The Sabbath Year

¹ Then¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses on ⌞Mount Sinai⌟,² saying,

1. Or “And”
2. Literally “the mountain of Sinai”

² “Speak to the ⌞Israelites⌟,¹ and say to them, ‘When you² come into the land that I am about to give to you,³ then⁴ the land shall observe a Sabbath for Yahweh.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Plural
3. Plural
4. Or “and”

³ Six years you¹ shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and you shall gather its yield.

1. Singular throughout this verse

⁴ But¹ in the seventh year it shall be ⌞a Sabbath of complete rest⌟² for the land—a Sabbath for Yahweh; you³ must not sow your field, and you must not prune your vineyard.

1. Or “And”
2. Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’ ” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but it is devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
3. Singular throughout this verse

⁵ You¹ must not reap your harvest’s aftergrowth, and you must not harvest the grapes of your unpruned vines—it shall be ⌞a year of complete rest⌟² for the land.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Literally “a year of a rest period”

⁶ And a Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you:¹ for you² and for your slave and for your slave woman and for your hired worker and for your temporary residents³ who are dwelling as aliens with you;

1. Plural
2. Singular here and through the rest of this verse
3. Collective singular; Hebrew “temporary resident”

⁷ and all its yield shall be for your¹ domestic animal and for the wild animal, which are in your land to eat.

1. Singular throughout this verse

The Year of Jubilee

⁸ “ ‘And you¹ shall count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years, and they shall be for you ⌞time periods of⌟² years: ⌞forty-nine⌟³ years.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Literally “days of”
3. Literally “nine and forty”

⁹ And you¹ shall cause ⌞a loud horn blast⌟² to be heard on the seventh month on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement you³ shall cause a ram’s horn to be heard in all your⁴ land.

1. Singular
2. Literally “a ram’s horn of a blast”
3. Plural
4. Plural

¹⁰ And you¹ shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a release in the land for all its inhabitants. It is a Jubilee; it shall be for you, and you shall return. You must return—everyone to his property and everyone to his clan.²

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. Or “each of you must return to his property and to his clan”

¹¹ ⌞You¹ shall have the fiftieth year as a Jubilee⌟;² you must not reap its aftergrowth, and you must not harvest its unpruned vines.

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. Literally “a Jubilee it the year of the fiftieth year it shall be for you”

¹² Because it is a Jubilee, it shall be holy to you. You must eat its¹ produce from the field.

1. That is, the field’s

¹³ “ ‘In this Year of Jubilee ⌞each of you¹ shall return⌟² to his property.

1. Plural
2. Literally “you shall return a man” or “you shall return everyone”

¹⁴ And when you¹ sell something to your² fellow citizen or you buy from your³ neighbor’s hand, you⁴ must not oppress ⌞one another⌟.⁵

1. Plural
2. Singular
3. Singular
4. Plural
5. Literally “a man his brother”

¹⁵ You¹ must buy from your fellow citizen according to the number of years after the Jubilee; he must sell to you according to the number of years of yield.

1. Singular throughout this verse

¹⁶ You¹ must increase its price ⌞according to a greater number of years⌟,² but³ you must decrease its price ⌞according to a lesser number of years⌟,⁴ because he is selling its yields to you.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Literally “to the mouth of many of the years”
3. Or “and”
4. Literally “to the mouth of few of the years”

¹⁷ And you¹ must not oppress ⌞one another⌟,² but³ you⁴ shall revere your God, because I am Yahweh, your⁵ God.

1. Plural
2. Literally “a man his citizen”
3. Or “and”
4. Singular
5. Plural

¹⁸ “ ‘And you¹ shall do my statutes, and you must keep my regulations, and you shall do them, so that² you shall live ⌞securely⌟³ on the land.

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. Or “and”
3. Literally “with confidence”

¹⁹ And the land shall give its fruit, and you¹ shall eat ⌞your fill⌟,² and you shall live ⌞securely⌟³ on it.

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. Literally “to contentment”
3. Literally “with confidence”

²⁰ And if you¹ should say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, ⌞if⌟² we do not sow and we do not gather its yield?”

1. Plural
2. Literally “look”

²¹ then¹ I will command my blessing for you² in the sixth year, so that³ it will make⁴ the yield for three years.

1. Or “and”
2. Plural
3. Or “and”
4. Or “produce”

²² And you¹ will sow in the eighth year, and you shall eat from the old yield;² until the ninth year, until the coming of its yield, you shall eat the old yield.

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. The verse divides here

²³ “ ‘But¹ the land must not be sold in² perpetuity, because the land is mine, because you³ are aliens and temporary residents with me.

1. Or “And”
2. Or “for”
3. Plural

²⁴ And in all your¹ property’s land you² must provide redemption for the land.

1. Plural
2. Plural

²⁵ “ ‘When your¹ brother becomes poor and he sells part of his property, then² ⌞his nearest redeemer⌟³ shall come, and he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother.

