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Leviticus 25
International Children’s Bible

The Time of Rest for the Land

25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. He said, 2 “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘I will give you land. When you enter it, let it have a special time of rest. This will be to honor the Lord. 3 You may plant seed in your field for six years. You may trim your vineyards for six years and bring in their fruits. 4 But during the seventh year, you must let the land rest. This will be a special time to honor the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards. 5 You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after harvest. You must not gather the grapes from your vines that are not trimmed. The land will have a year of rest.

6 “‘You may eat whatever the land produces during that year of rest. It will be food for your men and women servants. It will be food for your hired workers and the foreigners living in your country. 7 It will also be food for your cattle and the wild animals of your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.

The Year of Jubilee

8 “‘Count off seven groups of 7 years. This will be 49 years. During that time there will be 7 years of rest for the land. 9 On the Day of Cleansing, you must blow the horn of a male sheep. 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 year. Announce freedom for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee.[a] Each of you will go back to his own property. And each of you will go back to his own family and family group. 11 The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t plant seeds. Don’t harvest the crops that grow by themselves. Don’t gather grapes from the vines that are not trimmed. 12 That year is Jubilee. It will be a holy time for you. You may eat the crops that come from the field. 13 In the year of Jubilee each person will go back to his own property.

14 “‘Don’t cheat your neighbor when you sell your land to him. And don’t let him cheat you when you buy land from him. 15 You might want to buy your neighbor’s land. If you do, count the number of years since the last Jubilee. Use that number to decide the right price. If he sells the land to you, count the number of years left for harvesting crops. Use that number to decide the right price. 16 If there are many years, the price will be high. If there are only a few years, lower the price. This is because your neighbor is really selling only a few crops to you. At the next Jubilee the land will again belong to his family. 17 You must not cheat each other. You respect your God. I am the Lord your God.

18 “‘Remember my laws and rules, and obey them. Then you will live safely in the land. 19 The land will give good crops to you. You will eat as much as you want. And you will live safely in the land.

20 “‘But you might ask, “If we don’t plant seeds or gather crops, what will we eat the seventh year?” 21 Don’t worry. I will send you a great blessing during the sixth year. That year the land will produce enough crops for 3 years. 22 When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop. You will eat the old crop until the harvest of the ninth year.

Property Laws

23 “‘The land really belongs to me. So you can’t sell it forever. You are only foreigners and travelers living for a time on my land. 24 People might sell their land. But the family will always get its land back. 25 A person in your country might become very poor. He might be so poor that he must sell his land. So his close relatives must come and buy it back for him. 26 A person might not have a close relative to buy back his land for him. But he might get enough money to buy it back himself. 27 He must count the years since the land was sold. He must use that number to decide how much to pay for the land. Then he may buy it back. And the land will be his again. 28 But he might not find enough money to buy it back for himself. Then the one who bought it will keep it until the year of Jubilee. But during that celebration, the land will go back to the first owner’s family.

29 “‘Someone may sell a home in a walled city. But, for a full year after he sold it, he has the right to buy it back. 30 But the owner might not buy back the house before a full year is over. If he doesn’t, the house in the walled city will belong to the one who bought it. It will belong to his future sons. The house will not go back to the first owner at Jubilee. 31 But houses in small towns without walls are like open country. They can be bought back. And they must be returned to their first owner at Jubilee.

32 “‘The Levites may always buy back their houses. This is true in the cities which belong to them. 33 Someone might buy a house from a Levite. But that house in the Levites’ city will again belong to the Levites in the Jubilee. This is because houses in Levite cities belong to the people of Levi. The people of Israel gave these cities to the Levites. 34 Also the fields and pastures around the Levites’ cities cannot be sold. Those fields belong to the Levites forever.

Rules for Slave Owners

35 “‘Someone from your country might become too poor to support himself. Help him to live among you as you would a stranger or foreigner. 36 Do not charge him any interest on money you loan to him. Respect your God. And let the poor man live among you. 37 Don’t lend him money for interest. Don’t try to make a profit from the food he buys. 38 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I did it to give the land of Canaan to you and to become your God.

