Leviticus 25
1 And the Lord spak to Moises in the hil of Synai,
Yahweh said to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain,
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;
“Tell the Israelis [that I, Yahweh, say this]: When you enter the land that I am about to give you, every seventh year you must honor me by [not planting any seeds. You will be] allowing the ground to rest.
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 are to plant seeds in your fields and prune your grapevines and harvest the crops.
4 forsothe in the seuenthe yeer schal be sabat of the erthe of the restyng of the Lord;
But the seventh/next year you must [dedicate] to me, and allow your fields to rest. Do not plant seeds in your fields or prune your grapevines [during that year].
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,
Do not reap [the grain] that grows in your fields without having been planted, or harvest the grapes that grow [without the vines being pruned]; you must allow the land to rest for that one year.
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 you are permitted to eat whatever crops grow by themselves during that year without having been planted. You and your male and female servants, and workers whom you have hired, and people who are living among you temporarily are permitted to eat it.
7 schulen yyue mete to thi werk beestis and smale beestis.
Also, [during that year] your livestock and the wild animals in your land are permitted to eat it.’
8 Also thou schalt noumbre to thee seuene woukis of yeeris, that is, seuene sithes seuene, whiche togidere maken nyn and fourti yeer;
‘Also, after every 49 years has ended, you must do this: (On the tenth day of the seventh month/At the end of September) [of the next/50th year], blow trumpets throughout the country, to declare that it will be a day on which you request that I forgive you for the sins that you have committed.
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.
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,
Set apart that year, and proclaim that throughout the country, it will be a year of restoring the land and freeing people: All the people [who sold their property] will receive back the property that they previously owned, and slaves must be (freed/allowed to return to [their property and] their families).
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;
That year will be a Year of Celebration; [during that year] do not plant anything, and do not harvest [in the usual way] the grain/wheat that grows without having been planted, or the grapes that grow without the vines being pruned.
12 but anoon ye schulen ete thingis takun awey;
It will be a Year of Celebration, so eat [only] what grows in the fields (by itself/without any work being done to produce anything).
13 in the yeer of iubilee alle men go ayen to her possessiouns.
‘In that Year of Celebration, everyone must return to their 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 sell some of your land to a fellow Israeli or if you buy some land from one of them, you must treat that person fairly:
15 and bi the rekenyng of fruytis he schal sille to thee.
If you buy land, the price that you will pay will depend on the number of years there will be until the next Year of Celebration. If someone sells land to you, he will charge a price that is determined by the number of years until the next Year of Celebration.
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.
If there will be many years before the next Year of Celebration, the price will be higher; if there will be only a few years until the next Year of Celebration, the price will be lower. [You could say that] what he is really selling you is the number of crops [which you can harvest before the next Year of Celebration].
17 Nyle ye turment men of youre lynagis, but ech man drede his God; for Y am youre Lord God.
Do not cheat each other; instead, revere me. I, Yahweh your God, [am the one who am commanding this].
18 Do ye my comaundementis, and kepe ye my domes, and fille ye tho, that ye moun dwelle in his lond without ony drede,
‘Obey all my laws [DOU] carefully. If you do that, you will continue to live safely in your country [DOU].
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 crops will grow well on the land, and you will have plenty to eat.
20 That if ye seien, what schulen we ete in the seuenthe yeer, if we sowen not, nether gaderen oure fruytis?
But you may ask, “If we do not plant or harvest our crops during the seventh year, what will we have to eat?”
21 Y schal yyue my blessyng to you in the sixte yeer, and it schal make fruytis of three yeer;
[My answer is that] I will bless you very much during the sixth/previous year, with the result that during that year there will be enough crops to provide food for you 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.
Then, after you plant seed during the eighth/next year [and wait for the crops to grow], you will eat the food grown in the sixth year, and continue to eat it until more food is harvested in the ninth year!
23 Also the lond schal not be seeld `in to with outen ende, for it is myn, and ye ben my comelyngis and tenauntis;
‘You must not sell any of your land to belong to someone else permanently, because the land [is not yours, it]; is really mine, and you are only living on it temporarily and (farming/taking care of) it for me.
24 wherfor al the cuntre of youre possessioun schal be seeld vndur the condicioun of ayenbiyng.
Throughout the country that you will possess, you must remember that if someone sells some of his land to you, he is permitted to buy it back from you [if he wants to].
25 If thi brother is maad pore, and sillith his litil possessioun, and his nyy kynesman wole, he may ayenbie that that he seelde;
‘So, if one of your fellow Israelis becomes poor and sells some of his property [to obtain some money], the person who is most closely related to him is permitted to come and buy that land for him.
26 sotheli if he hath no nyy kynesman, and he may fynde prijs to ayenbie,
However, if a man has no one to buy the land for him, and he himself prospers again and saves enough money to buy that land back,
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 must calculate how many years there will be until the next Year of Celebration. Then he must pay to the man who bought the land the money that he would have earned by continuing to grow crops on that land for those years.