1. Singular
2. Or “and”
3. Literally “his redeemer the nearest to him”

²⁶ But¹ if² a man ⌞does not have⌟³ a redeemer, then⁴ ⌞he prospers⌟⁵ and he finds enough for his redemption,

1. Or “And”
2. Or “when”
3. Literally “it is not for him”
4. Or “and”
5. Literally “his hand produces”

²⁷ then¹ he shall calculate the years of its selling, and he shall refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his property.

1. Or “and”

²⁸ But¹ if his hand does not find enough to refund to him, then² ⌞what he has sold⌟³ shall be in the buyer’s hand until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall go out of the buyer’s hand⁴ in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his property.

1. Or “And”
2. Or “and”
3. Literally “his thing sold”
4. Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)

²⁹ “ ‘And if a man sells ⌞a residential house in a walled city⌟,¹ then² it shall be his redemption until completing ⌞a year after his selling⌟;³ its redemption ⌞shall last⌟⁴ ⌞a year⌟.⁵

1. Literally “a house of a dwelling of a city wall”
2. Or “and”
3. Literally “a year of his selling”
4. Literally “shall be”
5. Literally “days”

³⁰ But¹ if it is not redeemed ⌞before a full year has passed⌟,² then³ the house that is ⌞in the walled city⌟⁴ shall belong to the buyer in⁵ perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out of the buyer’s hand⁶ in the Jubilee.

1. Or “And”
2. Literally “until the fulfilling of for him/it an entire year”
3. Or “and”
4. Literally “in the city that for it a wall”
5. Hebrew “for”
6. Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)

³¹ However,¹ village houses that have no surrounding wall shall be considered ⌞open country⌟;² there is redemption for it, and in the Jubilee it shall go out of the buyer’s hand.³

1. Or “And” or “But”
2. Literally “the field of the land”
3. Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)

³² “ ‘As for¹ the cities of the Levites, that is, the houses in² their property’s cities, it shall be ⌞a lasting redemption⌟³ for the Levites.

1. Or “And”
2. Hebrew “of”
3. Or “a permanent redemption”; literally “redemption of eternity” or “redemption of long duration”

³³ And whatever anyone redeems from the Levites then¹ must go out of the buyer’s hand² in the Jubilee, including a house’s selling ⌞in his city’s property⌟,³ because the houses in⁴ the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the ⌞Israelites⌟.⁵

1. Or “and”
2. Meaning derived from context; an alternative translation could be “shall not be released” (cf. NKJV, NRSV, ESV, NJPS) or “shall not revert” (NASB, NET)
3. Literally “the city of his property”
4. Hebrew “of”
5. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

³⁴ But¹ a² field of their cities’ pastureland must not be sold, because ⌞it is their property for all time⌟.³

1. Or “And”
2. Hebrew “the”
3. Literally “a property of eternity it is for them” or “a property of long duration it is for them”

³⁵ “ ‘And if your¹ countryman² becomes poor and ⌞if he becomes dependent on you⌟,³ then⁴ you shall support him like an alien and like a temporary resident, and he shall live with you.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Or “brother”
3. Literally “and his hand is shaky with you”
4. Or “and”

³⁶ You¹ must not take interest or² usury from him, but³ you shall revere your God, and your countryman⁴ shall live with you.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Or “and”
3. Or “and”
4. Or “brother”

³⁷ You¹ must not give your money to him with interest or² give your food for³ profit.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Or “and”
3. Or “in” or “with”

³⁸ I am Yahweh your¹ God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give ⌞you⌟² the land of Canaan, to be as God for you.

1. Plural throughout this verse
2. Literally “to you”

³⁹ “ ‘And if your¹ countryman² who is with you becomes poor, and he is sold to you, ⌞you shall not treat him as a slave⌟.³

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Or “brother”
3. Literally “you shall not let him work the work of a slave” or “you shall not enslave him the work of a slave”

⁴⁰ He shall be with you like a hired worker, like a temporary resident; he shall work with you until the Year of Jubilee.

⁴¹ And he and his sons with him shall go out from you, and he shall return to his clan, and to the property of his ancestors¹ he shall return.

1. Or “fathers”

⁴² Because they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold ⌞as a slave⌟.¹

1. Literally “a selling of a slave”

⁴³ You¹ shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but² you shall revere your God.

1. Singular throughout this verse
2. Or “and”

⁴⁴ “ ‘As for¹ your² slave and your³ slave woman who are⁴ yours,⁵ from the nations that are all around you,⁶ from them you⁷ may buy a slave or⁸ a slave woman.

1. Or “And”
2. Singular
3. Singular
4. Or “may be” (permission; cf. NASU, ESV, NRSV) or “can be” (ability)
5. Singular
6. Plural
7. Plural
8. Or “and”

⁴⁵ And you¹ may buy also from the children² of the temporary residents who are dwelling with you as aliens and from their clan who are with you, who have children in your land; indeed,³ they may be as property for you.