Leviticus 25:4-34

4 But the seuenth yere shall be a Sabbath of rest vnto the londe. The Lordes Sabbath it shalbe, ad thou shalt nether sowe thi felde, nor cut thy vynes.

5 The corne that groweth by it selfe thou shalt not repe, nether gather the grapes that growe without thy dressynge: but it shalbe a Sabbath of rest vnto the londe.

6 Neuerthelesse the Sabbath of the londe shalbe meate for you: euen for the and thy servaunte and for thy mayde and for thy hyred servaunte and for the straunger that dwelleth with the:

7 and for thi catell and for the beestes that are in thy londe, shall all the encrease thereof be meate.

8 Then numbre seuen wekes of yeres, that is, seuen tymes seuen yere: and the space of the seuen wekes of yeres will be vnto the .xlix. yere.

9 And then thou shalt make an horne blowe: euen in the tenth daye of the seuenth moneth, which is the daye of attonement. And then shall ye make the horne blowe, euen thorowe out all youre lande.

10 And ye shall halowe the fiftith yere, and proclayme libertie thorowe out the lande vnto all the inhabiters thereof, It shalbe a yere of hornes blowynge vnto you and ye shall returne: euery man vnto his possession and euery man vnto his kynred agayne.

11 A yere of hornes blowynge shall that fiftieth yere be vnto you. Ye shall not sowe nether repe the corne that groweth by it selfe, nor gather the grapes that growe without thi laboure

12 For it is a yere of hornes blowinge and shalbe holy vnto you: how be it, yet ye shall eate of the encrease of the felde.

13 And in this yere of hornes blowinge ye shall returne, euery man vnto his possession agayne.

14 When thou sellest oughte vnto thy neyghboure or byest off thy neyghboures hande, ye shall not oppresse one another:

15 but accordynge to the numbre of yeres after the trompett yere, thou shalt bye of thy neyghboure, and accordynge vnto the numbre off fruteyeres, he shall sell vnto the.

16 Accordinge vnto the multitude of yeres, thou shalt encrease the price thereof and accordinge to the fewnesse of yeres, thou shalt mynish the price: for the numbre of frute he shall sell vnto the.

17 And see that no ma oppresse his neyghboure, but feare thi God. For I am the Lorde youre God.

18 Wherfore do after myne ordinaunces and kepe my lawes ad doo them, that ye maye dwell in the lande in saftie.

19 And the lande shall geue her frute, and ye shall eate youre fille and dwell therein in saftie.

20 Yf ye shall saye, what shall we eate the seuenth yere in as moche as we shall not sowe nor gether in oure encrease.

21 I wyll sende my blessynge apon you in the sixte yere,

22 and it shall brynge forth frute for thre yeres: and ye shall sowe the eyghte yere and eate of olde frute vntill the .ix. yere, and euen vntyll hir frutes come, ye shall eate of olde stoare.

23 Wherfore the londe shall not be solde for euer, because that the lande is myne, and ye but straungers and soiourners with me:

24 and ye shall thorowe oute all the lande of youre possession, let the londe go home fre agayne.

25 When thy brother is waxed poore and hath solde awaye of his possession: yf any off his kyn come to redeme it, he shall by out that whiche his brother solde.

26 And though he haue no man to redeme it for him, yet yf hys hande can get sufficyent to bye it oute agayne,

27 then let him counte how longe it hath bene solde, and delyuer the rest vnto him to whome he solde it, ad so he shall returne vnto his possession agayne.

28 But and yf his hande ca not get sufficiet to restore it to him agayne, then that whiche is solde shall remayne in the hande of him that hath boughte it, vntyll the horneyere: and in the horne yere it shall come out, and he shall returne vnto his possession agayne.

29 Yf a man sell a dwellynge house in a walled cytie he maye bye it out agayne any tyme withi a hole yere after it is solde: and that shalbe the space in which he maye redeme it agayne.

30 But and yf it be not bought out agayne within the space of a full yere then the housse in the walled cytie shalbe stablished for euer vnto him that boughte it and to his successoures after hi and shall not goo out in the trompet yere.

31 But the housses in villagies which haue no walles rounde aboute them shalbe counted like vnto the feldes of the cuntre and maye be boughte out agayne at any season and shall goo out fre in the trompett yere.

32 Notwithstondynge the cityes of the leuytes and the housses in the cyties of their possessios the leuites maye redeme at all ceasons.

33 And yf a man purchace ought of the leuytes: whether it be house or citie that they possesse, the bargayne shall goo out in the tropet yere. for the housses of the cyties of the leuites are their possessions amonge the childern of Israel.

34 But the feldes that lye rounde aboute their cyties shall not be bought: for they are their possessions for euer.

Leviticus 25:4-34 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 25

In this chapter the Israelites are directed, when come into the land of Canaan, to observe every seventh year as a sabbatical year, in which there was to be no tillage of the land, and yet there would be a sufficiency for man and beast, Le 25:1-7; and every fiftieth year as a year of jubilee, in which also there was to be no tillage of the land, and every man was to return to his possession or estate, which had been sold to another any time before this, Le 25:8-17; and a promise of safety and plenty in the seventh year is made to encourage the observance of it, Le 25:18-22; and several laws and rules are delivered out concerning the sale of lands, the redemption of them, and their return to their original owner in the year of jubilee, Le 25:23-28; and the sale of houses, and the redemption of them, and the difference between those in walled cities and those in villages, with respect thereunto, Le 25:29-31; and also concerning the houses of the cities of the Levites, and the fields of the suburbs of them, Le 25:32-34; to which are added some instructions about relieving decayed, persons, and lending and giving to them, without taking usury of them, Le 25:34-38; and other laws concerning the release of such Israelites as had sold themselves for servants to the Israelites, in the year of jubilee, since none but Heathens were to be bondmen and bondmaids for ever, Le 25:39-46; and of such who were sold to proselytes, Le 25:47-55.