The Sabbath Year

25 ^(A)The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into ^(B)the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. ³ For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, ⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. ^5 (C)You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. ⁶ The Sabbath of the land^[a] shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves^[b] and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, ⁷ and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: ^(D)all its yield shall be for food.

The Year of Jubilee

⁸ “You shall count seven weeks^[c] of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. ⁹ Then you shall sound ^(E)the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. ^(F)On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. ¹⁰ And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and ^(G)proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of ^(H)you shall return to his clan. ¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it ^(I)you shall neither sow nor reap ^(J)what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. ¹² For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. ^(K)You may eat the produce of the field.^[d]

^13 (L)“In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. ¹⁴ And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, ^(M)you shall not wrong one another. ^15 (N)You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. ¹⁶ If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. ^17 (O)You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.

^18 (P)“Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then ^(Q)you will dwell in the land securely. ^19 (R)The land will yield its fruit, and ^(S)you will eat your fill ^(T)and dwell in it securely. ²⁰ And if you say, ^(U)‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if ^(V)we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ ²¹ I will ^(W)command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. ^22 (X)When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of ^(Y)the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

Redemption of Property

²³ “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for ^(Z)the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. ²⁴ And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

²⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, ^(AA)then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. ²⁶ If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, ²⁷ let ^(AB)him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. ²⁸ But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall ^(AC)be released, and ^(AD)he shall return to his property.

²⁹ “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. ³⁰ If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; ^(AE)it shall not be released in the jubilee. ³¹ But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and ^(AF)they shall be released in the jubilee. ³² As for ^(AG)the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. ³³ And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. ³⁴ But the fields ^(AH)of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.

Kindness for Poor Brothers

³⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, ^(AI)you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. ^36 (AJ)Take no interest from him or profit, but ^(AK)fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. ^37 (AL)You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. ^38 (AM)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 (AN)“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: ⁴⁰ he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. ^41 (AO)Then he shall go out from you, ^(AP)he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return ^(AQ)to the possession of his fathers. ⁴² For they are ^(AR)my servants,^[e] whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. ^43 (AS)You shall not rule over him ^(AT)ruthlessly but ^(AU)shall fear your God. ⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. ^45 (AV)You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. ⁴⁶ You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel ^(AW)you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

Redeeming a Poor Man

⁴⁷ “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and ^(AX)your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, ⁴⁸ then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹ or his uncle or his cousin may ^(AY)redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he ^(AZ)grows rich he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be ^(BA)rated as the time of a hired worker. ⁵¹ If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. ⁵² If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. ⁵³ He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. ^(BB)He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. ⁵⁴ And if he is not redeemed by these means, then ^(BC)he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. ⁵⁵ For it is ^(BD)to me that the people of Israel are servants.^[f] They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Blessings for Obedience

26 “You shall not make ^(BE)idols for yourselves or erect an ^(BF)image or ^(BG)pillar, and you shall not set up a ^(BH)figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. ^2 (BI)You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

^3 (BJ)“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, ⁴ then ^(BK)I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ^5 (BL)Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And ^(BM)you shall eat your bread to the full and ^(BN)dwell in your land securely. ^6 (BO)I will give peace in the land, and ^(BP)you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And ^(BQ)I will remove harmful beasts from the land, ^(BR)and the sword shall not go through your land. ⁷ You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ^8 (BS)Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ^9 (BT)I will turn to you and ^(BU)make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You shall eat ^(BV)old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. ^11 (BW)I will make my dwelling^[g] among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. ^12 (BX)And I ^(BY)will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. ^13 (BZ)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. ^(CA)And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Punishment for Disobedience

^14 (CB)“But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, ¹⁵ if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but ^(CC)break my covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with ^(CD)wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And ^(CE)you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷ I will ^(CF)set my face against you, and ^(CG)you shall be struck down before your enemies. ^(CH)Those who hate you shall rule over you, and ^(CI)you shall flee when none pursues you. ¹⁸ And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again ^(CJ)sevenfold for your sins, ¹⁹ and I will break ^(CK)the pride of your power, and I ^(CL)will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. ²⁰ And ^(CM)your strength shall be spent in vain, for ^(CN)your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

^21 (CO)“Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. ²² And ^(CP)I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that ^(CQ)your roads shall be deserted.

