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The Sabbath Year

25 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai,[b] saying, “Speak to the Israelites,[c] and say to them, ‘When you[d] come into the land that I am about to give to you,[e] then[f] the land shall observe a Sabbath for Yahweh. Six years you[g] shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and you shall gather its yield. But[h] in the seventh year it shall be a Sabbath of complete rest[i] for the land—a Sabbath for Yahweh; you[j] must not sow your field, and you must not prune your vineyard. You[k] must not reap your harvest’s aftergrowth, and you must not harvest the grapes of your unpruned vines—it shall be a year of complete rest[l] for the land. And a Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you:[m] for you[n] and for your slave and for your slave woman and for your hired worker and for your temporary residents[o] who are dwelling as aliens with you; and all its yield shall be for your[p] domestic animal and for the wild animal, which are in your land to eat.

The Year of Jubilee

“‘And you[q] shall count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years, and they shall be for you time periods of[r] years: forty-nine[s] years. And you[t] shall cause a loud horn blast[u] to be heard on the seventh month on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement you[v] shall cause a ram’s horn to be heard in all your[w] land. 10 And you[x] shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a release in the land for all its inhabitants. It is a Jubilee; it shall be for you, and you shall return. You must return—everyone to his property and everyone to his clan.[y] 11 You[z] shall have the fiftieth year as a Jubilee;[aa] you must not reap its aftergrowth, and you must not harvest its unpruned vines. 12 Because it is a Jubilee, it shall be holy to you. You must eat its[ab] produce from the field.

13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you[ac] shall return[ad] to his property. 14 And when you[ae] sell something to your[af] fellow citizen or you buy from your[ag] neighbor’s hand, you[ah] must not oppress one another.[ai] 15 You[aj] must buy from your fellow citizen according to the number of years after the Jubilee; he must sell to you according to the number of years of yield. 16 You[ak] must increase its price according to a greater number of years,[al] but[am] you must decrease its price according to a lesser number of years,[an] because he is selling its yields to you. 17 And you[ao] must not oppress one another,[ap] but[aq] you[ar] shall revere your God, because I am Yahweh, your[as] God.

18 “‘And you[at] shall do my statutes, and you must keep my regulations, and you shall do them, so that[au] you shall live securely[av] on the land. 19 And the land shall give its fruit, and you[aw] shall eat your fill,[ax] and you shall live securely[ay] on it. 20 And if you[az] should say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if[ba] we do not sow and we do not gather its yield?” 21 then[bb] I will command my blessing for you[bc] in the sixth year, so that[bd] it will make[be] the yield for three years. 22 And you[bf] will sow in the eighth year, and you shall eat from the old yield;[bg] until the ninth year, until the coming of its yield, you shall eat the old yield.

23 “‘But[bh] the land must not be sold in[bi] perpetuity, because the land is mine, because you[bj] are aliens and temporary residents with me. 24 And in all your[bk] property’s land you[bl] must provide redemption for the land.

25 “‘When your[bm] brother becomes poor and he sells part of his property, then[bn] his nearest redeemer[bo] shall come, and he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother. 26 But[bp] if[bq] a man does not have[br] a redeemer, then[bs] he prospers[bt] and he finds enough for his redemption, 27 then[bu] he shall calculate the years of its selling, and he shall refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his property. 28 But[bv] if his hand does not find enough to refund to him, then[bw] what he has sold[bx] shall be in the buyer’s hand until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall go out of the buyer’s hand[by] in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his property.

