Vayikra 25
25
[BEHAR]
1And Hashem spoke unto Moshe in Mt. Sinai, saying,
2Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, When ye come into HaAretz which I give you, then shall HaAretz observe a Shabbos rest unto Hashem.
3Six years thou shalt sow thy sadeh, and six years thou shalt prune thy kerem, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4But in the Shanah HaShevi'it shall be a Shabbos Shabbaton unto HaAretz, a Shabbos unto Hashem; thou shalt neither sow thy sadeh, nor prune thy kerem (vineyard).
5That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy untended vine; for it is Shnat Shabbaton unto HaAretz.
6And the Shabbos of HaAretz shall be food for you; for thee, and for thy eved, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy toshav (guest) that sojourneth with thee.
7And for thy cattle, and for the wild animals that are in thy land, shall all the tevuah (increase) thereof be to eat.
8And thou shalt count seven Shabbatot of shanim unto thee, seven times seven shanim; and the period of the sheva Shabbatot of shanim shall be unto thee forty and nine shanim.
9Then shalt thou cause the shofar to sound a broken blast on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the Yom HaKippurim shall ye make the shofar sound throughout all your land.
10And ye shall treat as kodesh the fiftieth year, and proclaim deror (freedom) throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a Yovel (Jubilee) unto you; and ye shall return every man unto the ancestral heritage of his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his mishpochah.
11A Yovel 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 untended vine,
12For it is the Yovel; it shall be kodesh unto you; ye shall eat the tevuah (increase) thereof out of the sadeh.
13In this Shnat Yovel ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighborʼs hand, ye shall not take advantage of one another.
15According to the number of shanim after the Yovel thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of shanim of the tevuot (harvests, increases) he shall sell unto thee.
16According to the multitude of shanim thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of shanim thou shalt diminish the price of it; for according to the number of the shanim of the tevuot doth he sell unto thee.
17Ye shall not therefore take advantage of one another; but thou shalt fear Eloheicha: for I am Hashem Eloheichem.
18Wherefore ye shall do My chukkot, and be shomer over My mishpatim, and do them; and ye shall dwell in HaAretz in safety.
19And HaAretz shall yield her pri, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
20And if ye shall say, What shall we eat in the shanah hashevi'it? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our tevuah;
21Then I will command Birkhati (My Blessing) upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth the tevuah for shalosh hashanim.
22And ye shall sow the shanah hasheminit, and eat yet of tevuah yashan (old increase) until the ninth year; until her harvest come in, ye shall eat of the yashan (old).
23HaAretz shall not be sold permanently: for HaAretz is Mine, for ye are gerim and toshavim with Me.
24And in all the eretz of your possession ye shall grant a Geulah for HaAretz.
25If thy brother become poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and his Go'el HaKarov (Near Kinsman Redeemer) come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
26And if the man does not have for him a Go'el, and himself be able to effect the Geulah,
27Then let him count the shanim from the sale thereof, and refund the balance unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
28But 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 Shnat HaYovel; and in the Yovel it shall be returned, and he shall return unto his possession.
29And if a man sell a bais moshav in a walled city, then he retains the right of Geulah a full year after its sale; within a full year may he redeem it.
30And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the bais that is in the walled city shall be established forever to him that bought it throughout his dorot; it shall not return in the Yovel.
31But the batim (houses) of the villages which have no chomah (wall) round about them shall be considered as the fields of the country; Geulah shall be for it, and in the Yovel it must return.
32Notwithstanding, the towns of the Levi'im, and the batim (houses) of the towns of their possession, there is a Geulat Olam for the Levi'im.
33And what one will buy from the Levi'im, the bais that was sold, and the town of his possession, shall be released in the year of Yovel; for the batim of the towns of the Levi'im are their possession among the Bnei Yisroel.
34But the sadeh of the open land of their towns may not be sold; for it is their achuzzat olam (perpetual heritage).
35And if thy brother become poor, and his hand fails with thee; then thou shalt strengthen him; yea, though he be a ger, or a toshav; that he may live among thee.
36Take thou no neshekh of him, or increase; but fear Eloheicha; that thy brother may live among thee.
37Thou shalt not lend him thy kesef at neshekh, nor give him thy food for increase.
38I am Hashem Eloheichem, which brought you forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim, to give you Eretz Kena'an, and to be Elohim unto you.
39And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee become poor, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to do avodat eved;
40But as a sakhir, and as a toshav, he shall be among thee, and shall serve thee unto the Shnat HaYovel.
41And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his banim with him, and shall return unto his own mishpochah, and unto the Achuzzat of his Avot shall he return.
42For they are My Eved, which I brought forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim; they shall not be sold in the manner of an eved.
43Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear Eloheicha.
44Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Goyim that are round about you; of them shall ye buy eved and amah.
45Moreover of the bnei hatoshavim that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their mishpachot that are among you, which they fathered in your land; and they shall be your possession.
46And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your banim after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen forever; but over your brethren, the Bnei Yisroel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.
47And if a ger or toshav grow rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him grow poor, and sell himself unto the foreigner among thee, or to the eker (member) mishpachat of the ger;
48After that he is sold, his Geulah remains; one of his brethren may redeem him,
49Either his dod, or ben dod of him, may redeem him, or any that is near of kin unto him of his mishpachat may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
50And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the Shnat HaYovel; and the price of his release shall be based on the number of shanim, according to the value of a sakhirʼs pay shall it be with him.
51If there be yet many shanim remaining, according unto them he shall give for his Geulah the kesef that he was bought for.
