1The sabbath of the seventh year. 8The jubile in the fiftieth year. 14Oppression forbidden. 18A blessing promised to obedience. 23The redemption of land, 29and of houses. 35Compassion to be had of the poor; and usury restrained. 39The usage of bondservants. 47The redemption of servants.
1AND the LORD spake unto Moses 1in mount Sinai, saying,
1 Namely, out of the tent of the congregation, which was set up at the mount, Exodus 40, and out of which God had given these laws unto Moses, Lev. 1:1, when it was set up at Mount Sinai. Compare Lev. 26:46; 27:34.
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whena ye come into the land which I give you, then 2shall the land 3keep a 4sabbath unto 5the LORD.
a Exod. 23:10.
2 Other, the land shall rest, it shall be a sabbath to the LORD.
3 Namely, from being tilled and husbanded.
4 The word sabbath signifies to rest and to cease from any manner of work. The outward sabbath in the Old Testament has been: I. of days, as of the seventh day, and the feast days, Exod. 20:8; Lev. 23:39, etc.; II. of months, as of the new moons, Lev. 23:24; Num. 28:11; III. of years, as here and Lev. 26:35, etc.
5 That is, according to His command, and to His honor.
3Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4But 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.
5That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine 6undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6 Other, that which thou didst not cut or, prune, or from which thou didst withhold thyself. Understand hereby the vineyard of every Israelite from which he was to separate himself according to this law, so that he neither husband nor dress the same, nor gather in ought of its own growth. Thus the said vineyard is likewise called in verse 11.
6And the 7sabbath 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 That is, the fruits which shall spring forth by itself in that seventh year on the untilled land by the blessing of the Lord, and which were not to be customarily gathered in by the owner in barns and cellars.
7And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
8¶And thou shalt number 8seven 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.
8 Hebr. sabbath years. The word sabbath signifies a week here, as Lev. 23:15. As a week of days had seven days, thus a week of years had seven years.
9Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubileb9to sound on the tenth day of the 10seventh month, in the day of 11atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
b year of release, begun with the sound of the trumpet or horn*
9 That is, to go all over the land, that there may be a general proclamation made of the year of jubile.
10 See of this month Lev. 23 on verse 24.
11 See Lev. 23 on verse 27.
10And ye shall 12hallow the 13fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a 14jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man 15unto his family.
12 That is, proclaim of it that it is a year peculiarly set apart and dedicated to the Lord, for a singular and holy use. See of the word hallow, taken in this sense Lev. 8 on verse 10.
13 Hebr. the year of fifty year.
14 The Hebrew word jobel signifies first a weather or ram; afterward a ram’s horn; at last the fiftieth year, which was proclaimed by the sound of a ram’s horn, as here. In this year the freedom of men and maidservants was proclaimed, and such, who had sold their inheritance through poverty, came to be repossessed of the same.
15 That is, to his kindreds and friends, from whom he had separated himself by selling his freedom to others. See verse 41.
11A jubile 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 16it of thy vine undressed.
16 Understand the fiftieth year. See verse 5.
12For it is the jubile; it shall be 17holy unto you: ye shall eat 18the increase thereof out of the field.
17 Hebr. holiness.
18 Namely, which shall have grown by itself without your labor.
13In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not 19oppress 20one another:
19 Or, shorten. See Lev. 19 on verse 33.
20 Hebr. a man his brother.
15According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number 21of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
21 That is, wherein the fields or grounds are to bring forth their incomes; for, the land was not sold but only its incomes for certain years, as appears by the sequel.
16According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the 22price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the 23number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
22 Understand the price or value of the goods to be sold.
23 That is, not the property of the land, but the use and income of it, and that only for a certain number of years, which must end with the year of jubile. For then the seller or owner was allowed to return into his possession again, and the buyer was to vacate it.
17Ye 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.
19And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
20And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
21Then I will 24command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
24 That is, I will give and bestow My blessing. God’s command signifies His doing and performing, either with real blessings, as here and Deut. 28:8; Psalm 111:9; 133:3, or with real punishments, as Isa. 5:6; Amos 9:4; Nahum 1:14. Compare Gen. 1 on verse 3.
22And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until 25her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
25 Namely, that of the eighth year.
23¶The land shall not be sold 26for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
26 Hebr. for cutting off, namely, from the right of redemption; so that the seller would utterly be cut off from all interest therein, and be deprived of the right to redeem his sold inheritance, or at the least in the year of jubile to be re-admitted into the possession thereof. See the same phrase in verse 30.
24And in all the land of your possession 27ye shall 28grant a redemption for the land.
27 That is, you shall sell with this condition, that liberty may still be left to you to redeem it.
28 Hebr. properly give.
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.
26And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself 29be able to 30redeem it;
29 See of the like phrases Lev. 5 on verse 7.
30 Hebr. his hand hath attained and found sufficiency.
27Then let him count the 31years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
31 Namely, from the time that the sale was made unto the next ensuing jubile, reckoning the income of so many years which as yet remain, and paying for them according to the rate and value at the time the sale was made. See verse 16.
28But if he 32be 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 jubile: and in the jubile it 33shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
32 Compare this with the annotation on verse 30 and Judges 9:33.
33 That is, the sold goods shall not continue any longer in the power of him who had bought it. Other, he, namely, the buyer, shall go out. Compare verses 30, 31. The following he, namely, the seller.
