Woes for the Wicked

¹⁷ “You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^(A)

The Law of Redemption

²³ ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me.^{(A) 24} So in all the country that you possess, you are to provide for the redemption of the land [in the Year of Jubilee].

²⁵ ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell some of his property, then his nearest relative is to come and buy back (redeem) what his relative has sold. ²⁶ Or in case a man has no relative [to redeem his property], but he has become more prosperous and has enough to buy it back, ²⁷ 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 [ancestral] property.^{(B) 28} But if ^[a]he is unable to redeem it, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of the purchaser until the Year of Jubilee; but at the Jubilee it shall revert, and he may return to his property.

²⁹ ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then his right of redemption remains valid for a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. ³⁰ But if it is not redeemed for him within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently and irrevocably to the purchaser throughout his generations. It does not revert back in the Year of Jubilee. ³¹ The houses of the villages that have no surrounding walls, however, shall be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and revert in the Year of Jubilee. ³² As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses in the cities which they possess. ³³ Therefore, what is [purchased] from the Levites may be redeemed [by a Levite], and the house that was sold in the city they possess reverts in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their [ancestral] property among the Israelites. ³⁴ But the pasture lands of their cities may not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

³⁵ ‘Now if your fellow countryman becomes poor and his hand falters with you [that is, he has trouble repaying you for something], then you are to help and sustain him, [with courtesy and consideration] like [you would] a stranger or a temporary resident [without property], so that he may live among you.^{(C) 36} Do not charge him usurious interest, but fear your God [with profound reverence], so your countryman may [continue to] live among you. ³⁷ You shall not give him your money at interest, nor your food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

³⁹ ‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption], ⁴⁰ but he is to be with you as a hired man, as if he were a temporary resident; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee, ⁴¹ and then he shall leave you, he and his children with him, and shall go back to his own family and return to the property of his fathers. ⁴² For the Israelites are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale.^{(D) 43} You shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression), but you are to fear your God [with profound reverence].^{(E) 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 Moreover, from the children of the strangers who live as aliens among you, from them you may buy slaves and from their families who are with you, whom they have produced in your land; they may become your possession. ⁴⁶ You may even bequeath them as an inheritance to your children after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your fellow countrymen, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with harshness (severity, oppression).

Of Redeeming a Poor Man

⁴⁷ ‘Now if the financial means of a stranger or temporary resident among you become sufficient, and your fellow countryman becomes poor in comparison to him and sells himself to the stranger who is living among you or to the descendants of the stranger’s family, ⁴⁸ then after he is sold he shall have the right of redemption. One of his relatives may redeem him: ⁴⁹ either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ Then he [or his redeemer] shall calculate with his purchaser from the year when he sold himself to the purchaser to the Year of Jubilee, and the [original] price of his sale shall be adjusted according to the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be considered as that of a hired man. ⁵¹ If there are still many years [before the Year of Jubilee], in proportion to them he must refund [to the purchaser] part of the price of his sale for his redemption and release. ⁵² And if only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he shall so calculate it with him. He is to refund the proportionate amount for his release. ⁵³ Like a man hired year by year he shall deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness in your sight. ⁵⁴ Even if he is not redeemed during these years and under these provisions, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him. ⁵⁵ For the children of Israel are My servants; My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.