29 “‘And if a man sells a residential house in a walled city,[bz] then[ca] it shall be his redemption until completing a year after his selling;[cb] its redemption shall last[cc] a year.[cd] 30 But[ce] if it is not redeemed before a full year has passed,[cf] then[cg] the house that is in the walled city[ch] shall belong to the buyer in[ci] perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out of the buyer’s hand[cj] in the Jubilee. 31 However,[ck] village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered open country;[cl] there is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out of the buyer’s hand.[cm]

32 “‘As for[cn] the cities of the Levites, that is, the houses in[co] their property’s cities, it shall be a lasting redemption[cp] for the Levites. 33 And whatever anyone redeems from the Levites then[cq] must go out of the buyer’s hand[cr] in the Jubilee, including a house’s selling in his city’s property,[cs] because the houses in[ct] the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the Israelites.[cu] 34 But[cv] a[cw] field of their cities’ pastureland must not be sold, because it is their property for all time.[cx]

35 “‘And if your[cy] countryman[cz] becomes poor and if he becomes dependent on you,[da] then[db] you shall support him like an alien and like a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. 36 You[dc] must not take interest or[dd] usury from him, but[de] you shall revere your God, and your countryman[df] shall live with you. 37 You[dg] must not give your money to him with interest or[dh] give your food for[di] profit. 38 I am Yahweh your[dj] God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you[dk] the land of Canaan, to be as God for you.

39 “‘And if your[dl] countryman[dm] who is with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, you shall not treat him as a slave.[dn] 40 He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And he and his sons with him shall go out from you, and he shall return to his clan, and to the property of his ancestors[do] he shall return. 42 Because they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold as a slave.[dp] 43 You[dq] shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but[dr] you shall revere your God.

44 “‘As for[ds] your[dt] slave and your[du] slave woman who are[dv] yours,[dw] from the nations that are all around you,[dx] from them you[dy] may buy a slave or[dz] a slave woman. 45 And you[ea] may buy also from the children[eb] of the temporary residents who are dwelling with you as aliens and from their clan who are with you, who have children in your land; indeed,[ec] they may be as property for you. 46 And you[ed] may pass them on as an inheritance to your[ee] sons[ef] after you[eg] to take possession of as property for all time[eh]—you[ei] may let them work. But[ej] as for your[ek] countrymen,[el] the Israelites,[em] you[en] shall not rule with ruthlessness over one another.[eo]

