Leviticus 25

And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,

In the tranquility of Mount Sinai, the LORD passionately communicated with Moses, expressing,

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.

Tell the people of Israel, when you arrive in the land I'm giving you, let the land rest in honor of the LORD.

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

For six years, passionately cultivate your land, lovingly tend to your vineyard, and joyfully harvest the fruits of your labor.

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.

In the seventh year, let the land rest and rejuvenate, a sacred pause for the Lord. Don't plant or trim your 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.

Don't harvest what grows naturally or pick grapes from unpruned vines during the year of rest for 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.

The bounty of the land during the Sabbath is for everyone to share; you, your workers, and any visitors you may have.

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

All the growth in your land, even for your livestock and wild animals, will provide nourishment.

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.

Count seven sets of seven years, each set a Sabbath year. In total, you'll have forty-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.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, during the day of atonement, let the joyous trumpet sound echo across your land.

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.

Celebrate the 50th year, declare freedom across the land for everyone. It's a joyous time for you all; everyone should return to their homes and families.

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.

In the fiftieth year, celebrate a jubilee! Don't plant or harvest anything that grows on its own, and don't pick any grapes from the unpruned vines.

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

This is a time of celebration, sacred to you. Eat only what the fields yield on their own.

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

In this joyous year of celebration, everyone should return to their own family land.

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

If you sell or buy anything from your neighbor, treat each other fairly. Don't take advantage of one another.

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:

Buy from your neighbor based on the years since the jubilee, and he should sell to you based on the years of harvest.

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.

The more years, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. It's all based on the number of years the fruits are sold to you.

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

Don't be cruel to each other, respect and honor your God, because I am your Lord.

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

Follow my rules, respect my decisions, and act on them. Then, you will live peacefully in the land.

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

The earth will generously provide its bounty, you'll have more than enough to eat, and you'll live there without fear.

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

If you worry, "What will we eat in the seventh year without planting or harvesting?"

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

In the sixth year, I'll shower you with my blessings, and you'll reap its benefits for three years.

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.

In the eighth year, you'll plant seeds, but continue to eat from the past harvest until the ninth year. Only when the new crops are ready, you'll stop eating from the old stock.

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

The land must never be sold for good, because it belongs to me. You are merely foreigners and temporary guests with me on this sacred ground.

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

In every place you own, you must allow the land to be redeemed with love and respect.

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.

If your brother has fallen on hard times and had to sell some of his land, and if a relative can buy it back, then they should do so to help him out.

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

If the man has no one to buy it back for him, but he himself becomes able to buy it back;

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.

Let him tally the years since he sold it, and give back any extra to the person he sold it to, so he can reclaim what was once his.

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.

If he can't repay, the sold item stays with the buyer until the jubilee year. Then, it's returned to its original owner.

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.

If a man sells his home in a city with walls, he has a full year to buy it back.

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.

If the house in the city isn't bought back within a year, it permanently belongs to the buyer and their descendants, and it won't be returned during the jubilee.

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.

Unwalled homes in rural villages are considered part of the countryside. They can be bought back and will be freed during the jubilee celebration.

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

Regardless of the cities and homes they own, the Levites can reclaim them whenever they wish.

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.

If a man buys from the Levites, the sold house and the city he owns will be returned during the year of jubilee. This is because the homes in Levite cities are their rightful property among the Israelites.

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

The land surrounding their cities must never be sold; it's their forever home.

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.

If your brother becomes poor or falls on hard times, help him out. Even if he's a stranger or just passing through, let him live with you.

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

Don't exploit him with interest, but respect your God. Let your brother live in peace with you.

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

Don't take advantage of others by charging them interest on money you lend, or by making profit from food you loan.

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.

I am your God, who lovingly freed you from Egypt's chains, to gift you the beautiful land of Canaan and to forever be there for you.

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:

If your neighbor falls into poverty and sells himself to you, don't force him into slavery.

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

Like a loyal employee and a temporary guest, he will stay with you, serving you faithfully until the celebratory year.

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.

Then he will leave you, taking his children with him. He'll go back to his family and reclaim his father's property.

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

They are my servants, whom I lovingly freed from Egypt's grip. They shall never be sold as slaves.

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

Don't be harsh when you lead; instead, respect and honor your God.

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.

The servants you have, both men and women, should come from the nations around you; from them, you should acquire your servants.

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.

You may also buy servants from the foreigners living among you and from their families born in your land. They may become your property.

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.

You may pass these servants on to your children as their inheritance, to own as property; they will be your servants for life. But remember, never treat your fellow Israelites harshly or unfairly.

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:

If a foreigner living among you grows wealthy, and your brother living near him becomes poor, selling himself to that foreigner or his family,

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

Once sold, he can be bought back; a brother may reclaim him.

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.

His uncle, cousin, or any close family member can buy back his freedom. If he can afford it, he can even buy his own freedom.

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.

He will settle accounts with his buyer, from the year he was sold until the jubilee year. The cost of his sale will be based on the number of years, just like a hired worker's wage.

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.

If many years remain, he should repay the cost of his freedom with the money he was sold for.

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.

If only a few years are left until the jubilee year, he should calculate and pay back a fair amount based on those remaining years.

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

He shall be treated like a valued employee, not a slave. No one should harshly dominate him, especially when you're watching.

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.

If he isn't saved within these years, then during the jubilee year, he and his children will be set free.

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.

The people of Israel are like my children, serving me faithfully. I, their God, freed them from Egypt's chains.