²³ “And ^(CR)if by this discipline you are not turned to me ^(CS)but walk contrary to me, ^24 (CT)then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. ²⁵ And ^(CU)I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, ^(CV)I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. ^26 (CW)When I break your supply^[h] of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and ^(CX)you shall eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ “But ^(CY)if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, ²⁸ then I will walk contrary to you ^(CZ)in fury, and I myself will discipline you ^(DA)sevenfold for your sins. ^29 (DB)You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ And ^(DC)I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and ^(DD)cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. ³¹ And I will ^(DE)lay your cities waste and will ^(DF)make your sanctuaries desolate, and ^(DG)I will not smell your pleasing aromas. ³² And ^(DH)I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be ^(DI)appalled at it. ³³ And ^(DJ)I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

^34 (DK)“Then the land shall enjoy^[i] its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it. ³⁶ And as for those of you who are left, ^(DL)I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The ^(DM)sound of a ^(DN)driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. ³⁷ They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And ^(DO)you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. ³⁹ And those of you who are left shall ^(DP)rot away in your enemies' lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.

⁴⁰ “But if ^(DQ)they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they ^(DR)committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, ⁴¹ so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their ^(DS)uncircumcised heart is ^(DT)humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, ⁴² then I will ^(DU)remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will ^(DV)remember the land. ⁴³ But ^(DW)the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, ^(DX)I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and ^(DY)break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, ^(DZ)whom I brought out of the land of Egypt ^(EA)in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”

^46 (EB)These are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses ^(EC)on Mount Sinai.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(A)It was now two days before ^(B)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, ^(D)lest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^3 (E)And while he was at ^(F)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^[a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(G)given to the poor.” And they ^(H)scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For ^(I)you always have the poor with you, and whenever ^(J)you want, you can do good for them. But ^(K)you will not always have me. ^8 (L)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(M)for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever ^(N)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told ^(O)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^10 (P)Then ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, ^(R)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to ^(S)betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^12 (T)And on ^(U)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^(V)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent ^(W)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ^(X)‘The Teacher says, Where is ^(Y)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you ^(Z)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (AA)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, ^(AB)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, ^(AC)one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is ^(AD)one of the twelve, ^(AE)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man goes ^(AF)as it is written of him, but ^(AG)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AH)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^22 (AI)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after ^(AJ)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; ^(AK)this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had ^(AL)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, ^(AM)“This is my ^(AN)blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for ^(AO)many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (AP)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(AQ)they went out to ^(AR)the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will ^(AS)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, ^(AT)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^29 (AU)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And ^(AV)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before ^(AW)the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But ^(AX)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^32 (AY)And they went ^(AZ)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him ^(BA)Peter and James and John, and began ^(BB)to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, ^(BC)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and ^(BD)watch.”^{[d] 35} And going a little farther, he fell on the ground ^(BE)and prayed that, if it were possible, ^(BF)the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, ^(BG)“Abba, Father, ^(BH)all things are possible for you. Remove ^(BI)this cup from me. ^(BJ)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ^38 (BK)Watch and ^(BL)pray that you may not ^(BM)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, ^(BN)saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(BO)their eyes were very heavy, and ^(BP)they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? ^(BQ)It is enough; ^(BR)the hour has come. ^(BS)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^43 (BT)And immediately, while he was still speaking, ^(BU)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ^(BV)“Rabbi!” And he ^(BW)kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his ^(BX)sword and struck the servant^[e] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ^49 (BY)Day after day I was with you in the temple ^(BZ)teaching, and you did not seize me. But ^(CA)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ^50 (CB)And they all left him and fled.

A Young Man Flees

⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but ^(CC)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, ⁵² but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Council

^53 (CD)And ^(CE)they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ^54 (CF)And ^(CG)Peter had followed him at a distance, ^(CH)right into ^(CI)the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with ^(CJ)the guards and ^(CK)warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole council^[f] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ^56 (CL)For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony ^(CM)did not agree. ⁵⁷ And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ^58 (CN)“We heard him say, ^(CO)‘I will destroy this temple ^(CP)that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, ^(CQ)not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{[g] 61} But ^(CR)he remained silent and made no answer. ^(CS)Again the high priest asked him, “Are you ^(CT)the Christ, the Son of ^(CU)the Blessed?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and ^(CV)you will see the Son of Man ^(CW)seated at the right hand of Power, and ^(CX)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And the high priest ^(CY)tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? ⁶⁴ You have heard ^(CZ)his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they ^(DA)all condemned him as ^(DB)deserving death. ^65 (DC)And some began ^(DD)to spit on him and ^(DE)to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him ^(DF)with blows.

Peter Denies Jesus

^66 (DG)And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(DH)warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway^[h] and ^(DI)the rooster crowed.^{[i] 69} And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” ⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed ^(DJ)a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ^(DK)“Before the rooster crows twice, you will ^(DL)deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^[j]