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 the original owner does not have any money to buy the land that he sold, it will continue to belong to the man who bought it, until the next Year of Celebration. In that year it must be returned to its original owner, and he will be able to live on it again.
29 He that sillith his hows, with ynne the wallis of a citee, schal haue licence to ayenbie til o yeer be fillid;
‘If someone who lives in a city that has a wall around it sells a house there, during the next year he will be permitted to buy it from the man who bought it.
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 does not buy it during that year, it will belong permanently to the man who bought it and to his descendants. It must not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Celebration.
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 that are in villages that do not have walls around them are considered to be as though they are in a field. So if someone sells one of those houses, he is permitted to buy it back at any time. And [if he does not buy it], it must be returned to him in the Year of Celebration.
32 The howsis of dekenes, that ben in citees, moun euer be ayenbouyt; if tho ben not ayenbouyt,
‘If any descendants of Levi sell their houses in the towns in which they live, they are permitted to buy them back at any time.
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;
And because the houses in their towns are on land that [was given to them by] other Israelis, that land will become theirs again in the Year of Celebration [if they do not buy it back before then].
34 forsothe the suburbabis of hem schulen not be seeld, for it is euerlastynge possessioun.
But the pastureland near their towns must not be sold. It must belong to the original owners permanently/forever.
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 one of your fellow Israelis becomes poor and is unable to buy what he needs [IDM], others of you must help him like you would help a foreigner who is living among you [DOU] temporarily.
36 take thou not vsuris of hym, nether more than thou hast youe; drede thou thi God, that thi brothir mai lyue anentis thee.
[If you lend money to him], do not charge any kind of interest [DOU]. Instead, [show by what you do that you] revere me, your God, and help that man, in order that he will be able to continue to 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;
If you lend him money, do not charge interest; and if you sell food to him, [charge him only what you paid for it]; do not get a profit from it.
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.
[Do not forget that] I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God and to give you the land of Canaan, [and I did not charge you for doing that].
39 If thi brother compellid bi pouert sillith hym silf to thee, thou schalt not oppresse hym bi seruage of seruauntis,
‘If one of your fellow Israelis becomes poor and sells himself to you, do not force him to work like a slave.
40 but he schal be as an hirid man and tenaunt; `til to the yeer of iubilee he schal worche at thee,
Treat him like you treat workers that you hire or like someone who is living on your land temporarily. But he must work for you [only] until the Year of Celebration.
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.
During that year, you must free him, and he will go back to his family and to the property that his ancestors owned.
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;
[It is as though] you Israelis are my slaves/servants, whom I [freed from being slaves] in Egypt. So none of you should be sold to become slaves.
43 turmente thou not hem bi thi power, but drede thou thi Lord.
And do not treat the Israelis whom you buy cruelly; instead, revere me, your God.
44 A seruaunt and handmaide be to you of naciouns that ben in youre cumpas,
‘If you want to have slaves, you are permitted to buy them from nearby countries.
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 are also permitted to buy some of the foreigners who are living among you, and members of their clans that were born in your country. Then you will own them.
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.
They will be your slaves for the remaining years of your life, and after you die, it is permitted for your children to own them. But you must not act in brutal ways toward your fellow Israelis.
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 who is living among you [DOU] becomes rich, and if one of your fellow Israelis becomes poor and sells himself to that foreigner or to a member of his clan/family,
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,
it is permitted for someone to pay for him to be freed. It is permitted for one of his relatives to pay for him to be released:
49 and the sone of `the fadris brother, and kynesman, and alye. Ellis if also he schal mow, he schal ayenbie hym silf,
An uncle or a cousin or another relative in his clan may pay for him to be released. Or, if he prospers [and gets enough money], he is permitted to pay for his own release.
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.
The man who wants to pay for his own release must count the number of years until the next Year of Celebration. The price he pays to the man who bought him will depend on the pay that would be given to a hired worker for that number of years.
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 are a lot of years that remain until the Year of Celebration, he must pay for his release a larger amount of the money.
52 he schal sette rikenyng with hym bi the noumbre of yeeris;
If there are only a few years that remain until the Year of Celebration, he must pay a smaller amount to be released.
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.
During the years that he is working for the man who bought him, the man who bought him must treat him like he would treat a hired worker, and all of you must make sure that his owner does not treat him cruelly.
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 even if a fellow Israeli who has sold himself to a rich man is not able to pay for himself to be freed by any of these ways, he and his children must be freed in the Year of Celebration,
55 whiche Y ledde out of the lond of Egipt.
because [it is as though] you Israelis are my slaves/servants, whom I, Yahweh your God, freed from [being slaves in] Egypt.’”
