Leviticus 25 summary meaning ai explained commentary

Leviticus 25 meaning explained in AI Summary

The Sabbath Year and Jubilee

Sabbath Principle Extended: This chapter introduces the concept of the Sabbath year, where the land was to be left fallow every seventh year. This practice mirrored the Sabbath principle of resting on the seventh day and reflected God's ownership of the land.
Year of Jubilee: The chapter also establishes the Jubilee, a special year occurring every fiftieth year. During the Jubilee, enslaved Israelites were to be set free, debts were to be forgiven, and the land was to revert to its original owners. This promoted social justice and economic equality.
Promise of Provision: The observance of the Sabbath year and Jubilee demonstrated the Israelites' trust in God's provision. By resting the land and letting go of possessions, they acknowledged God's ultimate ownership and trusted in His continued blessings.

Chapter 25 of Leviticus outlines two significant observances for the Israelites: the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee. These practices demonstrate God's provision, justice, and the importance of rest and restoration.

The Sabbatical Year (verses 1-7):

Every seventh year, the land is to lie fallow, a Sabbath rest for the Lord.
No sowing or harvesting is allowed during this year.
Whatever grows naturally is for everyone (people and animals) to share freely.

The Year of Jubilee (verses 8-24):

After seven cycles of seven years (49 years), the 50th year is declared a Jubilee.
On the Day of Atonement of the Jubilee year, liberty is proclaimed throughout the land.
Land that was sold due to hardship is returned to its original owner or their descendants.
Israelites who were forced into servitude due to debt are freed.
This system prevents permanent poverty and ensures equitable land distribution across generations.

Regulations Regarding Property and Redemption (verses 25-34):

Provisions are made for redeeming land before the Jubilee year.
Houses in walled cities are treated differently, with a one-year redemption period.
Houses in villages are considered part of the land and revert back during the Jubilee.
Levitical cities and their surrounding fields are exempt from these regulations.

Compassion for the Poor and Indebted (verses 35-55):

Israelites are commanded to be compassionate and lend to their impoverished neighbors without charging interest.
Selling oneself into servitude to a fellow Israelite is permitted, but they must be treated justly and not like slaves.
Foreigners can be bought and sold as slaves, but Israelites must never be treated this way by their own people.

Overall Themes:

God's Ownership and Provision: The land ultimately belongs to God, and He provides for His people through its bounty.
Rest and Restoration: The Sabbath year and Jubilee emphasize the importance of rest, allowing the land and people to recover.
Social Justice and Equity: These practices prevent the accumulation of wealth and land in the hands of a few, ensuring a just and equitable society.
Compassion and Redemption: The Israelites are called to show compassion to the poor and offer opportunities for redemption from debt and servitude.

Leviticus 25 presents a radical vision of social and economic justice rooted in God's character and covenant with His people. It highlights the importance of caring for the land, the poor, and the marginalized, reflecting God's heart for justice and restoration.

Leviticus 25 bible study ai commentary

Leviticus 25 extends the core principle of the Sabbath to the economic and social life of Israel, revealing a divine blueprint for justice, equity, and restoration. It establishes the Sabbatical Year for the land and culminates in the Year of Jubilee, a radical system of resetting the economy every fifty years. At its heart is the theology that God is the sole owner of the land and the supreme redeemer of His people. Humans are merely stewards, and the laws are designed to prevent systemic poverty, abolish permanent debt-slavery among Israelites, and constantly remind the people of their own redemption from Egypt, which is to be the model for their society.

Leviticus 25 Context

These laws were given to Israel at Mount Sinai as part of the covenant structuring their national life in the Promised Land. In the Ancient Near East, land ownership was the basis of wealth and stability. It was common for people to fall into debt, lose their ancestral land permanently, and sell themselves or their children into perpetual slavery. Leviticus 25 presents a direct polemic against this reality. Israel’s system was unique: the land was a divine gift, an inalienable inheritance for each family, and its ultimate owner was God Himself. This chapter established an economic framework rooted in theological conviction, not just agricultural utility, ensuring social cohesion and preventing the emergence of a permanent landless peasant class.