39 “‘Someone from your country might become very poor. He might even sell himself as a slave to you. If he does, you must not make him work like a slave. 40 He will be like a hired worker. And he will be like a visitor with you until the year of Jubilee. 41 Then he may leave you. He may take his children and go back to his family and the land of his ancestors. 42 This is because the Israelites are my servants. I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They must not become slaves again. 43 You must not rule this person cruelly. You must respect your God.

44 “‘You may buy men and women slaves from other nations around you. 45 Also you may buy children as slaves. These children must come from the families of foreigners living in your land. These child slaves will belong to you. 46 You may even pass these foreign slaves on to your children after you die. You can make them slaves forever. But you must not rule cruelly over your own brothers, the Israelites.

47 “‘A foreigner or visitor among you might become rich. And someone in your country might become poor. The poor man might sell himself as a slave to a foreigner living among you. Or he might sell himself to a member of a foreigner’s family. 48 The poor man has the right to be bought back and become free. One of his relatives may buy him back. 49 His uncle or his uncle’s son may buy him back. One of his close relatives may buy him back. Or if he gets enough money, he may pay the money himself. Then he will be free again.

50 “‘How do you decide the price? You must count the years from the time he sold himself to the foreigner. And count up to the next year of Jubilee. Use that number to decide the price. This is because the person really only hired himself out for a certain number of years. 51 There might still be many years before the year of Jubilee. If so, the person must pay back a large part of the price. 52 There might only be a few years left until Jubilee. If so, the person must pay a small part of the first price. 53 But he will live like a hired man with the foreigner every year. Don’t let the foreigner rule cruelly over him.

54 “‘That person will become free, even if no one buys him back. At the year of Jubilee, he and his children will become free. 55 This is because the people of Israel are my servants. I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. 25:10 Jubilee This word comes from the Hebrew word for a horn of a male sheep.
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Leviticus 25
New International Version

The Sabbath Year

25 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai,(A) 2 “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. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.(B) 4 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) 5 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. 6 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, 7 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)

8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 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)

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Leviticus 25
New King James Version

The Sabbath of the Seventh Year(A)

25 And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount (B)Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall (C)keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the (D)seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn (E)rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 (F)What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.

The Year of Jubilee

8 ‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; (G)on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and (H)proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; (I)and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it (J)you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. 12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; (K)you shall eat its produce from the field.

13 (L)‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. 14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not (M)oppress one another. 15 (N)According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you. 16 According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. 17 Therefore (O)you shall not [a]oppress one another, (P)but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

Provisions for the Seventh Year

18 (Q)‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; (R)and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and (S)you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.

20 ‘And if you say, (T)“What shall we eat in the seventh year, since (U)we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will (V)command My blessing on you in the (W)sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 (X)And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat (Y)old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

Redemption of Property

23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for (Z)the land is Mine; for you are (AA)strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.

25 (AB)‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if (AC)his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then (AD)let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; (AE)and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.

29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 Nevertheless (AF)the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But (AG)the field of the common-land of their cities may not be (AH)sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

Lending to the Poor

35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and [b]falls into poverty among you, then you shall (AI)help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 (AJ)Take no usury or interest from him; but (AK)fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 (AL)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.

The Law Concerning Slavery

39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children (AM)with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are (AN)My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 (AO)You shall not rule over him (AP)with [c]rigor, but you (AQ)shall fear your God. 44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy (AR)the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 And (AS)you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.

47 ‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be (AT)according to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. 52 And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. 55 For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:17 mistreat
  2. Leviticus 25:35 Lit. his hand fails
  3. Leviticus 25:43 severity
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Leviticus 25
English Standard Version

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.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:6 That is, the Sabbath produce of the land
  2. Leviticus 25:6 Or servants
  3. Leviticus 25:8 Or Sabbaths
  4. Leviticus 25:12 Or countryside
  5. Leviticus 25:42 Hebrew slaves
  6. Leviticus 25:55 Or slaves
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Leviticus 24
Leviticus 26
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