The Year of Jubilee

⁸ “‘Count off seven groups of seven years, [^Lseven times seven years] or forty-nine years. During that time there will be seven ·years of rest [sabbatical years; 25:1–7] for the land. ⁹ On the Day of ·Cleansing [Atonement; 16:1–34], you must blow the horn of a ·male sheep [ram]; this will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You must blow the horn through the whole country. ¹⁰ Make the fiftieth year a ·special [consecrated; holy] year, and announce ·freedom [liberty] for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee [^Ca word related to the Hebrew for “ram’s horn”]. You will each go back to your own property, each to your own family and family group. ¹¹ The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t plant seeds, or harvest the crops that grow by themselves, or gather grapes from the vines that are not ·trimmed [pruned]. ¹² That year is Jubilee; it will be a holy time for you. You may eat only the crops that come from the field. ¹³ In the year of Jubilee you each must go back to your own property.

¹⁴ “‘If you sell your land to your ·neighbor [countryman], or if you buy land from your ·neighbor [countryman], don’t ·cheat [mistreat; exploit] each other. ¹⁵ If you want to buy your ·neighbor’s [countryman’s] land, count the number of years since the last Jubilee, and use that number to decide the right price. If your ·neighbor [countryman] sells the land to you, count the number of years left for harvesting crops, and use that number to decide the right price. ¹⁶ If there are many years, the price will be high. But if there are only a few years, lower the price, because your neighbor is really selling only a few crops to you. ¹⁷ You must not ·cheat [mistreat; exploit] ·each other [^Lyour neighbor/countryman], but you must ·respect [fear] your God. I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ “‘·Remember [^LObserve] my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·rules [regulations], and ·obey [keep; guard] them so that you will live ·safely [securely] in the land. ¹⁹ The land will give ·good crops [its fruit] to you, and you will eat as much as you want and live ·safely [securely] in the land.

²⁰ “‘But you might ask, “If we don’t plant seeds or gather crops, what will we eat the seventh year?” ²¹ I will ·send [^Lcommand for] you such a great blessing during the sixth year that the land will produce enough crops for three years. ²² When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop; you will eat the old crop until the harvest of the ninth year.