Leviticus 25:1-7

And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you: for yourself and for your male and female servants and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the beasts that are in your land. All its yield shall be for food.

In-depth-analysis

A Sabbath for the Land: The Sabbath principle, first applied to people (Exo 20:8-11), is now extended to creation itself. The land is not a resource to be endlessly exploited but is granted a divinely mandated rest.
Theological, not Agrarian: While leaving a field fallow has agricultural benefits, the text frames it as "a Sabbath to the LORD." It is an act of worship and obedience, demonstrating trust in God's provision.
Universal Provision: The produce that grows naturally (saphiah) is not for the landowner to store and sell. It is for everyone—owner, servant, sojourner, and even the wild animals. It radically equalizes access to food during this year, reinforcing community dependence on God, not on human hierarchy.

Bible references

Exo 23:10-11: "For six years you shall sow your land... but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat..." (Direct parallel for the Sabbatical year's purpose).
Gen 2:2: "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day..." (The divine model for Sabbath rest).
Deu 15:1-2: "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor." (Links the Sabbatical year for land with the release of debts).

Cross references

2 Chr 36:21 (The land enjoying its Sabbaths during the exile); Deu 31:10-13 (Reading the Law during the Sabbatical year); Heb 4:9 (The ultimate Sabbath rest for God's people).

Leviticus 25:8-12

“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a Jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

In-depth-analysis

Word: The term Jubilee (yobel) means "ram's horn," the instrument blown to announce this special year.
Theological Timing: The Jubilee is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This timing is crucial: economic and social restoration (yobel) flows directly from spiritual atonement with God. Forgiveness of sin and forgiveness of debt are biblically linked.
Liberty: The proclamation of liberty (deror) is the centerpiece. This is not just abstract freedom but a concrete restoration of two things:
1. Property: Ancestral land that had been sold is returned to the original family.
2. Persons: Individuals who had sold themselves into servitude are freed and returned to their clans.
Holy Year: It is consecrated as "holy to you," setting it apart as a special demonstration of God's grace and lordship. Like the Sabbatical year, it operates on trust in God's direct provision.

Bible references

Isa 61:1-2: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me... to proclaim liberty (deror) to the captives... to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor." (Directly quotes the Jubilee proclamation).
Luk 4:18-19: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me... to proclaim liberty to the captives... to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Jesus reads from Isaiah 61, declaring its spiritual fulfillment in his ministry).
Jer 34:8-11: "…King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people... to proclaim liberty to them... But afterward they turned around and took back... whom they had set free." (Shows Israel's historical failure to obey the spirit of the Jubilee law).

Cross references

Eze 7:12-13 (Prophetic reference to Jubilee principles); Eze 46:17 (Jubilee principles applied in Ezekiel's temple vision); Num 36:4 (The Jubilee ensuring land remains within the tribe).

Leviticus 25:13-17

“In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property. And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the Jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.

In-depth-analysis

Lease, Not Sale: This section clarifies that all land sales are effectively temporary leases. The buyer is not purchasing the land itself, but its produce for a set number of years.
Fair Pricing: The price is calculated pro-rata based on the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee. This is a built-in mechanism for fair trade and prevents speculative pricing.
Do Not Wrong: The prohibition against wronging (lo tonu) one another is a key ethical command, grounding business ethics in theology.
Motive: The ultimate motivation for this ethical behavior is not economic advantage but reverence: "you shall fear your God." Their relationship with God dictates their relationship with their neighbor.

Bible references

Lev 19:13: "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him..." (Parallel command against exploitation).
1 Th 4:6: "...that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things..." (NT echo of forbidding exploitation within the community of believers).
Mic 2:2: "They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance." (A prophetic condemnation of violating this principle).

