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Leviticus 25
Modern English Version
Leviticus 25
Modern English Version
The Sabbath Year
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into 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 six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 That which grows by itself from your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines, for it is a year of complete rest for the land. 6 The sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, and for your male and female servants, and for your hired servant, and for your stranger who sojourns with you, 7 and for your livestock, and for the wild animals in your land, shall all its increase be food.
The Year of Jubilee(A)
8 You shall count seven sabbath weeks of years, seven times seven years, and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the horn blasts on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall make the sound of the horn throughout all your land. 10 You shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee to you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and every person shall return to his family. 11 That fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you. You shall neither sow nor reap that which grows by itself, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines. 12 For it is the Jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You shall eat the produce of the field.
13 In the Year of Jubilee you shall return to your property.
14 If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from your neighbor, you shall not oppress one another. 15 According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall pay your neighbor, and according to the number of years of the crops he shall sell to you. 16 According to the increase of years you shall increase the price, and according to the decrease of years you shall diminish the price of it. For he shall sell to you according to the number of years of crops. 17 You shall not therefore oppress one another, but you shall fear your God. For I am the Lord your God.
18 Therefore you shall do My statutes, and keep My decrees, and do them, and you shall dwell securely in the land. 19 The land shall yield its fruit, and you shall eat your fill and live securely in it. 20 If you shall say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we shall not sow nor gather in our crop?” 21 then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for three years. 22 You shall sow in the eighth year, and eat yet of old crops until the ninth year until its crops come in for you.
Redemption of Property
23 The land shall not be permanently sold, for the land is Mine. For you are foreigners and sojourners with Me. 24 In all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the land.
25 If your brother becomes poor and has sold some of his possession, then his nearest redeemer will come to redeem it, and buy back that which his brother sold. 26 If the man has none to redeem it, but he himself is able to redeem it, 27 then let him count the years since the sale and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, so that he may return to his property. 28 But if he is not able to restore it to himself, then that which he sold shall remain in the hand of him who has bought it until the Year of Jubilee, 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 year after it is sold, within a full year he may have the right to buy it back. 30 If it is not redeemed within the time of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be given permanently to him who bought it throughout his generations. It shall not be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be returned in the Jubilee.
32 For the cities of the Levites, they may redeem at any time the houses in the cities that they possess. 33 If a Levite purchases back the house that was sold in the city of his possession, then it shall be returned in the Jubilee. For the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the fields of the land of their cities may not be sold, for they are their perpetual possession.
Helping the Poor
35 If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, then you shall support him as if he were a foreigner or a sojourner, so that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, so that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor lend him your food for 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.
The Law About Slavery
39 If your brother who dwells near you becomes poor and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant. 40 But as a hired servant and as a sojourner he shall be with you. He shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you, both he and his children with him, and he shall return to his own family and to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with harshness, but you shall fear your God.
44 Both your male and female slaves, whom you may have, they shall be bought from the nations that are around you. 45 Moreover of the foreigners who sojourn among you and of their families who are with you, who were born in your land, you may also buy from them, and they may be your possession. 46 You may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, for their possession. They shall be your slaves forever. But over your brothers, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.
47 If a sojourner or foreigner becomes rich by you, and your brother who dwells beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the foreigner or sojourner with you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or either his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or any who is near of kin to him of his family may redeem him. Or if he is able, he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with him who bought him from the year that he was sold to the Year of Jubilee, and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant. 51 If there are still many years left until the Jubilee, he shall pay the price proportionately for his redemption as some of the price that he was bought for. 52 If there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall calculate and pay the price proportionately for his redemption according to his years of service. 53 As a yearly hired servant he shall be treated, and the other shall not rule harshly over him in your sight.
54 If he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the Year of Jubilee, both he and his children with him. 55 For to Me the children of Israel are servants. They are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 25
New International Version
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)
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.