The Sabbatical Year and Year of Jubilee

25 The Lord then spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am going to give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. For (A)six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, but during (B)the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. You shall not reap your harvest’s [a]aftergrowth, and you shall not gather your grapes of untrimmed vines; the land shall have a sabbatical year. (C)All of you shall have the Sabbath produce of the land as food; for yourself, your male and female slaves, and your hired worker and your foreign resident, those who live as strangers among you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn [b]abroad on (D)the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. 10 So you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and (E)proclaim [c]a release throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, [d]and (F)each of you shall return to his own property, [e]and each of you shall return to his family. 11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor harvest its aftergrowth, nor gather grapes from its untrimmed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce from the field.

13 (G)On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. 14 Furthermore, if you make a sale to your friend, or buy from your friend’s hand, (H)you shall not [f]wrong one another. 15 Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your [g]friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. 16 (I)In proportion to [h]a greater number of years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to [i]fewer years you shall decrease its price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. 17 So (J)you shall not [j]wrong one another, but you shall [k]fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

18 ‘You shall therefore [l]follow My statutes and keep My judgments so as to carry them out, so that (K)you may live securely on the land. 19 Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. 20 But if you say, “(L)What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 then (M)I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. 22 When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat (N)old things from the produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in.

The Law of Redemption

23 ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because (O)the land is Mine; for (P)you are only strangers and residents with Me. 24 So for every [m]piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

25 (Q)If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor that he sells part of his property, then his closest [n]redeemer is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. 26 Or in case someone has no redeemer, but [o]recovers to find sufficient means for its redemption, 27 (R)then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. 28 But if [p]he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall [q]revert, so that (S)he may return to his property.

29 ‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. 30 But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not [r]revert in the jubilee. 31 The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall, shall be regarded [s]as open fields; they have redemption rights and [t]revert in the jubilee. 32 As for the (T)cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. 33 What, therefore, [u]belongs to the Levites may be redeemed, and a house sale [v]in the city of this possession [w]reverts in the jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. 34 (U)But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

35 (V)Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his [x]means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you. 36 (W)Do not take [y]any kind of interest from him, but [z]fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you. 37 You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food [aa]for profit. 38 (X)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and (Y)to be your God.

39 ‘Now (Z)if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. 40 He shall be with you as a hired worker, (AA)as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. 41 He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers. 42 For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. 43 (AB)You shall not rule over him with [ab]severity, but are to revere your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. 45 You may also acquire them from the sons of the foreign residents who reside among you, and from their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. 46 You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. (AC)But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with [ac]severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Person Who Is Poor

47 ‘Now if the [ad]means of a stranger or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes poor in relation to him and sells himself to a stranger who is residing with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48 then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle, or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or [ae](AD)if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50 He then, with his purchaser, shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years calculated. It is like the days of a hired worker that he will be with him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, (AE)he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; 52 but if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. 53 He shall be with him like a worker hired year by year; (AF)he shall not rule over him with [af]severity in your sight. 54 Even if he is not redeemed by [ag]these means, (AG)he shall still leave in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 55 For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Blessings of Obedience

26 ‘You shall not make for yourselves (AH)idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves (AI)a carved image or (AJ)a memorial stone, nor shall you place a (AK)figured stone in your land to bow down [ah]to it; for I am the Lord your God. (AL)You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord. (AM)If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then (AN)I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. (AO)Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your [ai]food to the full and (AP)live securely in your land. (AQ)I shall also grant peace in the land, so that (AR)you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. (AS)I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and (AT)no sword will pass through your land. Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; (AU)five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. So I will turn toward you and (AV)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will (AW)confirm My covenant with you. 10 And (AX)you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 (AY)Moreover, I will make My [aj]dwelling among you, and My soul will not [ak]reject you. 12 (AZ)I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 (BA)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and (BB)I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

14 (BC)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, 15 if, instead, you (BD)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to (BE)break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will [al]summon a (BF)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the (BG)soul languish; also, (BH)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. 17 And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and (BI)those who hate you will rule over you, and (BJ)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you (BK)seven times more for your sins. 19 I will also (BL)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 (BM)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

21 ‘Yet if you [am](BN)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you (BO)seven times according to your sins. 22 (BP)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that (BQ)your roads become deserted.

23 (BR)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, 24 then I in turn will (BS)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you (BT)seven times for your sins. 25 I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute (BU)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a (BV)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. 26 (BW)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread [an]in rationed amounts, so that you will (BX)eat and not be satisfied.