Cross references

Deu 25:13-16 (Honest dealings); Pro 14:31 (Oppressing the poor insults the Maker); Amo 8:4-6 (Condemnation of cheating the poor).

Leviticus 25:18-22

“Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and do them, and you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating of the old crop; until the ninth year, when its crop comes in, you shall eat of the old.

In-depth-analysis

Anticipating Doubt: The law anticipates the very practical and logical question of survival. This shows God's pastoral concern.
A Test of Faith: Obeying the Sabbatical and Jubilee laws required profound faith. It was a tangible test of whether Israel truly believed God was their provider.
Miraculous Provision: God promises a supernatural bumper crop in the sixth year to sustain them through the Sabbatical seventh year and into the eighth year, until that year's harvest is ready. The three-year supply accounts for the 6th year's end, the full 7th year of rest, and the 8th year planting/growing season.

Bible references

Mat 6:31-33: "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?'... your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (The principle of trusting God's provision over human anxiety).
2 Cor 9:8: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." (NT principle of God's abundant provision for his people).
Exo 16:29: "See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days." (The double portion of manna before the weekly Sabbath serves as a precedent for the sixth-year bumper crop).

Cross references

Deu 11:13-15 (Obedience leading to blessing); Mal 3:10 (Testing God through tithing); Hag 1:5-11 (Disobedience leading to scarcity).

Leviticus 25:23-28

“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession, you shall grant a redemption for the land. “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.

In-depth-analysis

Theological Foundation: Verse 23 is the cornerstone of the entire chapter: "The land is mine." All of Israel’s property law is based on this divine ownership. Their status is that of "strangers and sojourners" (gerim ve-toshavim), tenants on God's land.
The Kinsman-Redeemer: Introduces the vital role of the go'el, the kinsman-redeemer. This is the closest male relative who has the right and responsibility to "redeem" or buy back the land to keep it in the family. This preserves the family's God-given inheritance.
Multiple Avenues of Restoration: The law provides three ways for land to be restored:
1. Redemption by a go'el.
2. Redemption by the original owner if his fortunes improve.
3. Automatic return at the Jubilee.This multi-layered system underscores the divine priority of maintaining the ancestral inheritance.

Bible references

Rth 4:3-6: "...Boaz said to the redeemer, 'Naomi... is selling the parcel of land... Then the redeemer said, 'I cannot redeem it for myself...'" (The story of Ruth provides a detailed narrative illustration of the go'el in action).
Heb 11:13: "These all died in faith... having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (NT application of the "sojourner" status to the life of faith).
Jer 32:6-8: "The word of the LORD came to me... Hanamel your uncle's son is coming to you... 'Buy my field... for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.' Then... I knew that this was the word of the LORD." (Jeremiah performs a symbolic act of redemption as a sign of future hope).

Cross references

1 Chr 29:15 (David confesses that Israel is like sojourners before God); 1 Pet 2:11 (Believers are sojourners and exiles); Psa 39:12 (Personal plea acknowledging sojourner status before God).

Leviticus 25:29-34

“If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a whole year after its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the buyer...it shall not be released in the Jubilee. But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the country... The Levites may redeem at any time the houses in their cities... for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel... the pastureland of their cities shall not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

In-depth-analysis

Two Kinds of Property: The law makes a sharp distinction between:
1. Ancestral Land (sadeh): Land for farming and sustenance. This is part of the divine inheritance and is always subject to Jubilee restoration. This includes houses in unwalled villages, which were part of the agricultural estate.
2. Commercial Property: Houses in walled cities were considered products of human commerce, not part of the ancestral inheritance from God. They could be sold permanently if not redeemed within one year.
The Levite Exception: Because the Levites have no tribal land inheritance, their city houses and surrounding pasturelands are their God-given inheritance. Therefore, these properties are treated like ancestral land and are subject to perpetual redemption rights and the Jubilee.

