Leviticus 25

1 Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,

The Lord told Moses on Mount Sinai,

2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.

“Tell the Israelites: When you enter the land that I'm giving you, the land itself must also observe a Sabbath rest in honor of the Lord.

3 For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops.

Six years you can cultivate your fields, take care of your vineyards, and harvest your crops.

4 But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.

But the seventh year is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath in honor of the Lord. Don't plant your fields or care for your vineyards.

5 You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.

Don't harvest what may have grown up in your fields, or collect the grapes from your vineyards that you haven't cared for. The land is to have a year of complete rest.

6 Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you,

You can eat whatever the land produces during the Sabbath year. This applies to yourself, your male and female slaves, paid workers and foreigners who live with you,

7 and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.

and to your livestock and the wild animals living in your land. Whatever grows can be used for food.

8 And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years.

Count seven ‘sabbaths’ of years, in other words, seven times seven years, so that the seven sabbaths of years come to forty-nine years.

9 Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.

Then blow the trumpet all through the country on the tenth day of the seventh month, which is the Day of Atonement. Make sure this signal is heard throughout your whole country.

10 So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.

You are to dedicate the fiftieth year and announce freedom everywhere in the country for all who live there. This is to be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to reclaim your property and to be part of your family once more.

11 The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.

The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you. Don't sow the land; don't harvest what may have grown up in your fields, or collect the grapes from your vineyards that you haven't cared for.

12 For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.

It is a Jubilee and it is to be holy to you. You can eat whatever the land produces.

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

In this Jubilee Year, every one of you shall return to your own property.

14 If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.

If you sell land to your neighbor, or buy land from him, don't exploit one another.

15 You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining.

When you buy from your neighbor work out how many years have passed since the last Jubilee, for he is to sell to you depending on how many years of harvest remain.

16 You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.

The more years that are left, the more you shall pay; the fewer years that are left, the less you shall pay, because he is actually selling you a specific number of harvests.

17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

Don't exploit one another, but have respect for your God, because I am the Lord your God.

18 You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land.

Keep my rules and observe my regulations, so you can live in safety in the land.

19 Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land.

Then the land will produce good harvest, so you will have plenty to eat and live in safety there.

20 Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’

But if you ask, ‘What are we going to in the seventh year if we do not sow or harvest our crops?’

21 But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.

I will bless you in the sixth year, so that the land will produce a crop that will be enough for three years.

22 While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.

As you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating from that harvest, which will last until your harvest in the ninth year.

23 The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.

Land must not be permanently sold, because it really belongs to me. To me you are only foreigners and travelers passing through.

24 Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

So whatever land you buy to own, you must make arrangements so it can be returned to its original owner.

25 If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.

If one of your people becomes poor and sells you some of their land, their close family can come and buy back what they have sold.

26 Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land,

However, if they don't have anyone who can buy it back, but in the meantime their financial situation improves and they have enough to buy back the land,

27 he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property.

they will work how many years it has been since the sale, and pay back the balance to the person who bought it, and go back to their property

28 But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.

If they can't raise enough to pay the person back for the land, the buyer will remain its owner until the Jubilee Year. But in the Jubilee the land will be returned so that the original owner can so that they can go back to their property.

29 If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed.

If someone sells a house located in a walled town, they have the right to buy it back for a full year after selling it. It can be bought back any time during that year.

30 If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee.

If it isn't bought back be the end of a full year, then ownership of the house in the walled town is permanently transferred to the one who bought it and their descendants. It won't be returned in the Jubilee.

31 But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.

But houses in villages that don't have walls around them are to be treated as located in the fields. They can be bought back, and will be returned in the Jubilee.

32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess.

However, the Levites always have the right to buy back their houses in the towns that belong to them.

33 So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites.

Whatever the Levites own can be bought back, even houses sold in their towns, and must be returned in the Jubilee. That's because the houses in the towns of the Levites are what they were given to own as their share among the Israelites.

34 But the open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for this is their permanent possession.

However, the fields surrounding their towns must not be sold because they belong to the Levites permanently.

35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.

If any of your people become poor and can't survive, you must help them in the same way you would help a foreigner or a stranger, so that they can go on living in your neighborhood.

36 Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

Don't make them pay you any interest or demand more than they borrowed, but respect your God so that they can remain living in your area.

37 You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.

Don't lend them silver with interest or sell them food at an inflated price.

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.

Remember, I am the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39 If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

If any of your people become poor and have to sell themselves to work for you, don't force them to work as a slave.

40 Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.

Have them live with you like a paid worker who is staying with you for a while. They are to work for you until the Jubilee Year.

41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers.

Then they and their children must be freed, and they can go back to their family and to their family's property.

42 Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.

Israelites are not to be sold as slaves because they belong to me as my slaves—I led them out of Egypt.

43 You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

Don't treat them with brutality. Have respect for your God.

44 Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them.

Buy your male and female slaves from the surrounding nations.

45 You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property.

You can also buy them from foreigners who have come to live among you, or from their descendants born in your land. You can treat them as your property.

46 You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

You can pass them on to your children to inherit as property after you die. You can make them slaves for life, but you must not brutally treat any of your own people, the Israelites, as a slave.

47 If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan,

If a foreigner among you becomes successful, and one of your people living nearby becomes poor and sells themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner's family,

48 he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him:

they still have the right of being bought back after the sale. A member of their family can buy them back—

49 either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.

an uncle or cousin or any close relative from their family can buy them back. If they become successful, they can buy themselves back.

50 He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand.

The person concerned and their buyer will work out the time from the year of the sale up to the Jubilee Year. The price will depend on the number of years, calculated using the daily rate for a paid worker.

51 If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price.

If there are many years left, they must pay a larger percentage of the purchase price.

52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years.

If there are only a few years remaining before the Jubilee Year, then they only have to pay a percentage depending on the number of years still left.

53 He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

They are to live with their foreign owner just like a paid worker, hired from year to year, but see to it that the owner doesn't treat him brutally.

54 Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee.

If they are not bought back in any of the ways described, they and their children shall be freed in the Jubilee Year.

55 For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

For the Israelites belong to me as my slaves. They are my slaves—I led them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”