27 ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, 28 then (BY)I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins. 29 Further, (BZ)you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I then (CA)will destroy your high places, and cut down your (CB)incense altars, and [ao]pile your [ap]remains on the [aq]remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you. 31 I will turn your cities into (CC)ruins as well and make your (CD)sanctuaries desolate, and I will not (CE)smell your soothing aromas. 32 And I will make (CF)the land desolate (CG)so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. 33 You, however, I (CH)will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

34 (CI)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. 35 All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36 As for those among you who are left, I will also bring (CJ)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee [ar]as though from the sword, and they will fall. 37 (CK)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. 38 Instead, (CL)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. 39 (CM)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

40 ‘But (CN)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—(CO)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that (CP)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, 42 then I will remember (CQ)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also (CR)My covenant with Isaac, and (CS)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 (CT)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, [as]because they rejected My ordinances and their (CU)soul loathed My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so (CV)loathe them as (CW)to destroy them, (CX)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will remember for them the (CY)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that (CZ)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 (DA)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel [at]through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Rules concerning Assessments

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(DB)When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord. If your assessment is of a male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your assessment shall be fifty shekels of silver, by (DC)the shekel of the sanctuary. Or if [au]the person is a female, then your assessment shall be thirty shekels. And if the person is from five years even to twenty years old, then your assessment for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. But if the person is from a month even up to five years old, then your assessment shall be (DD)five shekels of silver for a male, and for a female your assessment shall be three shekels of silver. If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. But if he is poorer than your assessment, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; (DE)according to [av]the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall assess him.

‘Now if it is an animal of the kind that [aw]one can present as an offering to the Lord, any such animal that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 (DF)He shall not replace it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; yet if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. 11 If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which [ax]one does not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest. 12 And the priest shall assess it [ay]as either good or bad; as you, the priest, assess it, so shall it be. 13 But if he should ever want to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of it to your assessment.

14 ‘Now if someone consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest shall assess it [az]as either good or bad; as the priest assesses it, so shall it stand. 15 Yet if the one who consecrates it should want to redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may be his.

16 ‘Again, if someone consecrates to the Lord part of the field of his own property, then your assessment shall be [ba]proportionate to the seed needed for it: a [bb]homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he consecrates his field as of the year of jubilee, according to your assessment it shall stand. 18 If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for [bc]him [bd]proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your assessment. 19 If the one who consecrates it should ever want to redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may belong to him. 20 Yet if he does not redeem the field, [be]but has sold the field to another person, it may no longer be redeemed; 21 and when it [bf]reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field banned from secular use; (DG)it shall be for the priest as his property. 22 Or if he consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his own property, 23 then the priest shall calculate for [bg]him the amount of your assessment up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your assessment as holy to the Lord. 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 Every assessment of yours, moreover, shall be by (DH)the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

26 (DI)However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no one may consecrate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lords. 27 But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall [bh]redeem it according to your assessment and add to it a fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your assessment.

28 ‘Nevertheless, (DJ)[bi]anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for [bj]destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord. 29 No [bk]one who may have been [bl]set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.

30 ‘Now (DK)all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If, therefore, someone should ever want to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it a fifth of it. 32 For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever (DL)passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 (DM)He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

