The Sabbatical Year and Year of Jubilee

25 The Lord then spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am going to give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. For (A)six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, but during (B)the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. You shall not reap your harvest’s [a]aftergrowth, and you shall not gather your grapes of untrimmed vines; the land shall have a sabbatical year. (C)All of you shall have the Sabbath produce of the land as food; for yourself, your male and female slaves, and your hired worker and your foreign resident, those who live as strangers among you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn [b]abroad on (D)the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. 10 So you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and (E)proclaim [c]a release throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, [d]and (F)each of you shall return to his own property, [e]and each of you shall return to his family. 11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor harvest its aftergrowth, nor gather grapes from its untrimmed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce from the field.

13 (G)On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. 14 Furthermore, if you make a sale to your friend, or buy from your friend’s hand, (H)you shall not [f]wrong one another. 15 Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your [g]friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. 16 (I)In proportion to [h]a greater number of years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to [i]fewer years you shall decrease its price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. 17 So (J)you shall not [j]wrong one another, but you shall [k]fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

18 ‘You shall therefore [l]follow My statutes and keep My judgments so as to carry them out, so that (K)you may live securely on the land. 19 Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. 20 But if you say, “(L)What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 then (M)I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. 22 When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat (N)old things from the produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in.

The Law of Redemption

23 ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because (O)the land is Mine; for (P)you are only strangers and residents with Me. 24 So for every [m]piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

25 (Q)If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor that he sells part of his property, then his closest [n]redeemer is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. 26 Or in case someone has no redeemer, but [o]recovers to find sufficient means for its redemption, 27 (R)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 property. 28 But if [p]he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall [q]revert, so that (S)he may return to his property.

29 ‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. 30 But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not [r]revert in the jubilee. 31 The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall, shall be regarded [s]as open fields; they have redemption rights and [t]revert in the jubilee. 32 As for the (T)cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. 33 What, therefore, [u]belongs to the Levites may be redeemed, and a house sale [v]in the city of this possession [w]reverts in the jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. 34 (U)But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

35 (V)Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his [x]means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you. 36 (W)Do not take [y]any kind of interest from him, but [z]fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you. 37 You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food [aa]for profit. 38 (X)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and (Y)to be your God.

39 ‘Now (Z)if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. 40 He shall be with you as a hired worker, (AA)as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. 41 He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers. 42 For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. 43 (AB)You shall not rule over him with [ab]severity, but are to revere your God. 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 You may also acquire them from the sons of the foreign residents who reside among you, and from their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. 46 You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. (AC)But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with [ac]severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Person Who Is Poor

47 ‘Now if the [ad]means of a stranger or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes poor in relation to him and sells himself to a stranger who is residing with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48 then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle, or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or [ae](AD)if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50 He then, with his purchaser, shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years calculated. It is like the days of a hired worker that he will be with him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, (AE)he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; 52 but if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. 53 He shall be with him like a worker hired year by year; (AF)he shall not rule over him with [af]severity in your sight. 54 Even if he is not redeemed by [ag]these means, (AG)he shall still leave in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 55 For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Blessings of Obedience

26 ‘You shall not make for yourselves (AH)idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves (AI)a carved image or (AJ)a memorial stone, nor shall you place a (AK)figured stone in your land to bow down [ah]to it; for I am the Lord your God. (AL)You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord. (AM)If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then (AN)I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. (AO)Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your [ai]food to the full and (AP)live securely in your land. (AQ)I shall also grant peace in the land, so that (AR)you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. (AS)I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and (AT)no sword will pass through your land. Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; (AU)five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. So I will turn toward you and (AV)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will (AW)confirm My covenant with you. 10 And (AX)you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 (AY)Moreover, I will make My [aj]dwelling among you, and My soul will not [ak]reject you. 12 (AZ)I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 (BA)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and (BB)I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

14 (BC)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, 15 if, instead, you (BD)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to (BE)break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will [al]summon a (BF)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the (BG)soul languish; also, (BH)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. 17 And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and (BI)those who hate you will rule over you, and (BJ)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you (BK)seven times more for your sins. 19 I will also (BL)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 (BM)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

21 ‘Yet if you [am](BN)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you (BO)seven times according to your sins. 22 (BP)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that (BQ)your roads become deserted.

