Leviticus 25:25–55

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,ⁿ 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*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*Do 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*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. ^40*He shall stay with you as a hired servant and serve you until the next Year of Restoration. ^41*At that time he and his children shall leave you and return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. ^42*The people of Israel are the Lord’s slaves, and he brought them out of Egypt; they must not be sold into slavery. ^43*Do not treat them harshly, but obey your God. ^44*If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations round you. ^45*You may also buy the children of the foreigners who are living among you. Such children born in your land may become your property, ^46*and 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.