29And if a man sell a dwelling house in a 34walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a 35full year may he redeem it.
34 Hebr. a city of the walls.
35 Hebr. days. Thus the word days is taken for a full year, Exod. 13:10; 1 Sam. 1:3; 27:7. The meaning is that the right of this redemption lasted a whole or a full and complete year after the sale was made.
30And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established 36for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: 37it shall not go out in the jubile.
36 Hebr. for cutting off, as verse 23. The sense is, the house would thenceforward so appertain to the purchaser or buyer of it that the seller was cut off then from all right and title to redeem it.
37 Understand this of the house sold, which in the jubile was not to go out free (like land) out of the buyer’s hand, but he must remain the proprietor of it.
31But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: 38they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.
38 Namely, for the houses of the villages in the same manner as was ordained for the fields, or lands in verses 25, 26. In the Hebrew it is in the singular, that is, for every village house. Other, for him (the seller) there shall be redemption and the buyer shall go out in the jubile.
32Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem 39at any time.
39 Understand this during the time of the law and the Jewish government in the land of Canaan; also in verse 34. See Gen. 13 on verse 15.
33And if a man purchase 40of the Levites, then the 41house that was sold, and the 42city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
40 Other, when one shall have bought any house of the Levites, etc. Or, but he who redeems be of the Levites; or, the buyer of the sold house shall, etc.
41 Namely, which is to be redeemed by the buyer.
42 Understand, to which the house appertained, or under whose jurisdiction it was.
34But the field of the 43suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is 44their perpetual possession.
43 That is, situated under the city.
44 As verse 32.
35¶And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay 45with thee; then thou shalt 46relieve him: yea, though he be a 47stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
45 That is, his means and ability shall be decayed. Other, his shaking hand shall extend to thee, for, to crave and obtain relief in his poverty and distress.
46 The Hebrew word properly signifies to seize and to catch, for to hold fast. Understand here all manner of relief and kindness, whereby the poor may be upheld and comforted. Compare Ezek. 16:49.
47 Here may be understood the strangers who were proselytes, and who had embraced and made profession of the religion of the Israelites; for, to other strangers they were allowed to lend upon usury, Deut. 23:20, which God had forbidden to do to the faithful stranger, Exod. 22:25; Deut. 23:19.
36Take thou noc48usury of him, or 49increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
c Exod. 22:25; Deut. 23:19; Prov. 28:8; Ezek. 18:8; 22:12.
48 The Hebrew word signifies a biting or a gnawing through, because a man’s means are devoured and swallowed up by usury.
49 The Hebrew word implies as much as multiplying or excessive increase; such as is usury upon usury, gain upon gain, and to take an overestimation beyond all reason and measure. Some take the first word for usury made by money, the other for the gain gotten by wares, food, clothing, etc.
37Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
38I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and 50to be your God.
50 See Gen. 17 on verse 7.
39¶Andd if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be 51sold unto thee; 52thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
d Exod. 21:2; Deut. 15:12; Jer. 34:14.
51 Or, shall be sold unto thee.
52 Or, thou shalt not require service of him according to slavish bondage, or, thou shalt not suffer him to serve, or, shalt not be served by him with the service of a slave or bondman, that is, thou shalt not make use of his service with that rigor and exaction which is usually practiced and laid upon the slaves. Hebr. Thou shalt not serve in him the service of a servant. See the same phrase in verse 46. Exod. 1:14; Jer. 25:14; 30:8; 34:9, 10.
40But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
41And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own 53family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
53 See on verse 10.
42For they are my 54servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold 55as bondmen.
54 Whom I have chosen to be My peculiar people out of all nations for Mine inheritance to serve Me here in this life and to live with Me forever hereafter. Also verse 55.
55 Hebr. by, or, after the selling of a slave, that is, to be sold like slaves to perpetual bondage.
43Thoue shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
e Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1.
44Both 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.
45Moreover 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 56possession.
56 Namely, to hold and use them forever as slaves and bondmen, who could not have the benefit of being redeemed, or who could not go out free in the year of the jubile.
46And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your 57bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
57 Namely, as slaves and bondmen, as verse 39.
47¶And if a sojourner or stranger wax 58rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or 59to the stock of the stranger's family:
58 That is, acquired some means or riches; also verse 49.
59 That is, to the inborn and inhabitant, who, though he be of foreign descent, was nevertheless born in the land and has taken root by his long abode therein.
48After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
49Either 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.
50And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of 60years, according to the time of an hired servant 61shall it be with him.
60 Namely, to deduct so much money which his master would have to give to a hired person, for the time he would have served his master.
61 That is, shall he be dealt with.
51If there be yet many 62years behind, 63according unto them he shall give again 64the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
62 Namely, which precede the year of the jubile in which the servants were to go out free. Compare the next verse.
63 That is, according as there are many years to come yet before the year of the jubile, so let him restore to his master of the money for which he was bought.
64 Hebr. the money of his buying.
52And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
53And as a 65yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him 66in thy sight.
65 That is, one who has labored for wages not occasionally but for a full year or more.
66 That is, while you are seeing and condoning it.
54And if he be not redeemed 67in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
67 That is, by the aforementioned persons or means. Other, hereby.
55For 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.