The Year of Jubilee

8 “ ‘And you[fn] shall count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years, and they shall be for you time periods of[fn] years: forty-nine[fn] years. 9 And you[fn] shall cause a loud horn blast[fn] to be heard on the seventh month on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement you[fn] shall cause a ram’s horn to be heard in all your[fn] land. 10 And you[fn] shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a release in the land for all its inhabitants. It is a Jubilee; it shall be for you, and you shall return. You must return—everyone to his property and everyone to his clan.[fn] 11 You[fn] shall have the fiftieth year as a Jubilee;[fn] you must not reap its aftergrowth, and you must not harvest its unpruned vines. 12 Because it is a Jubilee, it shall be holy to you. You must eat its[fn] produce from the field.

13 “ ‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you[fn] shall return[fn] to his property. 14 And when you[fn] sell something to your[fn] fellow citizen or you buy from your[fn] neighbor’s hand, you[fn] must not oppress one another.[fn] 15 You[fn] must buy from your fellow citizen according to the number of years after the Jubilee; he must sell to you according to the number of years of yield. 16 You[fn] must increase its price according to a greater number of years,[fn] but[fn] you must decrease its price according to a lesser number of years,[fn] because he is selling its yields to you. 17 And you[fn] must not oppress one another,[fn] but[fn] you[fn] shall revere your God, because I am Yahweh, your[fn] God.

18 “ ‘And you[fn] shall do my statutes, and you must keep my regulations, and you shall do them, so that[fn] you shall live securely[fn] on the land. 19 And the land shall give its fruit, and you[fn] shall eat your fill,[fn] and you shall live securely[fn] on it. 20 And if you[fn] should say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if[fn] we do not sow and we do not gather its yield?” 21 then[fn] I will command my blessing for you[fn] in the sixth year, so that[fn] it will make[fn] the yield for three years. 22 And you[fn] will sow in the eighth year, and you shall eat from the old yield;[fn] until the ninth year, until the coming of its yield, you shall eat the old yield.

23 “ ‘But[fn] the land must not be sold in[fn] perpetuity, because the land is mine, because you[fn] are aliens and temporary residents with me. 24 And in all your[fn] property’s land you[fn] must provide redemption for the land.

25 “ ‘When your[fn] brother becomes poor and he sells part of his property, then[fn] his nearest redeemer[fn] shall come, and he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother. 26 But[fn] if[fn] a man does not have[fn] a redeemer, then[fn] he prospers[fn] and he finds enough for his redemption, 27 then[fn] he shall calculate the years of its selling, and he shall refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his property. 28 But[fn] if his hand does not find enough to refund to him, then[fn] what he has sold[fn] shall be in the buyer’s hand until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall go out of the buyer’s hand[fn] in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his property.

29 “ ‘And if a man sells a residential house in a walled city,[fn] then[fn] it shall be his redemption until completing a year after his selling;[fn] its redemption shall last[fn] a year.[fn] 30 But[fn] if it is not redeemed before a full year has passed,[fn] then[fn] the house that is in the walled city[fn] shall belong to the buyer in[fn] perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out of the buyer’s hand[fn] in the Jubilee. 31 However,[fn] village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered open country;[fn] there is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out of the buyer’s hand.[fn]

32 “ ‘As for[fn] the cities of the Levites, that is, the houses in[fn] their property’s cities, it shall be a lasting redemption[fn] for the Levites. 33 And whatever anyone redeems from the Levites then[fn] must go out of the buyer’s hand[fn] in the Jubilee, including a house’s selling in his city’s property,[fn] because the houses in[fn] the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the Israelites.[fn] 34 But[fn] a[fn] field of their cities’ pastureland must not be sold, because it is their property for all time.[fn]

35 “ ‘And if your[fn] countryman[fn] becomes poor and if he becomes dependent on you,[fn] then[fn] you shall support him like an alien and like a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. 36 You[fn] must not take interest or[fn] usury from him, but[fn] you shall revere your God, and your countryman[fn] shall live with you. 37 You[fn] must not give your money to him with interest or[fn] give your food for[fn] profit. 38 I am Yahweh your[fn] God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you[fn] the land of Canaan, to be as God for you.

39 “ ‘And if your[fn] countryman[fn] who is with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, you shall not treat him as a slave.[fn] 40 He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And he and his sons with him shall go out from you, and he shall return to his clan, and to the property of his ancestors[fn] he shall return. 42 Because they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold as a slave.[fn] 43 You[fn] shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but[fn] you shall revere your God.

44 “ ‘As for[fn] your[fn] slave and your[fn] slave woman who are[fn] yours,[fn] from the nations that are all around you,[fn] from them you[fn] may buy a slave or[fn] a slave woman. 45 And you[fn] may buy also from the children[fn] of the temporary residents who are dwelling with you as aliens and from their clan who are with you, who have children in your land; indeed,[fn] they may be as property for you. 46 And you[fn] may pass them on as an inheritance to your[fn] sons[fn] after you[fn] to take possession of as property for all time[fn]—you[fn] may let them work. But[fn] as for your[fn] countrymen,[fn] the Israelites,[fn] you[fn] shall not rule with ruthlessness over one another.[fn]

47 “ ‘And if the alien or[fn] the temporary resident who are with you[fn] prosper,[fn] but[fn] your countryman[fn] who is with him becomes poor and he is sold to an alien, a temporary resident who is with you, or to a descendant of an alien’s clan, 48 after he is sold redemption shall be for him; one of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of[fn] his close relatives[fn] from his clan may redeem him; or if he prospers,[fn] he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall calculate with his buyer from the year of his selling himself[fn] until the Jubilee; and the value of his selling shall be according to the number of years—it shall be with him like[fn] a hired worker’s days. 51 If there are still many years, in keeping with them[fn] he shall restore his redemption in proportion to his purchase price.[fn] 52 And if there are a few years left until the Year of Jubilee, then[fn] he shall calculate for himself; he shall restore his redemption according to the number of his years.[fn] 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired worker;[fn] he shall not rule over him with ruthlessness in your[fn] sight.[fn] 54 And if he is not redeemed by[fn] any of these ways,[fn] then[fn] he and his sons with him shall go out in the Year of Jubilee. 55 Indeed,[fn] the Israelites[fn] are servants for me; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your[fn] God.’ ”