Leviticus 25
New Living Translation
The Sabbath Year
25 While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. 3 For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, 4 but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. 5 And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. 6 But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. 7 Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces.
The Year of Jubilee
8 “In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. 9 Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year,[a] blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. 10 Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. 11 This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don’t gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. 12 It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own. 13 In the Year of Jubilee each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors.
14 “When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other. 15 When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. 16 The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests. 17 Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the Lord your God.
18 “If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations. 19 Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it. 20 But you might ask, ‘What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?’ 21 Be assured that I will send my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a crop large enough for three years. 22 When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year.
Redemption of Property
23 “The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.
24 “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back. 25 If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him. 26 If there is no close relative to buy the land, but the person who sold it gets enough money to buy it back, 27 he then has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be discounted according to the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. In this way the original owner can then return to the land. 28 But if the original owner cannot afford to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land.
29 “Anyone who sells a house inside a walled town has the right to buy it back for a full year after its sale. During that year, the seller retains the right to buy it back. 30 But if it is not bought back within a year, the sale of the house within the walled town cannot be reversed. It will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. 31 But a house in a village—a settlement without fortified walls—will be treated like property in the countryside. Such a house may be bought back at any time, and it must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
32 “The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them. 33 And any property that is sold by the Levites—all houses within the Levitical towns—must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the houses in the towns reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel. 34 The open pastureland around the Levitical towns may never be sold. It is their permanent possession.
Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved
35 “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. 36 Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. 37 Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. 38 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 one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. 40 Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. 41 At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. 42 The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. 43 Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.
44 “However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you. 45 You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, 46 passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way.
47 “Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family, 48 they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother, 49 an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back. They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered. 50 They will negotiate the price of their freedom with the person who bought them. The price will be based on the number of years from the time they were sold until the next Year of Jubilee—whatever it would cost to hire a worker for that period of time. 51 If many years still remain until the jubilee, they will repay the proper proportion of what they received when they sold themselves. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they will repay a small amount for their redemption. 53 The foreigner must treat them as workers hired on a yearly basis. You must not allow a foreigner to treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly. 54 If any Israelites have not been bought back by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, they and their children must be set free at that time. 55 For the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 25
International Standard Version
Sabbatical Years
25 The Lord told Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 “Tell the Israelis that when you enter the land that I’m about to give you, you are to let the land observe a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you may plant your fields, and for six years you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce. 4 But the seventh year is to be a Sabbath of rest for the land—a Sabbath for the Lord. You are not to plant your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You are not to gather what grows from the spilled kernels of your crops. You are not to pick the grapes of your untrimmed vines. Let it be a year of Sabbath for the land. 6 You may take the Sabbath produce[a] of the land for your food—you, your male and maid servants, your hired laborers, and the resident alien with you. 7 The cattle and the wild animals in your land—everything it produces—are for your food.
8 “Count for yourselves seven years of Sabbaths—seven times seven years. This set of seven weeks of years total 49 years for you. 9 Sound a horn on the tenth day of the seventh month of this fiftieth year.[b] Likewise, on the Day of Atonement, sound the horn throughout your land. 10 Set aside and consecrate the fiftieth year to declare liberty throughout the land for all of its inhabitants. It is to be a jubilee for you. Every person[c] is to return to his own land that he has inherited. Likewise, every person is to return to his tribe. 11 The fiftieth year is to be a year of jubilee for you. You are not to sow or harvest the spilled kernels that grow of themselves or pick grapes from the untrimmed vines 12 because it’s the jubilee—it’s sacred for you. But you may eat its produce from the field.
13 “During this year of jubilee, each person is to return to his own land that he has inherited. 14 So if you had sold property[d] to a neighbor or had acquired land from your neighbor, you are not to cheat one another. 15 According to the number of years after the jubilee, you may buy from your neighbor. And according to the number of years with crops, he may sell to you. 16 If the number of years after the jubilee[e] is more, increase the selling price. If the number of years after the jubilee[f] is few, decrease its selling price, because he’s selling to you according to the potential production volume[g] of the land.[h] 17 No one is to cheat his neighbor. Instead, you are to fear your God, because I am the Lord your God.
18 “Observe my statutes and keep my ordinances. Do them so that you may live securely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit and you’ll eat to your satisfaction and live securely.
20 “Now if you ask, ‘What will we eat during the seventh year? After all, we may not plant or even gather our produce!’ 21 I’ll command my blessing on you during the sixth year so that it will yield produce for three years! 22 That way, you are to sow in the eighth year, eating the produce from the old harvest. Until the ninth year when its produce comes in, you’ll eat from the old harvest.”
Land Redemption
23 “The land is not to be sold with any finality, because the land belongs to me. You’re sojourners and travelers[i] with me. 24 So throughout all of your land inheritance,[j] grant the right of redemption for the land.
