the yeer of iubilee alle men go ayen to her possessiouns.

In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.

14 Whanne thou schalt sille ony thing to thi citeseyn, ether schalt bie of hym, make thou not sory thi brother, but bi the noumbre of `yeeris of iubile thou schalt bie of him,

If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.

15 and bi the rekenyng of fruytis he schal sille to thee.

You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining.

16 Bi as myche as mo yeeris dwellen after the iubilee, by so myche also the prijs schal encreesse, and bi as myche as thou noumbrist lesse of tyme, bi so myche and the biyng schal cost lesse; for he schal sille to thee the time of fruytis.

You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.

17 Nyle ye turment men of youre lynagis, but ech man drede his God; for Y am youre Lord God.

Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

18 Do ye my comaundementis, and kepe ye my domes, and fille ye tho, that ye moun dwelle in his lond without ony drede,

You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land.

19 and that the erthe brynge forth hise fruytis to you, whiche ye schulen ete `til to fulnesse, and drede not the assailyng of ony man.

Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land.

20 That if ye seien, what schulen we ete in the seuenthe yeer, if we sowen not, nether gaderen oure fruytis?

Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’

21 Y schal yyue my blessyng to you in the sixte yeer, and it schal make fruytis of three yeer;

But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.

22 and ye schulen sowe in the eiyte yeer, and ye schulen ete elde fruytis `til to the nynthe yeer; til newe thingis comen forth ye schulen ete the elde thingis.

While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.

23 Also the lond schal not be seeld `in to with outen ende, for it is myn, and ye ben my comelyngis and tenauntis;

The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.

24 wherfor al the cuntre of youre possessioun schal be seeld vndur the condicioun of ayenbiyng.

Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

25 If thi brother is maad pore, and sillith his litil possessioun, and his nyy kynesman wole, he may ayenbie that that he seelde;

If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.

26 sotheli if he hath no nyy kynesman, and he may fynde prijs to ayenbie,

Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land,

27 the fruytis schulen be rekynyd fro that tyme in which he seelde, and he schal yelde `that that is residue to the biere, and he schal resseyue so his possessioun.

he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property.

28 That if his hond fynde not, that he yelde the prijs, the biere schal haue that that he bouyte, `til to the yeer of iubilee; for in that yeer ech sillyng schal go ayen to the lord, and to the firste weldere.

But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.

29 He that sillith his hows, with ynne the wallis of a citee, schal haue licence to ayenbie til o yeer be fillid;

If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed.

30 if he ayenbieth not, and the sercle of the yeer is passid, the biere schal welde it, and his eiris `in to with outen ende, and it schal not mow be ayenbouyt, ye, in the iubilee.

If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee.

31 Forsothe if the hows is in a town `that hath not wallis, it schal be seeld bi the lawe of feeldis; sotheli if it is not ayenbouyt in the iubilee, it schal turne ayen to `his lord.

But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.

32 The howsis of dekenes, that ben in citees, moun euer be ayenbouyt; if tho ben not ayenbouyt,

As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess.

33 tho schulen turne ayen in the iubilee `to the lordis; for the `howsis of the citees of dekenes ben for possessiouns among the sones of Israel;

So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites.

34 forsothe the suburbabis of hem schulen not be seeld, for it is euerlastynge possessioun.

But the open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for this is their permanent possession.

35 If thi brother is maad pore, and feble in power, and thou resseyuest hym as a comelyng and pilgrym, and he lyueth with thee,

Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.

36 take thou not vsuris of hym, nether more than thou hast youe; drede thou thi God, that thi brothir mai lyue anentis thee.

Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

37 Thou schalt not yyue to hym thi money to vsure, and thou schalt not axe ouer `aboundaunce, ether encrees ouer of fruytis;

You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.

38 Y am youre Lord God, that ladde you out of the lond of Egipt, that Y schulde yyue to you the lond of Canaan, and that Y schulde be youre God.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39 If thi brother compellid bi pouert sillith hym silf to thee, thou schalt not oppresse hym bi seruage of seruauntis,

If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

40 but he schal be as an hirid man and tenaunt; `til to the yeer of iubilee he schal worche at thee,

Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.

41 and aftirward he schal go out with his fre children, and he schal turne ayen to the kynrede, and to `the possessioun of his fadris.

Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers.

42 For thei ben my seruauntis, and Y ledde hem out of the lond of Egipt; thei schulen not be seeld bi the condicioun of seruauntis;

Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.

43 turmente thou not hem bi thi power, but drede thou thi Lord.

You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

44 A seruaunt and handmaide be to you of naciouns that ben in youre cumpas,

Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them.

45 and of comelyngis that ben pilgrimys at you, ether thei that ben borun of hem in youre lond; ye schulen haue these seruauntis,

You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property.

46 and bi riyt of eritage ye schulen `sende ouer to aftir comeris, and ye schulen welde with outen ende; sothely oppresse ye not bi power youre britheren, the sones of Israel.

You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

47 If the hond of a comelyng and of a pilgrim wexith strong at you, and thi brother is maad pore, and sillith hym silf to hym,

If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan,

48 ether to ony of his kyn, he may be ayenbouyt aftir the sillyng; he that wole of hise britheren, ayenbie hym; bothe `the brother of fadir,

he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him:

49 and the sone of `the fadris brother, and kynesman, and alye. Ellis if also he schal mow, he schal ayenbie hym silf,

either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.

50 while the yeeris ben rykenid oneli fro the tyme of his sillyng `til in to the yeer of iubylee; and while the money, for which he was seeld, is rikenyd bi the noumbre of yeeris, and while the hire of an hirid man is rikenyd.

He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand.

51 If mo yeeris ben that dwellen `til to the iubilee, bi these yeeris he schal yelde also the prijs; if fewe yeeris ben,

If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price.

52 he schal sette rikenyng with hym bi the noumbre of yeeris;

If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years.

53 and he schal yeelde to the biere that that is residue of yeeris, while tho yeeris, bi whiche he seruyde bifore, ben rikenyd for hiris; he schal not turmente `that Ebreu violentli in thi siyt.

He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

54 That if he may not be ayenbouyt bi this, he schal go out with his free children in the `yeer of iubilee; for the sones of Israel ben myn seruauntis,

Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee.

55 whiche Y ledde out of the lond of Egipt.

For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.