Leviticus 25

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

And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:

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 children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the 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;

Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof:

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 to the land, of the resting of the Lord: thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy 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,

What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes of the firstfruits as a vintage: for it is a year of rest to the land:

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,

But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy manservant, to thy maidservant and thy hireling, and to the strangers that sojourn with thee:

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

All things that grow shall be meat to thy beasts and to thy cattle.

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

Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years, that is to say, seven times seven, which together make 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.

And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all 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,

And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:

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;

Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,

12 but anoon ye schulen ete thingis takun awey;

Because of the sanctification of the jubilee: but as they grow you shall presently eat them.

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

In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions.

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,

When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him; grieve not thy brother: but thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee.

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

And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits.

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.

The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits.

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

Do not afflict your countrymen, but let every one fear his God: because 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,

Do my precepts, and keep my judgments, and fulfill them: that you may dwell in the land without any fear,

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.

And the ground may yield you its fruits, of which you may eat your fill, fearing no mall’s invasion.

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

But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits?

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

I will give you my blessing the sixth year, and it shall yield the fruits of 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.

And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year: till new grow up, you shall eat the old store.

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 also shall not be sold for ever: because it is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me.

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

For which cause all the country of your possession shall be under the condition of redemption.

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 thy brother being impoverished sell his little possession, and his kinsman will, he may redeem what he had sold.

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

But if he have no kinsman, and he himself can find the price to redeem it:

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.

The value of the fruits shall be counted from that time when he sold it: and the overplus he shall restore to the buyer, and so shall receive his possession again.

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 his hands find not the means to repay the price, the buyer shall have what he bought, until the year of the jubilee. For in that year all that is sold shall return to the owner, and to the ancient possessor.

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

He that selleth a house within the walls of a city, shall have the liberty to redeem it, until one year be expired:

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 he redeem it not, and the whole year be fully out, the buyer shall possess it, and his posterity for ever, and it cannot be redeemed, not even 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 if the house be in a village, that hath no walls, it shall be sold according to the same law as the fields: if it be not redeemed before, in the jubilee it shall return to the owner.

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

The houses of Levites, which are in cities, may always be redeemed:

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;

If they be not redeemed, in the jubilee they shall all return to the owners, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possessions among the children of Israel.

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

But let not their suburbs be sold, because it is a perpetual 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,

If thy brother be impoverished, and weak of hand, and thou receive him as a stranger and sojourner, and he live with thee,

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

Take not usury of him nor more than thou gavest: fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee.

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

Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor exact of him any increase of fruits.

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, that I might give you the land of Chanaan, and might 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 thy brother constrained by poverty, sell himself to thee, thou shalt not oppress him with the service of bondservants:

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

But he shall be as a hireling, and a sojourner: he shall work with thee until the year of the 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.

And afterwards he shall go out with his children, and shall return to his kindred and to the possession 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;

For they are my servants, and I brought them out of the land of Egypt: let them not be sold as bondmen:

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

Afflict him not by might, but fear thy God.

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

Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you.

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

And of the strangers that sojourn among you, or that were born of them in your land, these you shall have for servants:

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.

And by right of inheritance shall leave them to your posterity, and shall possess them for ever. But oppress not your brethren the children of Israel by might.

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 the hand of a stranger or a sojourner grow strong among you, and thy brother being impoverished sell himself to him, or to any of his race:

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,

After the sale he may be redeemed. He that will of his brethren shall 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 his uncle’s son, or his kinsman, by blood, or by affinity. But if he himself be able also, he shall 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.

Counting only the years from the time of his selling unto the year of the jubilee: and counting the money that he was sold for, according to the number of the years and the reckoning of a hired servant,

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 there be many years that remain until the jubilee, according to them shall he also repay the price.

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

If few, he shall make the reckoning with him according to the number of the years, and shall repay to the buyer of what remaineth of the 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.

His wages being allowed for which he served before: he shall not afflict him violently in thy 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,

And if by these means he cannot be redeemed, in the year of the jubilee he shall go out with his children.

55 whiche Y ledde out of the lond of Egipt.

For the children of Israel are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.