וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃

The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai before the Israelites set out for the Land of Israel, despite the fact that the following halakhot would be practiced only when they reached their land, saying:

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָֽה׃

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord. Just as the weekly Sabbath, during which people must rest, expresses the sovereignty of God as the Creator, so too this sabbatical year, which occurs once every seven years, represents God’s lordship over the land.

שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃

Six years you will sow your field, and six years you will prune your vineyard, and you will gather its produce. You must harvest and collect everything you have planted before the beginning of the seventh year.

וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָ֑ה שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר׃

In the seventh year, it shall be a sabbatical rest for the land, just as the weekly Sabbath is a rest for people, a Sabbath for the Lord; your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune.

אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃

The aftergrowth of your reaping, the produce that grows by itself from the remnants that fell to the ground during the previous harvest, without any plowing and sowing on your part, you shall not reap in the normal manner of an owner in his field, despite the fact that it is permitted to consume this produce. And the uncultivated grapes of your vine, the grapes of the seventh year, which are for the Lord, or the grapes of highest quality, you shall not gather. This year is not designated as a time of rest for humans; rather, it shall be a sabbatical year for the land.

וְ֠הָיְתָה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ לָכֶם֙ לְאָכְלָ֔ה לְךָ֖ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וְלַאֲמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלִשְׂכִֽירְךָ֙ וּלְתוֹשָׁ֣בְךָ֔ הַגָּרִ֖ים עִמָּֽךְ׃

The Sabbath of the land, the produce that grows during the seventh year, also called the Shemitta Year, shall be yours for eating, for you, and for your slave, and for your maidservant, and for your hired laborer, and for your resident alien who reside with you, all the inhabitants of the Land of Israel.

וְלִ֨בְהֶמְתְּךָ֔ וְלַֽחַיָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאַרְצֶ֑ךָ תִּהְיֶ֥ה כָל־תְּבוּאָתָ֖הּ לֶאֱכֹֽל׃ (ס)

And for your animals, your livestock, and for the wild beasts, including birds, that are in your land, all of its, the year’s, produce shall be to eat.

וְסָפַרְתָּ֣ לְךָ֗ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת שָׁנִ֔ים שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהָי֣וּ לְךָ֗ יְמֵי֙ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תֵּ֥שַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃

These Sabbatical Years are themselves part of a larger cycle: You shall count for yourselves seven Sabbatical Years, seven years seven times, and they shall be to you the days of the seven Sabbatical Years, forty-nine years.

וְהַֽעֲבַרְתָּ֞ שׁוֹפַ֤ר תְּרוּעָה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִ֔י בֶּעָשׂ֖וֹר לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ בְּיוֹם֙ הַכִּפֻּרִ֔ים תַּעֲבִ֥ירוּ שׁוֹפָ֖ר בְּכָל־אַרְצְכֶֽם׃

After forty-nine years, you shall sound an alarm blast of the shofar during the seventh month, on the tenth day; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the shofar throughout your land, thereby proclaiming the start of a new year.

וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכָל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃

You shall sanctify the fiftieth year, in which there is an even more significant cessation of activities and transactions than in the Sabbatical Year, and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. You must ensure that all slaves are freed from all bonds. It shall be a Jubilee Year, of blowing the shofar, to you; each man shall return to his ancestral portion, and each man shall return to his family. The fiftieth year is a year of manumission, at which point certain matters revert to their original state.

יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֗וא שְׁנַ֛ת הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔עוּ וְלֹ֤א תִקְצְרוּ֙ אֶת־סְפִיחֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א תִבְצְר֖וּ אֶת־נְזִרֶֽיהָ׃

It is a Jubilee, the fiftieth year shall be for you; you shall not sow, and you shall not reap its aftergrowth, and you shall not gather its uncultivated grapes.

כִּ֚י יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֔וא קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם מִן־הַ֨שָּׂדֶ֔ה תֹּאכְל֖וּ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃

Since it is a Jubilee, it shall be sacred for you; you shall abstain from working the land and reaping its produce in the manner of an owner. From the field you shall eat its produce, which must be made available to all. As in the Sabbatical Year, the produce does not belong to you; rather, it is comparable to public property located in your custody.

בִּשְׁנַ֥ת הַיּוֹבֵ֖ל הַזֹּ֑את תָּשֻׁ֕בוּ אִ֖ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃

In this Jubilee Year you shall return each man to his ancestral portion. If one sold his family’s land during the previous forty-nine years, it will revert to his possession in the Jubilee Year.