34 (DN)These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:5 Lit growth from spilled kernels
  2. Leviticus 25:9 Lit signal
  3. Leviticus 25:10 Or freedom
  4. Leviticus 25:10 Or when
  5. Leviticus 25:10 Or when
  6. Leviticus 25:14 Lit oppress
  7. Leviticus 25:15 Lit friend’s hands
  8. Leviticus 25:16 Lit the multitude of
  9. Leviticus 25:16 Lit the years being few
  10. Leviticus 25:17 Lit oppress
  11. Leviticus 25:17 Or revere
  12. Leviticus 25:18 Lit do My
  13. Leviticus 25:24 Lit land
  14. Leviticus 25:25 I.e., male relative to act in his behalf
  15. Leviticus 25:26 Lit his hand reaches
  16. Leviticus 25:28 Lit his hand has not found sufficient to
  17. Leviticus 25:28 Lit go out
  18. Leviticus 25:30 Lit go out
  19. Leviticus 25:31 Lit according to
  20. Leviticus 25:31 Lit go out
  21. Leviticus 25:33 Lit is from
  22. Leviticus 25:33 Lit and
  23. Leviticus 25:33 Lit goes out
  24. Leviticus 25:35 Lit hand
  25. Leviticus 25:36 Prob. interest on money and food loans
  26. Leviticus 25:36 Or revere
  27. Leviticus 25:37 Lit at interest
  28. Leviticus 25:43 Or violence
  29. Leviticus 25:46 Or violence
  30. Leviticus 25:47 Lit hand...reaches
  31. Leviticus 25:49 Lit his hand has reached and he
  32. Leviticus 25:53 Or violence
  33. Leviticus 25:54 Or these years
  34. Leviticus 26:1 Lit over
  35. Leviticus 26:5 Lit bread
  36. Leviticus 26:11 Or tabernacle
  37. Leviticus 26:11 Lit abhor
  38. Leviticus 26:16 Or impose...on you
  39. Leviticus 26:21 Lit walk with Me hostilely, and so throughout the ch
  40. Leviticus 26:26 Lit by weight
  41. Leviticus 26:30 Lit give
  42. Leviticus 26:30 Lit corpses
  43. Leviticus 26:30 Lit corpses
  44. Leviticus 26:36 Lit the flight of the sword
  45. Leviticus 26:43 Lit because and by the cause
  46. Leviticus 26:46 Lit by the hand of
  47. Leviticus 27:4 Lit she
  48. Leviticus 27:8 Lit what the hand reaches
  49. Leviticus 27:9 Lit they
  50. Leviticus 27:11 Lit they
  51. Leviticus 27:12 Lit between
  52. Leviticus 27:14 Lit between good
  53. Leviticus 27:16 Lit according to its seed
  54. Leviticus 27:16 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubic meters
  55. Leviticus 27:18 Or it
  56. Leviticus 27:18 Lit according to the years
  57. Leviticus 27:20 Or if he
  58. Leviticus 27:21 Lit goes out
  59. Leviticus 27:23 Or it
  60. Leviticus 27:27 Or ransom
  61. Leviticus 27:28 Lit anything banned
  62. Leviticus 27:28 I.e., as an offering
  63. Leviticus 27:29 Lit one devoted; or banned
  64. Leviticus 27:29 Lit put under the ban

The Sabbath Year

25 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai,(A) “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.(B) But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest,(C) a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.(D) Do not reap what grows of itself(E) or harvest the grapes(F) of your untended vines.(G) The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year(H) will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals(I) in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.

The Year of Jubilee(J)(K)

“‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet(L) sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month;(M) on the Day of Atonement(N) sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty(O) throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee(P) for you; each of you is to return to your family property(Q) and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee(R) for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.(S) 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.

13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee(T) everyone is to return to their own property.

14 “‘If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other.(U) 15 You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years(V) since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price,(W) because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops. 17 Do not take advantage of each other,(X) but fear your God.(Y) I am the Lord your God.(Z)

18 “‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws,(AA) and you will live safely in the land.(AB) 19 Then the land will yield its fruit,(AC) and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.(AD) 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year(AE) if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing(AF) in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.(AG) 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.(AH)

23 “‘The land(AI) must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine(AJ) and you reside in my land as foreigners(AK) and strangers. 24 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption(AL) of the land.

25 “‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative(AM) is to come and redeem(AN) what they have sold. 26 If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper(AO) and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, 27 they are to determine the value for the years(AP) since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property.(AQ) 28 But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned(AR) in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.(AS)

29 “‘Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it. 30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.

32 “‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns,(AT) which they possess. 33 So the property of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.(AU)

35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor(AV) and are unable to support themselves among you, help them(AW) as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest(AX) or any profit from them, but fear your God,(AY) so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest(AZ) or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan(BA) and to be your God.(BB)

39 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.(BC) 40 They are to be treated as hired workers(BD) or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property(BE) of their ancestors.(BF) 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt,(BG) they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly,(BH) but fear your God.(BI)

44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

47 “‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves(BJ) to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, 48 they retain the right of redemption(BK) after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives(BL) may redeem them: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper,(BM) they may redeem themselves. 50 They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee.(BN) The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker(BO) for that number of years. 51 If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly.(BP) 53 They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.(BQ)

54 “‘Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, 55 for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt.(BR) I am the Lord your God.(BS)

Reward for Obedience

26 “‘Do not make idols(BT) or set up an image(BU) or a sacred stone(BV) for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone(BW) in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

“‘Observe my Sabbaths(BX) and have reverence for my sanctuary.(BY) I am the Lord.

“‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey(BZ) my commands, I will send you rain(CA) in its season,(CB) and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.(CC) Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want(CD) and live in safety in your land.(CE)

“‘I will grant peace in the land,(CF) and you will lie down(CG) and no one will make you afraid.(CH) I will remove wild beasts(CI) from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies,(CJ) and they will fall by the sword before you. Five(CK) of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.(CL)

“‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,(CM) and I will keep my covenant(CN) with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.(CO) 11 I will put my dwelling place[a](CP) among you, and I will not abhor you.(CQ) 12 I will walk(CR) among you and be your God,(CS) and you will be my people.(CT) 13 I am the Lord your God,(CU) who brought you out of Egypt(CV) so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke(CW) and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Punishment for Disobedience

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,(CX) 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws(CY) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,(CZ) 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever(DA) that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.(DB) You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.(DC) 17 I will set my face(DD) against you so that you will be defeated(DE) by your enemies;(DF) those who hate you will rule over you,(DG) and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.(DH)

18 “‘If after all this you will not listen to me,(DI) I will punish(DJ) you for your sins seven times over.(DK) 19 I will break down your stubborn pride(DL) and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.(DM) 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,(DN) because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.(DO)

21 “‘If you remain hostile(DP) toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over,(DQ) as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals(DR) against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few(DS) in number that your roads will be deserted.(DT)

23 “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction(DU) but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be hostile(DV) toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. 25 And I will bring the sword(DW) on you to avenge(DX) the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague(DY) among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off your supply of bread,(DZ) ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

27 “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me(EA) but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger(EB) I will be hostile(EC) toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.(ED) 29 You will eat(EE) the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.(EF) 30 I will destroy your high places,(EG) cut down your incense altars(EH) and pile your dead bodies[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols,(EI) and I will abhor(EJ) you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins(EK) and lay waste(EL) your sanctuaries,(EM) and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.(EN) 32 I myself will lay waste the land,(EO) so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.(EP) 33 I will scatter(EQ) you among the nations(ER) and will draw out my sword(ES) and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste,(ET) and your cities will lie in ruins.(EU) 34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate(EV) and you are in the country of your enemies;(EW) then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest(EX) it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf(EY) will put them to flight.(EZ) They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.(FA) 37 They will stumble over one another(FB) as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.(FC) 38 You will perish(FD) among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.(FE) 39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’(FF) sins they will waste away.(FG)

40 “‘But if they will confess(FH) their sins(FI) and the sins of their ancestors(FJ)—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile(FK) toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts(FL) are humbled(FM) and they pay(FN) for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob(FO) and my covenant with Isaac(FP) and my covenant with Abraham,(FQ) and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted(FR) by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected(FS) my laws and abhorred my decrees.(FT) 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies,(FU) I will not reject them or abhor(FV) them so as to destroy them completely,(FW) breaking my covenant(FX) with them. I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember(FY) the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt(FZ) in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai(GA) between himself and the Israelites through Moses.(GB)

Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

27 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow(GC) to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[c] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[d];(GD) for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[e]; for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[f](GE) and of a female at ten shekels[g]; for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[h](GF) of silver and that of a female at three shekels[i] of silver; for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[j] and of a female at ten shekels. If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay(GG) the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value(GH) according to what the one making the vow can afford.

“‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord,(GI) such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.(GJ) 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one;(GK) if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal(GL)—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem(GM) the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.(GN)

14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it,(GO) they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.

16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer[k] of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee,(GP) the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain(GQ) until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it,(GR) they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee,(GS) it will become holy,(GT) like a field devoted to the Lord;(GU) it will become priestly property.

22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee,(GV) and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought,(GW) the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel,(GX) twenty gerahs(GY) to the shekel.

26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord;(GZ) whether an ox[l] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals,(HA) it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.

28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes[m](HB) to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy(HC) to the Lord.

29 “‘No person devoted to destruction[n] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.(HD)

30 “‘A tithe(HE) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy(HF) to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem(HG) any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value(HH) to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod(HI)—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.(HJ) If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.(HK)’”

34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai(HL) for the Israelites.(HM)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:11 Or my tabernacle
  2. Leviticus 26:30 Or your funeral offerings
  3. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
  4. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
  5. Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
  6. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  7. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
  8. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  9. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
  10. Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
  11. Leviticus 27:16 That is, probably about 300 pounds or about 135 kilograms
  12. Leviticus 27:26 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  13. Leviticus 27:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  14. Leviticus 27:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.