Bible references

Num 35:2-5: "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites... cities to dwell in... The pasturelands of the cities... shall be for their cattle..." (The basis for the Levites' special property rights).
Jos 21:41-42: "The towns of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were forty-eight towns with their pasturelands... Every one of these towns had its pasturelands around it." (The fulfillment of the command to give the Levites their cities).
Eze 48:14: "They shall not sell or exchange any of it. This choice portion of the land shall not be alienated, for it is holy to the LORD." (Prophetic reinforcement of the sacredness of the Levites' inheritance).

Leviticus 25:35-38

“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as a sojourner and a temporary resident, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for interest, nor give 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, and to be your God.

In-depth-analysis

From Property to People: The focus now shifts from protecting property to protecting people. The law commands proactive support for a fellow Israelite facing poverty.
No Interest: The words for interest, neshek (bite) and tarbit (increase), are prohibited. The principle is that one should not profit from a brother's misfortune. This is a loan for sustenance, not a commercial investment.
Redemptive Rationale: The motivation is stated in verse 38. God's act of redeeming Israel from Egypt and giving them the land is the paradigm. Because God gave to them graciously, they must give to their brothers graciously. They were once poor and needy slaves, and God rescued them.

Bible references

Deu 23:19: "You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, or interest on anything that is lent for interest." (Direct parallel law).
Luk 6:35: "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great..." (Jesus expands this principle of gracious lending even to one's enemies).
Neh 5:7,10: "I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials, saying to them, 'You are exacting interest, each from his brother.'... Let us abandon this exacting of interest." (Nehemiah rebukes the people for violating this law).

Cross references

Exo 22:25 (Earlier law against charging interest to the poor); Psa 15:5 (The righteous man does not lend at interest); Eze 18:8, 13, 17 (Refraining from interest is a mark of righteousness).

Leviticus 25:39-43

“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee. Then he shall be released from your service, he and his children with him, and shall return to his clan and to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly, but shall fear your God.

In-depth-analysis

Indentured Servant, Not Slave: This section deals with debt bondage. An Israelite cannot be treated like a chattel slave (ebed). His status is that of a hired hand (sakhir). This protects his dignity and personhood.
Jubilee Release: The term of service has a definitive end: the Year of Jubilee. This release is automatic and includes his entire family, restoring them to their tribe and their land.
Ultimate Ownership: Verse 42 provides the profound theological reason: "For they are my servants (abadai)." God is their ultimate master because He redeemed them from Egypt. An Israelite cannot be the permanent property of another human, because he is already the property of God.
No Ruthlessness: The command to "fear your God" is directly linked to ruling without ruthlessness, again tying social ethics to theological reverence.

Bible references

1 Cor 7:23: "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men." (The NT spiritual application of this principle).
Gal 5:1: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (The ultimate freedom from the yoke of sin purchased by Christ).
Eph 6:9: "Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him." (The NT command for masters to recognize their own Master in heaven).

Cross references

Exo 21:2 (Rule of release in the seventh year); Deu 15:12-18 (Elaboration on how to treat a released servant); Phlm 1:16 (Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back "no longer as a slave, but... as a beloved brother").

Leviticus 25:44-46

As for your male and female slaves whom you may have, you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the children of the sojourners who live among you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

In-depth-analysis

Concession to ANE Culture: This is a difficult passage that reflects the legal and cultural norms of the Ancient Near East, where chattel slavery was ubiquitous.
A Stark Distinction: It draws a sharp line between the treatment of Israelites (brothers) and foreigners. Foreign slaves could be held as property (naḥalah) in perpetuity.
A Polemic of Inclusion/Exclusion: While jarring to modern readers, within the logic of the covenant, the special protections were for "your brother." The radical nature was the creation of a protected class of "brothers" who could not be permanently enslaved, which was unheard of. Other Old Testament laws still provided protection for foreign slaves (Exo 21:20-21, 26-27), making Israelite slavery regulations more humane than their neighbors.
Trajectory of Scripture: The New Testament ultimately explodes this distinction by redefining "brother" to include all who are in Christ, creating a new family where there is "neither slave nor free" (Gal 3:28).

