The Year of Jubilee & the Laws for Indentured Servants |
Leviticus 25:1-55 The Third Book of Moses Called Leviticus |
The Lord [spoke] to Moses [on] Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the children [people] of Israel, When you come into the land [that] I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. |
[For] 6 years you shall sow your field & prune your vineyard & gather [its] fruit [of it]; But in the 7th year there shall be a Sabbath of rest [for] the land, a Sabbath for the Lord. You shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. |
[What] grows of its own accord of your harvest, you shall not reap, neither gather the grapes of your [untended] vine, for it is a year of rest [for] the land. |
The Sabbath of the land shall be [food] for: you, your servant & maid, your hired servant & your stranger [who dwells] with you & for your [livestock] & the [beasts] in your land. All the increase [of it] shall be [food for them.] |
You shall [count ] 7 Sabbaths of years [for yourself,] 7 times 7 years, & the space of 7 Sabbaths of years shall be [for] you 49 years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of Jubilee to sound on the 10th day of the 7th month, [on] the Day of Atonement, you shall make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. |
You shall [honor as holy the] 50th year. You shall proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants [of it.] It shall be a Jubilee [for] you & you shall return every man to his possession & you shall return every man to his family. |
That 50th year shall be a Jubilee to you & in it, you shall neither sow nor reap [what] grows [on its own,] nor gather the grapes of [its untended] vine. For it is the Jubilee & it shall be holy to you & you shall eat [its increase of produce from] the field. |
In this year of Jubilee, you shall return every man to his possession. If you sell [anything] to your neighbor or buy [anything] from him, you shall not oppress one another. |
According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy [from] your neighbor & according to the number of years of [crops] he shall sell to you. According to the multitude of years, you shall increase the price [of it] & [if there are few] years [until Jubilee] you shall [reduce] the price [of it.] |
For according to the number of years of the [crops,] he [sells] unto you. You shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear [respect] the Lord your God. For I am the Lord your God. [Therefore] you shall do My [mandates] & keep My judgments & do them & you shall [live] in the land in safety. |
The land shall [give] her fruit & you shall eat your fill & [live in it] in safety. If you say, What shall we eat [in] the 7th year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase [of produce.] Then, I will command My blessing upon you in the 6th year & it shall bring [enough] fruit for 3 years. |
You shall sow [seed] the 8th year & [still] eat old [produce] until the 9th year; until her [produce comes] in, you shall eat of the [stored produce.] The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and [temporary residents] with Me. |
In all the land of your possession, you shall grant a redemption for the land. If your brother [becomes] poor & has sold away some of his [possessions] & if any of his [relatives] come to redeem it, then he shall redeem [what] his brother sold. |
If the man has [no one] to redeem it & he [is unable] to redeem it [himself;] then let him count the years [from the time] of the sale [of the property until Jubilee] & restore [any overage] to the man to whom he sold it; [so] his possession may return to him. |
But if he [can’t afford to redeem his property,] then the [sold property] shall remain [with the person who] bought it, until the year of Jubilee. In Jubilee, [it shall be released to the original owner as] his possession. |
If a man [sells his] house in a walled city, then he may [pay what is owed &] redeem it within a whole year after it is sold. If it [isn’t] redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city, shall [belong to the person who] bought it throughout his generations & it shall not [be returned] in the year of Jubilee. |
[But] the houses [that are sold] in the villages that have no [walls around] them, shall be counted [the same] as the fields of the country & they may be redeemed & they shall be [released] in Jubilee. |
[Nevertheless] the cities of the Levites [who do the duty of the church] & the houses [in] the cities of their [possessions,] the Levites may redeem [them at any time.] |
If a man [purchases a house] from a Levite, then the house which was sold [in] the city of his possession, shall be [released] in the year of Jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children [people] of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession. |
If [one of your brethren becomes] poor & [falls into poverty among] you, then you shall [help] him, [even] though he [is] a stranger, or a [temporary resident, so] he may live with you. |
[Deuteronomy 15:10-11 You shall surely give [to] him & your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because the Lord, your God, shall bless you for this thing, in all [you do] & all you put your hand to. For the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor & to the needy, in your land. |
Take no [interest] or [profit from] him. But fear [respect] your God, [so] that your brother may live with you. You shall not [lend] him your money for [interest,] nor lend him your [food] for [profit.] I am the Lord your God, [Who] brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan & to be your God. |
If your brother [who] dwells [near] you [becomes] poor & [sells himself] to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a bond servant. [He shall be with you like] a hired servant & [temporary resident.] He shall serve you until the year of Jubilee & then he shall depart from you. |
Both he & his children with him & shall return to his own family & to the possession of his fathers. For they are My servants, [whom] I brought [forward] out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. You shall not rule over him with [rigor,] but you shall fear [respect] your God. |
Both your bondmen & bondmaids, which you have, shall be [from] the heathen [nations around] you & you [may] buy bondmen & bondmaids [from] them & the strangers & [temporary residents, who stay] among you & [from] their families that are with you, [which were fathered] in your land. |
They shall be your possession & you shall [pass them down] as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession. They shall be your bondmen forever: you shall not rule over another [Israelite] with rigor. |
If [a temporary resident] or stranger [becomes wealthy] by you & your brother [who] dwells with you [becomes] poor & [sells] himself to the stranger or [temporary resident, or to their family near] you: After he [has been sold for his debt,] he may be redeemed again, one of his brethren may redeem him [by paying what is owed.] |
Either his uncle, his uncle’s son, or any [near relative] may redeem him, or if he is able, he may redeem [himself.] |
The [amount paid to redeem him needs to be figured out] with the person [who] purchased him, from the year that he was sold to him [until] the year of Jubilee & the price of the sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the [rate paid for that time] of a hired servant. |
If there are [still] many years [remaining until the year of Jubilee,] according to [those] he shall pay the price of his redemption [the difference] of the money he was bought for. |
If there [are only] a few years [remaining until] the year of Jubilee, they are to count them with him & according to his years, he shall give him again the price of his redemption. |
[They are to be treated like a] yearly hired servant & shall be with him. And the other shall not rule over him with rigor, in your sight. If he [hasn’t already] been redeemed in these years, then he shall [be released] in the year of Jubilee, both he & his children with him. For to Me, the children [people] of Israel are servants |
They are My servants, whom I brought [forward] out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord, your God. |