23 (BR)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, 24 then I in turn will (BS)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you (BT)seven times for your sins. 25 I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute (BU)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a (BV)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. 26 (BW)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread [an]in rationed amounts, so that you will (BX)eat and not be satisfied.

27 ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, 28 then (BY)I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins. 29 Further, (BZ)you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I then (CA)will destroy your high places, and cut down your (CB)incense altars, and [ao]pile your [ap]remains on the [aq]remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you. 31 I will turn your cities into (CC)ruins as well and make your (CD)sanctuaries desolate, and I will not (CE)smell your soothing aromas. 32 And I will make (CF)the land desolate (CG)so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. 33 You, however, I (CH)will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

34 (CI)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. 35 All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36 As for those among you who are left, I will also bring (CJ)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee [ar]as though from the sword, and they will fall. 37 (CK)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. 38 Instead, (CL)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. 39 (CM)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

40 ‘But (CN)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—(CO)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that (CP)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, 42 then I will remember (CQ)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also (CR)My covenant with Isaac, and (CS)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 (CT)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, [as]because they rejected My ordinances and their (CU)soul loathed My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so (CV)loathe them as (CW)to destroy them, (CX)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will remember for them the (CY)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that (CZ)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 (DA)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel [at]through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 25:5 Lit growth from spilled kernels
  2. Leviticus 25:9 Lit signal
  3. Leviticus 25:10 Or freedom
  4. Leviticus 25:10 Or when
  5. Leviticus 25:10 Or when
  6. Leviticus 25:14 Lit oppress
  7. Leviticus 25:15 Lit friend’s hands
  8. Leviticus 25:16 Lit the multitude of
  9. Leviticus 25:16 Lit the years being few
  10. Leviticus 25:17 Lit oppress
  11. Leviticus 25:17 Or revere
  12. Leviticus 25:18 Lit do My
  13. Leviticus 25:24 Lit land
  14. Leviticus 25:25 I.e., male relative to act in his behalf
  15. Leviticus 25:26 Lit his hand reaches
  16. Leviticus 25:28 Lit his hand has not found sufficient to
  17. Leviticus 25:28 Lit go out
  18. Leviticus 25:30 Lit go out
  19. Leviticus 25:31 Lit according to
  20. Leviticus 25:31 Lit go out
  21. Leviticus 25:33 Lit is from
  22. Leviticus 25:33 Lit and
  23. Leviticus 25:33 Lit goes out
  24. Leviticus 25:35 Lit hand
  25. Leviticus 25:36 Prob. interest on money and food loans
  26. Leviticus 25:36 Or revere
  27. Leviticus 25:37 Lit at interest
  28. Leviticus 25:43 Or violence
  29. Leviticus 25:46 Or violence
  30. Leviticus 25:47 Lit hand...reaches
  31. Leviticus 25:49 Lit his hand has reached and he
  32. Leviticus 25:53 Or violence
  33. Leviticus 25:54 Or these years
  34. Leviticus 26:1 Lit over
  35. Leviticus 26:5 Lit bread
  36. Leviticus 26:11 Or tabernacle
  37. Leviticus 26:11 Lit abhor
  38. Leviticus 26:16 Or impose...on you
  39. Leviticus 26:21 Lit walk with Me hostilely, and so throughout the ch
  40. Leviticus 26:26 Lit by weight
  41. Leviticus 26:30 Lit give
  42. Leviticus 26:30 Lit corpses
  43. Leviticus 26:30 Lit corpses
  44. Leviticus 26:36 Lit the flight of the sword
  45. Leviticus 26:43 Lit because and by the cause
  46. Leviticus 26:46 Lit by the hand of

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