Bible references

Gal 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (The NT fulfillment that breaks down this wall of distinction).
Col 3:11: "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all." (Reinforces the new identity in Christ that transcends earthly social status).
Deu 23:15-16: "You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you... you shall not oppress him." (A law that limited the power of even foreign masters, showing a mitigating impulse).

Leviticus 25:47-55

“If a sojourner or stranger who is with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the sojourner or stranger... then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him... or if he prospers he may redeem himself... He shall be with him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule with ruthlessness over him in your sight. And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the Year of Jubilee. For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

In-depth-analysis

Protecting Israelites in All Circumstances: This law ensures that even if an Israelite is sold to a non-Israelite resident, the community's obligation to redeem him remains. His rights are not forfeited.
Redemption is Paramount: The go'el's right and the man's own right to self-redemption are upheld. The price is once again calculated based on the years until the Jubilee, ensuring a fair transaction.
Ultimate Rationale Repeated: The chapter concludes by forcefully restating its theological anchor (v. 55): Israel belongs to God. "For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt." This divine ownership trumps any human claim. It is the beginning and end of the entire legal and economic structure of the chapter.

Bible references

1 Pet 1:18-19: "...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ..." (The ultimate redemption from slavery to sin by the ultimate Redeemer).
Rom 6:22: "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." (The NT concept of being freed from one slavery only to joyfully enter service to God).
Neh 5:8: "We, as far as we were able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who had been sold to the nations..." (An example of the community fulfilling its duty of redemption).

Cross references

Gal 4:4-5 (Redeemed to receive adoption as sons); Eph 1:7 (Redemption through His blood); Tit 2:14 (He gave himself to redeem us).

Leviticus chapter 25 analysis

The Gospel of Jubilee: The chapter is a rich typological picture of Christ's work. Christ is the ultimate go'el (Kinsman-Redeemer) who buys us back, not with silver or gold, but with His own blood (1 Pet 1:18-19). He is the one who sounds the ultimate trumpet, proclaiming the true Jubilee—the "year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:19). This brings release (deror) from the debt of sin, freedom from slavery to a fallen nature, and restoration to our true family and our eternal inheritance in the presence of God.
Polemics Against Mammon: The entire system is a direct challenge to the worship of wealth and security. It mandates that economics must be subordinate to theology. It structurally prevents the permanent accumulation of wealth that creates systemic injustice, arguing that such accumulation is a denial of God's role as owner and provider.
The Creation Connection: The Sabbath for the land is a potent reminder of God as Creator. Just as humanity is made in God's image and finds its meaning in relationship to Him, the land itself is given a "Sabbath to the LORD," tying the well-being of creation directly to obedience to the Creator. The degradation of the land is thus seen as a spiritual problem.
Historical Application: Scholars debate if the Jubilee was ever systematically practiced. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos condemn the rich for dispossessing the poor and ignoring these principles (e.g., Isa 5:8, "Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field..."). This suggests the law served as a constant standard of justice against which Israel's frequent failure was judged. Its non-observance was one of the reasons for the exile, which itself became a forced Sabbath for the land (2 Chr 36:21).

Leviticus 25 summary

Leviticus 25 establishes God's radical economic system for Israel, based on the Sabbath principle. It mandates a Sabbatical year of rest for the land every seventh year and a Jubilee year every fiftieth. The Jubilee resets society by proclaiming liberty, returning all ancestral land to its original family, and freeing all Israelite indentured servants. The entire system is founded on the theological truths that God owns the land and that He redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt. Therefore, land cannot be sold permanently, and Israelites cannot be permanently enslaved to other humans because they are God's servants. These laws served as a blueprint for economic justice and a powerful foreshadowing of the redemption and restoration found in Christ.