25 “If your brother becomes so poor that he has to a sell portion of his inheritance, then his nearest kinsman redeemer is to come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a person[k] doesn’t have a kinsman redeemer, but has become rich[l] and found sufficient means for his redemption, 27 then let him account for the years for which it was sold, return the excess to the person to whom it was sold, and then return to his property. 28 If he’s not able to redeem it back for himself,[m] then what he sold is to remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee, it is to be returned so he may return to his property.
29 “If a person sells a residential house in a walled city, he is to redeem it within the year in which it was sold. He may have right to its redemption for a full year. 30 But if it’s not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house next to which is a wall is to belong in perpetuity to the one who bought it throughout his generations. It is not to be returned in the jubilee. 31 However, the houses in the villages that don’t have walls around them are to be categorized along with the fields of the land—they may be redeemed and returned in the jubilee. 32 Nevertheless, the cities that belong to the descendants of Levi—that is, the houses in the cities that belong to them—are to belong to the descendants of Levi perpetually as part of their[n] right of redemption. 33 If someone from the descendants of Levi redeems the houses in the cities that they own, they are to be returned in the jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the descendants of Levi are to remain their property among the Israelis. 34 Also, the open land of their cities is not to be sold, because it is to remain their perpetual inheritance.”
Treatment of Poor Israelis
35 “If your relative becomes so poor that he is indebted to you,[o] then you are to support him. You are to let him live with you just like the resident alien and the traveler. 36 You are not to take interest or profit from him. Instead, you are to fear your God and let your relative live with you. 37 You are not to loan him money with interest or sell him your food at a profit. 38 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 your brother with you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you, you are not to make him serve like a bond slave.[p] 40 Instead, he is to serve with you like a hired servant or a traveler who lives with you, until the year of jubilee. 41 Then he and his children with him may leave[q] to return to his family and his ancestor’s inheritance. 42 Since they’re my servants whom I’ve brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. 43 You are not to rule over them with harshness. You are to fear your God.”
Release of Slaves
44 “As for your male and maid slaves who will be with you, you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations. 45 You may also buy from resident aliens who live among you and their families who are with you, whom they fathered in your land. They may become your property. 46 You may give them as inherited property to your children[r] after you, to own as properties in perpetuity. You may make bond slaves of them, but no one is to rule over his fellow Israeli with harshness.
47 “If a resident alien or traveler becomes rich,[s] but your relative who lives next to him is so poor that he sells himself to that resident alien or traveler among you or to a member of the resident alien’s family, 48 he has the right to be redeemed after he sells himself. One of his brothers may redeem him. 49 His uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him or any blood[t] relative from his tribe may redeem him. If[u] he becomes rich,[v] then he may redeem himself.
50 “He is to bring an accounting to the one who bought him, starting from the year he had sold himself until the year of jubilee. The price of his sale is to correspond to the number of years comparable to the time a hired servant stays with him. 51 If there are still many years left, he is to refund the cost[w] of his redemption. 52 But if only a few years are left until the year of jubilee, he is to bring an accounting of the years that he is to refund for his redemption. 53 Like a hired servant, he is to remain with him year after year, but he is not to rule over him with what you see as severity. 54 If he isn’t redeemed by these, then he is to be set free in the year of jubilee—he and his children[x] with him— 55 because the Israelis are my servants. They’re my servants, since I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 25:6 The Heb. lacks produce
- Leviticus 25:9 The Heb. lacks of this fiftieth year
- Leviticus 25:10 Lit. man
- Leviticus 25:14 Lit. sold a ware
- Leviticus 25:16 The Heb. lacks after the jubilee
- Leviticus 25:16 The Heb. lacks after the jubilee
- Leviticus 25:16 Lit. the number
- Leviticus 25:16 The Heb. lacks of the land
- Leviticus 25:23 Lit. you are travelers with me
- Leviticus 25:24 Or possession
- Leviticus 25:26 Lit. man
- Leviticus 25:26 Lit. but his hands had overtaken with blessings
- Leviticus 25:28 Lit. If his hand can’t acquire it back for himself
- Leviticus 25:32 The Heb. lacks as part of their
- Leviticus 25:35 Lit. his hand fails with you
- Leviticus 25:39 Lit. slave of slaves
- Leviticus 25:41 Lit. may go out from you
- Leviticus 25:46 Lit. sons
- Leviticus 25:47 Lit. his hand overtakes
- Leviticus 25:49 Lit. flesh
- Leviticus 25:49 So LXX and Syriac
- Leviticus 25:49 Lit. his hand overtakes
- Leviticus 25:51 Or price-money
- Leviticus 25:54 Lit. his sons
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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