47 “‘And if the alien or[ep] the temporary resident who are with you[eq] prosper,[er] but[es] your countryman[et] who is with him becomes poor and he is sold to an alien, a temporary resident who is with you, or to a descendant of an alien’s clan, 48 after he is sold redemption shall be for him; one of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of[eu] his close relatives[ev] from his clan may redeem him; or if he prospers,[ew] he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall calculate with his buyer from the year of his selling himself[ex] until the Jubilee; and the value of his selling shall be according to the number of years—it shall be with him like[ey] a hired worker’s days. 51 If there are still many years, in keeping with them[ez] he shall restore his redemption in proportion to his purchase price.[fa] 52 And if there are a few years left until the Year of Jubilee, then[fb] he shall calculate for himself; he shall restore his redemption according to the number of his years.[fc] 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired worker;[fd] he shall not rule over him with ruthlessness in your[fe] sight.[ff] 54 And if he is not redeemed by[fg] any of these ways,[fh] then[fi] he and his sons with him shall go out in the Year of Jubilee. 55 Indeed,[fj] the Israelites[fk] are servants for me; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your[fl] God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 25:1 Literally “the mountain of Sinai”
  3. Leviticus 25:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. Leviticus 25:2 Plural
  5. Leviticus 25:2 Plural
  6. Leviticus 25:2 Or “and”
  7. Leviticus 25:3 Singular throughout this verse
  8. Leviticus 25:4 Or “And”
  9. Leviticus 25:4 Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but it is devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
  10. Leviticus 25:4 Singular throughout this verse
  11. Leviticus 25:5 Singular throughout this verse
  12. Leviticus 25:5 Literally “a year of a rest period”
  13. Leviticus 25:6 Plural
  14. Leviticus 25:6 Singular here and through the rest of this verse
  15. Leviticus 25:6 Collective singular; Hebrew “temporary resident”
  16. Leviticus 25:7 Singular throughout this verse
  17. Leviticus 25:8 Singular throughout this verse
  18. Leviticus 25:8 Literally “days of”
  19. Leviticus 25:8 Literally “nine and forty”
  20. Leviticus 25:9 Singular
  21. Leviticus 25:9 Literally “a ram’s horn of a blast”
  22. Leviticus 25:9 Plural
  23. Leviticus 25:9 Plural
  24. Leviticus 25:10 Plural throughout this verse
  25. Leviticus 25:10 Or “each of you must return to his property and to his clan”
  26. Leviticus 25:11 Plural throughout this verse
  27. Leviticus 25:11 Literally “a Jubilee it the year of the fiftieth year it shall be for you”
  28. Leviticus 25:12 That is, the field’s
  29. Leviticus 25:13 Plural
  30. Leviticus 25:13 Literally “you shall return a man” or “you shall return everyone”
  31. Leviticus 25:14 Plural
  32. Leviticus 25:14 Singular
  33. Leviticus 25:14 Singular
  34. Leviticus 25:14 Plural
  35. Leviticus 25:14 Literally “a man his brother”
  36. Leviticus 25:15 Singular throughout this verse
  37. Leviticus 25:16 Singular throughout this verse
  38. Leviticus 25:16 Literally “to the mouth of many of the years”
  39. Leviticus 25:16 Or “and”
  40. Leviticus 25:16 Literally “to the mouth of few of the years”
  41. Leviticus 25:17 Plural
  42. Leviticus 25:17 Literally “a man his citizen”
  43. Leviticus 25:17 Or “and”
  44. Leviticus 25:17 Singular
  45. Leviticus 25:17 Plural
  46. Leviticus 25:18 Plural throughout this verse
  47. Leviticus 25:18 Or “and”
  48. Leviticus 25:18 Literally “with confidence”
  49. Leviticus 25:19 Plural throughout this verse
  50. Leviticus 25:19 Literally “to contentment”
  51. Leviticus 25:19 Literally “with confidence”
  52. Leviticus 25:20 Plural
  53. Leviticus 25:20 Literally “look”
  54. Leviticus 25:21 Or “and”
  55. Leviticus 25:21 Plural
  56. Leviticus 25:21 Or “and”
  57. Leviticus 25:21 Or “produce”
  58. Leviticus 25:22 Plural throughout this verse
  59. Leviticus 25:22 The verse divides here
  60. Leviticus 25:23 Or “And”
  61. Leviticus 25:23 Or “for”
  62. Leviticus 25:23 Plural
  63. Leviticus 25:24 Plural
  64. Leviticus 25:24 Plural
  65. Leviticus 25:25 Singular
  66. Leviticus 25:25 Or “and”
  67. Leviticus 25:25 Literally “his redeemer the nearest to him”
  68. Leviticus 25:26 Or “And”
  69. Leviticus 25:26 Or “when”
  70. Leviticus 25:26 Literally “it is not for him”
  71. Leviticus 25:26 Or “and”
  72. Leviticus 25:26 Literally “his hand produces”
  73. Leviticus 25:27 Or “and”
  74. Leviticus 25:28 Or “And”