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Leviticus chapter 25 kjv

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
² 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.
³ Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
⁴ 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.
⁵ 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.
⁶ 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.
⁷ And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
⁸ 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.
⁹ Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee 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.
¹⁰ And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
¹¹ A jubilee 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.
¹² For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
¹³ In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
¹⁴ And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
¹⁵ According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
¹⁶ 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.
¹⁷ Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
¹⁹ And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
²⁰ And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
²¹ Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
²² 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.
²³ The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
²⁴ And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
²⁵ 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.
²⁶ And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
²⁷ 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.
²⁸ 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 jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
²⁹ 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.
³⁰ 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 jubilee.
³¹ 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 jubilee.
³² Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
³³ 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 jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
³⁴ But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
³⁵ 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.
³⁶ Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
³⁷ Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
³⁸ 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.
³⁹ 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:
⁴⁰ But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee.
⁴¹ 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.
⁴² For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
⁴³ Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.
⁴⁴ 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.
⁴⁵ 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.
⁴⁶ 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 rigor.
⁴⁷ 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:
⁴⁸ After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
⁴⁹ 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.
⁵⁰ And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: 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.
⁵¹ 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.
⁵² And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
⁵³ And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.
⁵⁴ And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him.
⁵⁵ 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.

Leviticus chapter 25 nkjv

¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
² "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD.
³ Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit;
⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
⁵ What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land.
⁶ And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you,
⁷ for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land?all its produce shall be for food.
⁸ 'And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
⁹ Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.
¹⁰ And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.
¹² For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.
¹³ 'In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.
¹⁴ And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another.
¹⁵ According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you.
¹⁶ According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops.
¹⁷ Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ 'So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety.
¹⁹ Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
²⁰ 'And if you say, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?"
²¹ Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years.
²² And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
²³ 'The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
²⁴ And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
²⁵ 'If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold.
²⁶ Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it,
²⁷ then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession.
²⁸ But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.
²⁹ 'If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it.
³⁰ But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee.
³¹ However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
³² Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
³³ And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
³⁴ But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.
³⁵ 'If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
³⁶ Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you.
³⁷ You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
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.
³⁹ 'And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave.
⁴⁰ As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee.
⁴¹ And then he shall depart from you?he and his children with him?and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.
⁴² For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
⁴³ You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.
⁴⁴ And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have?from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.
⁴⁵ Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property.
⁴⁶ And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.
⁴⁷ 'Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger's family,
⁴⁸ after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him;
⁴⁹ or his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself.
⁵⁰ Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him.
⁵¹ If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought.
⁵² And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption.
⁵³ He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight.
⁵⁴ And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee?he and his children with him.
⁵⁵ For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus chapter 25 niv

¹ The LORD said to Moses at Mount Sinai,
² "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD.
³ For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.
⁴ But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.
⁵ Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
⁶ Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you?for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you,
⁷ as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.
⁸ "?'Count off seven sabbath years?seven times seven years?so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
⁹ Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.
¹⁰ Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.
¹¹ The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
¹² For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
¹³ "?'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
¹⁴ "?'If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other.
¹⁵ You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops.
¹⁶ When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops.
¹⁷ Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ "?'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.
¹⁹ Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.
²⁰ You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?"
²¹ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.
²² While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
²³ "?'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.
²⁴ Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
²⁵ "?'If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.
²⁶ If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves,
²⁷ they are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property.
²⁸ But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.
²⁹ "?'Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it.
³⁰ If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer's descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee.
³¹ But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.
³² "?'The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess.
³³ So the property of the Levites is redeemable?that is, a house sold in any town they hold?and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites.
³⁴ But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.
³⁵ "?'If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.
³⁶ Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you.
³⁷ You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit.
³⁸ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
³⁹ "?'If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.
⁴⁰ They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.
⁴¹ Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors.
⁴² Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves.
⁴³ Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
⁴⁴ "?'Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
⁴⁵ You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
⁴⁶ You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
⁴⁷ "?'If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner's clan,
⁴⁸ they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them:
⁴⁹ An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves.
⁵⁰ They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker for that number of years.
⁵¹ If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them.
⁵² If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly.
⁵³ They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.
⁵⁴ "?'Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee,
⁵⁵ for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus chapter 25 esv

