Add parallel Print Page Options

25 The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai,

Say to the Israelites, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the Lord.

For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits.

But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap and the grapes on your uncultivated vine you shall not gather, for it is a year of rest to the land.

And the sabbath rest of the [untilled] land shall [in its increase] furnish food for you, for your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the temporary resident who lives with you,

For your domestic animals also and for the [wild] beasts in your land; all its yield shall be for food.

And you shall number seven sabbaths or weeks of years for you, seven times seven years, so the total time of the seven weeks of years shall be forty-nine years.

Then you shall sound abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month [almost October]; on the Day of Atonement blow the trumpet in all your land.

10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his ancestral possession [which through poverty he was compelled to sell], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated in bond service].

11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall not sow, or reap and store what grows of itself, or gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines.

12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat the [sufficient] increase of it out of the field.

13 In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his ancestral property.

14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.

15 According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy from your neighbor. And he shall sell to you according to the number of years [remaining in which you may gather] the crops [before you must restore the property to him].

16 If the years [to the next Jubilee] are many, you may increase the price, and if the years remaining are few, you shall diminish the price, for the number of the crops is what he is selling to you.

17 You shall not oppress and wrong one another, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. For I am the Lord your God.

18 Therefore you shall do and give effect to My statutes and keep My ordinances and perform them, and you will dwell in the land in safety.

19 The land shall yield its fruit; you shall eat your fill and dwell there in safety.

20 And if you say, What shall we eat in the seventh year if we are not to sow or gather in our increase?

21 Then [this is My answer:] I will command My [special] blessings on you in the sixth year, so that it shall bring forth [sufficient] fruit for three years.

22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, but eat of the old store of produce; until the crops of the ninth year come in you shall eat of the old supply.

23 The land shall not be sold into perpetual ownership, for the land is Mine; you are [only] strangers and temporary residents with Me.(A)

24 And in all the country you possess you shall grant a redemption for the land [in the Year of Jubilee].

25 If your brother has become poor and has sold some of his property, if any of his kin comes to redeem it, he shall [be allowed to] redeem what his brother has sold.

26 And if the man has no one to redeem his property, and he himself has become more prosperous and has enough to redeem it,

27 Then let him count the years since he sold it and restore the overpayment to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his ancestral possession.(B)

28 But if he is unable to redeem it, it shall remain in the buyer’s possession until the Year of Jubilee, when it shall be set free and he may return to it.

29 If a man sells a dwelling house in a fortified city, he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year he may have the right of redemption.

30 And if it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house that is in the fortified city shall be made sure, permanently and without limitations, for him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not go free in the Year of Jubilee.

31 But the houses of the unwalled villages shall be counted with the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall go free in the Year of Jubilee.

32 Nevertheless, the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.

33 But if a house is not redeemed by a Levite, the sold house in the city they possess shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their ancestral possession among the Israelites.

34 But the field of unenclosed or pasture lands of their cities may not be sold; it is their perpetual possession.

35 And if your [Israelite] brother has become poor and his hand wavers [from poverty, sickness, or age and he is unable to support himself], then you shall uphold (strengthen, relieve) him, [treating him with the courtesy and consideration that you would] a stranger or a temporary resident with you [without property], so that he may live [along] with you.(C)

36 Charge him no interest or [portion of] increase, but fear your God, so your brother may [continue to] live along with you.

37 You shall not give him your money at interest nor lend him food at a profit.

38 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39 And if your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a bondman (a slave not eligible for redemption),

40 But as a hired servant and as a temporary resident he shall be with you; he shall serve you till the Year of Jubilee,

41 And then he shall depart from you, he and his children with him, and shall go back to his own family and return to the possession of his fathers.

42 For the Israelites are My servants; I brought them out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as bondmen.(D)

43 You shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression), but you shall [reverently] fear your God.(E)

44 As for your bondmen and your bondmaids whom you may have, they shall be from the nations round about you, of whom you may buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45 Moreover, of the children of the strangers who sojourn among you, of them you may buy and of their families that are with you which they have begotten in your land, and they shall be your possession.

46 And you shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall you take your bondmen always, but over your brethren the Israelites you shall not rule one over another with harshness (severity, oppression).

47 And if a sojourner or stranger with you becomes rich and your [Israelite] brother becomes poor beside him and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s family,

48 After he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brethren may redeem him:

49 Either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or a near kinsman may redeem him; or if he has enough and is able, he may redeem himself.

50 And [the redeemer] shall reckon with the purchaser of the servant from the year when he sold himself to the purchaser to the Year of Jubilee, and the price of his release shall be adjusted according to the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be counted as that of a hired servant.

51 If there remain many years [before the Year of Jubilee], in proportion to them he must refund [to the purchaser] for his release [the overpayment] for his acquisition.

52 And if little time remains until the Year of Jubilee, he shall count it over with him and he shall refund the proportionate amount for his release.

53 And as a servant hired year by year shall he deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression) in your sight [make sure of that].

54 And if he is not redeemed during these years and by these means, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him.

55 For to Me the Israelites are servants, My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

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)

25 And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.

Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee.

And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.

14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:

15 According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:

16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.

17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God:for I am the Lord your God.

18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.

20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:

21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.

26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;

27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.

28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

29 And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.

30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.

31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.

32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.

33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.

34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.

35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.

36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

38 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile.

41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:

48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:

49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.

51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.

53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.

54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.

55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.