52And if there remain but few shanim unto the Shnat HaYovel, then he shall count that, and according unto his shanim shall he pay the price of his Geulah.
53And as a sakhir hired shanah b'shanah shall he be with him; and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.
54And if he be not redeemed in these shanim, then he shall be released in the Shnat HaYovel, both he, and his banim with him.
55For unto Me the Bnei Yisroel are avadim; they are My avadim whom I brought forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim: I am Hashem Eloheichem.
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Vayikra 25: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Leviticus 25
25
The Seventh Year
(Deut 15.1–11)
1 #
Ex 23.10–11
The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanded him 2to give the following regulations to the people of Israel. When you enter the land that the LORD is giving you, you shall honour the LORD by not cultivating the land every seventh year. 3You shall sow your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather your crops for six years. 4But the seventh year is to be a year of complete rest for the land, a year dedicated to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5Do not even harvest the corn that grows by itself without being sown, and do not gather the grapes from your unpruned vines; it is a year of complete rest for the land. 6Although the land has not been cultivated during that year, it will provide food for you, your slaves, your hired men, the foreigners living with you, 7your domestic animals, and the wild animals in your fields. Everything that it produces may be eaten.
The Year of Restoration
8Count seven times seven years, a total of 49 years. 9Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, send someone to blow a trumpet throughout the whole land. 10In this way you shall set the fiftieth year apart and proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land. During this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to the original owner or his descendants, and anyone who has been sold as a slave shall return to his family. 11You shall not sow your fields or harvest the corn that grows by itself or gather the grapes in your unpruned vineyards. 12The whole year shall be sacred for you; you shall eat only what the fields produce of themselves.
13In this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to its original owner. 14So when you sell land to your fellow-Israelite or buy land from him, do not deal unfairly. 15The price is to be fixed according to the number of years the land can produce crops before the next Year of Restoration. 16If there are many years, the price shall be higher, but if there are only a few years, the price shall be lower, because what is being sold is the number of crops the land can produce. 17Do not cheat a fellow-Israelite, but obey the LORD your God.
The Problem of the Seventh Year
18Obey all the LORD's laws and commands, so that you may live in safety in the land. 19The land will produce its crops, and you will have all you want to eat and will live in safety.
20But someone may ask what there will be to eat during the seventh year, when no fields are sown and no crops gathered. 21The LORD will bless the land in the sixth year so that it will produce enough food for two years. 22When you sow your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating what you harvested during the sixth year, and you will have enough to eat until the crops you plant that year are harvested.
Restoration of Property
23Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.
24When land is sold, the right of the original owner to buy it back must be recognized. 25If an Israelite becomes poor and is forced to sell his land, his closest relative is to buy it back. 26Anyone who has no relative to buy it back may later become prosperous and have enough to buy it back. 27In that case he must pay to the man who bought it a sum that will make up for the years remaining until the next Year of Restoration, when he would in any event recover his land. 28But if he does not have enough money to buy the land back, it remains under the control of the man who bought it until the next Year of Restoration. In that year it will be returned to its original owner.
29If someone sells a house in a walled city, he has the right to buy it back during the first full year from the date of sale. 30But if he does not buy it back within the year, he loses the right of repurchase, and the house becomes the permanent property of the purchaser and his descendants; it will not be returned in the Year of Restoration. 31But houses in unwalled villages are to be treated like fields; the original owner has the right to buy them back, and they are to be returned in the Year of Restoration. 32However, Levites have the right to buy back at any time their property in the cities assigned to them. 33If a house in one of these cities is sold by a Levite and is not bought back, it must be returned in the Year of Restoration,#25.33 Probable text If a house… Restoration; Hebrew unclear. because the houses which the Levites own in their cities are their permanent property among the people of Israel. 34But the pasture land round the Levite cities shall never be sold; it is their property for ever.
Loans to the Poor
35 #
Deut 15.7–8
If a fellow-Israelite living near you becomes poor and cannot support himself or herself, you must provide for them as you would for hired servants, so that they can continue to live near you. 36Do not charge them any interest, but obey God and let your fellow-Israelites live near you. 37#Ex 22.25; Deut 23.19–20Do not make them pay interest on the money you lend them, and do not make a profit on the food you sell them. 38This is the command of the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt in order to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
Release of Slaves
39 #
Ex 21.2–6; Deut 15.12–18 If a fellow-Israelite living near you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you as a slave, you shall not make him do the work of a slave. 40He shall stay with you as a hired servant and serve you until the next Year of Restoration. 41At that time he and his children shall leave you and return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. 42The people of Israel are the LORD's slaves, and he brought them out of Egypt; they must not be sold into slavery. 43Do not treat them harshly, but obey your God. 44If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations round you. 45You may also buy the children of the foreigners who are living among you. Such children born in your land may become your property, 46and you may leave them as an inheritance to your sons, whom they must serve as long as they live. But you must not treat any of your fellow-Israelites harshly.
47Suppose a foreigner living with you becomes rich, while a fellow-Israelite becomes poor and sells himself as a slave to that foreigner or to a member of his family. 48After he is sold, he still has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers 49or his uncle or his cousin or another of his close relatives may buy him back; or if he himself earns enough, he may buy his own freedom. 50He must consult the one who bought him, and they must count the years from the time he sold himself until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for his release on the basis of the wages paid to a hired servant. 51-52He must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left, 53as if he had been hired on an annual basis. His master must not treat him harshly. 54If he is not set free in any of these ways, he and his children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration. 55An Israelite cannot be a permanent slave, because the people of Israel are the LORD's slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the LORD their God.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.