¹ The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
² "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD.
³ For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits,
⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
⁵ You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.
⁶ The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you,
⁷ and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.
⁸ "You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years.
⁹ Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land.
¹⁰ And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.
¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines.
¹² For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.
¹³ "In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property.
¹⁴ And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
¹⁵ You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops.
¹⁶ If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you.
¹⁷ You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ "Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely.
¹⁹ The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely.
²⁰ And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?'
²¹ I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
²² When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.
²³ "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
²⁴ And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.
²⁵ "If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
²⁶ If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it,
²⁷ let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property.
²⁸ But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.
²⁹ "If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption.
³⁰ If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.
³¹ But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.
³² As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess.
³³ And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel.
³⁴ But the fields of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.
³⁵ "If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
³⁶ Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you.
³⁷ You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
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.
³⁹ "If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
⁴⁰ he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
⁴¹ Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
⁴² For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
⁴³ You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.
⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you.
⁴⁵ You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.
⁴⁶ You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
⁴⁷ "If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan,
⁴⁸ then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him,
⁴⁹ or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself.
⁵⁰ He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker.
⁵¹ If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price.
⁵² If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service.
⁵³ He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight.
⁵⁴ And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee.
⁵⁵ For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus chapter 25 nlt

¹ While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him,
² "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the LORD every seventh year.
³ For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops,
⁴ but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the LORD's Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year.
⁵ And don't store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.
⁶ But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you.
⁷ Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces.
⁸ "In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all.
⁹ Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram's horn loud and long throughout the land.
¹⁰ Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan.
¹¹ This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don't gather the grapes from your unpruned vines.
¹² It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own.
¹³ In the Year of Jubilee each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors.
¹⁴ "When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other.
¹⁵ When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee.
¹⁶ The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.
¹⁷ Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ "If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations.
¹⁹ Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.
²⁰ But you might ask, 'What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?'
²¹ Be assured that I will send my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a crop large enough for three years.
²² When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year.
²³ "The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.
²⁴ "With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back.
²⁵ If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.
²⁶ If there is no close relative to buy the land, but the person who sold it gets enough money to buy it back,
²⁷ he then has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be discounted according to the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. In this way the original owner can then return to the land.
²⁸ But if the original owner cannot afford to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land.
²⁹ "Anyone who sells a house inside a walled town has the right to buy it back for a full year after its sale. During that year, the seller retains the right to buy it back.
³⁰ But if it is not bought back within a year, the sale of the house within the walled town cannot be reversed. It will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
³¹ But a house in a village ? a settlement without fortified walls ? will be treated like property in the countryside. Such a house may be bought back at any time, and it must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
³² "The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them.
³³ And any property that is sold by the Levites ? all houses within the Levitical towns ? must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the houses in the towns reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel.
³⁴ The open pastureland around the Levitical towns may never be sold. It is their permanent possession.
³⁵ "If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you.
³⁶ Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative.
³⁷ Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him.
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.
³⁹ "If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave.
⁴⁰ Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee.
⁴¹ At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors.
⁴² The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves.
⁴³ Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.
⁴⁴ "However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you.
⁴⁵ You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property,
⁴⁶ passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way.
⁴⁷ "Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family,
⁴⁸ they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother,
⁴⁹ an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back. They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered.
⁵⁰ They will negotiate the price of their freedom with the person who bought them. The price will be based on the number of years from the time they were sold until the next Year of Jubilee ? whatever it would cost to hire a worker for that period of time.
⁵¹ If many years still remain until the jubilee, they will repay the proper proportion of what they received when they sold themselves.
⁵² If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they will repay a small amount for their redemption.
⁵³ The foreigner must treat them as workers hired on a yearly basis. You must not allow a foreigner to treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly.
⁵⁴ If any Israelites have not been bought back by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, they and their children must be set free at that time.
⁵⁵ For the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.