The Year of Jubilee

⁸ “‘Count off seven groups of seven years, [^Lseven times seven years] or forty-nine years. During that time there will be seven ·years of rest [sabbatical years; 25:1–7] for the land. ⁹ On the Day of ·Cleansing [Atonement; 16:1–34], you must blow the horn of a ·male sheep [ram]; this will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You must blow the horn through the whole country. ¹⁰ Make the fiftieth year a ·special [consecrated; holy] year, and announce ·freedom [liberty] for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee [^Ca word related to the Hebrew for “ram’s horn”]. You will each go back to your own property, each to your own family and family group. ¹¹ The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t plant seeds, or harvest the crops that grow by themselves, or gather grapes from the vines that are not ·trimmed [pruned]. ¹² That year is Jubilee; it will be a holy time for you. You may eat only the crops that come from the field.