  75. Leviticus 25:28 Or “and”
  76. Leviticus 25:28 Literally “his thing sold”
  77. Leviticus 25:28 Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
  78. Leviticus 25:29 Literally “a house of a dwelling of a city wall”
  79. Leviticus 25:29 Or “and”
  80. Leviticus 25:29 Literally “a year of his selling”
  81. Leviticus 25:29 Literally “shall be”
  82. Leviticus 25:29 Literally “days”
  83. Leviticus 25:30 Or “And”
  84. Leviticus 25:30 Literally “until the fulfilling of for him/it an entire year”
  85. Leviticus 25:30 Or “and”
  86. Leviticus 25:30 Literally “in the city that for it a wall”
  87. Leviticus 25:30 Hebrew “for”
  88. Leviticus 25:30 Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
  89. Leviticus 25:31 Or “And” or “But”
  90. Leviticus 25:31 Literally “the field of the land”
  91. Leviticus 25:31 Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
  92. Leviticus 25:32 Or “And”
  93. Leviticus 25:32 Hebrew “of”
  94. Leviticus 25:32 Or “a permanent redemption”; literally “redemption of eternity” or “redemption of long duration”
  95. Leviticus 25:33 Or “and”
  96. Leviticus 25:33 Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
  97. Leviticus 25:33 Literally “the city of his property”
  98. Leviticus 25:33 Hebrew “of”
  99. Leviticus 25:33 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  100. Leviticus 25:34 Or “And”
  101. Leviticus 25:34 Hebrew “the”
  102. Leviticus 25:34 Literally “a property of eternity it is for them” or “a property of long duration it is for them”
  103. Leviticus 25:35 Singular throughout this verse
  104. Leviticus 25:35 Or “brother”
  105. Leviticus 25:35 Literally “and his hand is shaky with you”
  106. Leviticus 25:35 Or “and”
  107. Leviticus 25:36 Singular throughout this verse
  108. Leviticus 25:36 Or “and”
  109. Leviticus 25:36 Or “and”
  110. Leviticus 25:36 Or “brother”
  111. Leviticus 25:37 Singular throughout this verse
  112. Leviticus 25:37 Or “and”
  113. Leviticus 25:37 Or “in” or “with”
  114. Leviticus 25:38 Plural throughout this verse
  115. Leviticus 25:38 Literally “to you”
  116. Leviticus 25:39 Singular throughout this verse
  117. Leviticus 25:39 Or “brother”
  118. Leviticus 25:39 Literally “you shall not let him work the work of a slave” or “you shall not enslave him the work of a slave”
  119. Leviticus 25:41 Or “fathers”
  120. Leviticus 25:42 Literally “a selling of a slave”
  121. Leviticus 25:43 Singular throughout this verse
  122. Leviticus 25:43 Or “and”
  123. Leviticus 25:44 Or “And”
  124. Leviticus 25:44 Singular
  125. Leviticus 25:44 Singular
  126. Leviticus 25:44 Or “may be” (permission; cf. NASU, ESV, NRSV) or “can be” (ability)
  127. Leviticus 25:44 Singular
  128. Leviticus 25:44 Plural
  129. Leviticus 25:44 Plural
  130. Leviticus 25:44 Or “and”
  131. Leviticus 25:45 Plural throughout this verse
  132. Leviticus 25:45 Or “sons”
  133. Leviticus 25:45 Or “and”
  134. Leviticus 25:46 Plural
  135. Leviticus 25:46 Plural
  136. Leviticus 25:46 Or “children”
  137. Leviticus 25:46 Plural
  138. Leviticus 25:46 Literally “to eternity” or “forever” or “for a long duration”
  139. Leviticus 25:46 Plural
  140. Leviticus 25:46 Or “And”
  141. Leviticus 25:46 Plural
  142. Leviticus 25:46 Or “brothers”
  143. Leviticus 25:46 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  144. Leviticus 25:46 Singular
  145. Leviticus 25:46 Literally “a man over his brother”
  146. Leviticus 25:47 Or “and”
  147. Leviticus 25:47 Singular throughout this verse
  148. Leviticus 25:47 Literally “the hand produces”
  149. Leviticus 25:47 Or “and”
  150. Leviticus 25:47 Or “brother”
  151. Leviticus 25:49 Literally “from”
  152. Leviticus 25:49 Literally “the direct relative of his flesh”
  153. Leviticus 25:49 Literally “his hand produces”
  154. Leviticus 25:50 Literally “his being sold for him”
  155. Leviticus 25:50 Or “as”
  156. Leviticus 25:51 Literally “to the mouth of them”
  157. Leviticus 25:51 Literally “from the price of his acquisition”
  158. Leviticus 25:52 Or “and”
  159. Leviticus 25:52 Literally “according to the mouth of his years”
  160. Leviticus 25:53 Literally “as a hired worker of a year in a year”
  161. Leviticus 25:53 Singular
  162. Leviticus 25:53 Literally “to your eyes” or “for your eyes”
  163. Leviticus 25:54 Or “in”
  164. Leviticus 25:54 Bracketed words provided from the sense of the context
  165. Leviticus 25:54 Or “and”
  166. Leviticus 25:55 Emphatic use of כִּי, since there is no indication of direct causation to only what precedes in vv. 47–54; or “Because”
  167. Leviticus 25:55 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  168. Leviticus 25:55 Plural