Leviticus 25:10
in Leviticus 25So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
KJV
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
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This verse in Leviticus 25
Commentary
11 notes on this verseSeven weeks of years in ancient times produced the celebrated jubilee, in which the earth kept the sabbath, debts were canceled, slaves were set free and, as it were, a new life was established again, the old one in a certain way attaining its fulfillment in the number seven.
This site's exposition
you are to consecrate the fiftieth year
on Leviticus 25:10-11
Verse 10 sends each man back to his property and clan, so the year restores land and household together. The words "proclaim liberty" occur here first, and Luke 4:18-19 has Jesus reading them from Isaiah 61:1.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
THE NUMBER OF THIS PSALM IS NOT WITHOUT REASON. IT HAS REFERENCE TO THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE, WHICH AMONG THE JEWS DISSOLVED OLD CONTRACTS AND OBLIGATIONS AND WHICH IN LEVITICUS THE LORD ORDERED ALL DWELLERS ON EARTH TO CALL THE YEAR OF REMISSION. THE …
Who is there who has grasped the mind of Christ so well that he knows the meaning of the seventh year of freedom of Hebrew slaves and the remission of debts and the intermission of the cultivation of the holy land? Over and above the feast of every seventh year is the feast called the jubilee. No one can ever come near divining its precise meaning or the true import of the prescriptions enjoined by it, except him who knows the Father's will and his disposition for every age according to "his incomprehensible judgments and unsearchable ways."
The Medieval Church2 voices
In the law the fiftieth year was ordered to be called [the year] of jubilee, that is, "forgiving" or "changed." During it the people were to remain at rest from all work, the debts of all were to be canceled, slaves were to go free …
We read in the law that the fiftieth year was ordered to be designated as a jubilee (that is, a [year for] releasing or exchanging), in which the whole people should rest from all cultivation of the land and everyone's debts should be canceled. And …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This was typical of our redemption by Christ from the slavery of sin and Satan, and our restoration to the glorious liberty of the children of God. Some compute that the very year in which Christ died was a year of jubilee, and the last that ever was kept.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year,....
By our law indeed, if lands be granted to a man and his heirs, upon condition that he should never sell or alienate them, the grant is good, but the condition is void and repugnant: Iniquum est ingenuis hominibus (say the lawyers) non esse liberam rerum suarum alienationem--It is unjust to prevent free men from alienating their own possessions.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ye shall hallow the fiftieth year--Much difference of opinion exists as to whether the jubilee was observed on the forty-ninth, or, in round numbers, it is called the fiftieth.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The land, as on the sabbatic year, was neither sowed nor reaped, but allowed to enjoy with its inhabitants a sabbath of repose; and its natural produce was the common property of all. Moreover, every inheritance throughout the land of Judea was restored to its original owner.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“This [the fiftieth] year is distinguished from all other years by being given a special name. And what is that name? Its name is yoveil [literally: ‘the ram’s horn’] on account of the blowing of the Shofar.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם | vekidashtem | and you will set apart as holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁנַ֤ת | shenat | [the] year of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ | hachamishim | the fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| שָׁנָ֔ה | shanah | year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם | ukeratem | and you will proclaim | H7121 → | 733 times |
| דְּר֛וֹר | deror | liberty | H1865 → | |
| בָּאָ֖רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | for all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ | yosheveiha | inhabitants its | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יוֹבֵ֥ל | yovel | a jubilee | H3104 → | 27 times |
| הִוא֙ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| תִּהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֔ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם | veshavtem | and you will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ | ʾachuzato | possession his | H272 → | 66 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ | mishpachto | clan his | H4940 → | 303 times |
| תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃ | tashuvu | you will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗םand you will set apart as holy
vekidashtemH6942 →171 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שְׁנַ֤ת[the] year of
shenatH8141 →877 times
הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙the fifty
hachamishimH2572 →163 times
שָׁנָ֔הyear
shanahH8141 →877 times
וּקְרָאתֶ֥םand you will proclaim
ukeratemH7121 →733 times
דְּר֛וֹרliberty
derorH1865 →
בָּאָ֖רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
לְכָל־for all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָinhabitants its
yosheveihaH3427 →1079 times
יוֹבֵ֥לa jubilee
yovelH3104 →27 times
הִוא֙it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
תִּהְיֶ֣הit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֔םto <the> you
lakhem
וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗םand you will return
veshavtemH7725 →1056 times
אִ֚ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹpossession his
ʾachuzatoH272 →66 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand each one
veishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹclan his
mishpachtoH4940 →303 times
תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃you will return
tashuvuH7725 →1056 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 2:16Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:13
For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
- Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.
- Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
- 1 Corinthians 7:22
For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.
- James 1:25
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
- Galatians 5:13
Through
Isaiah 63:4For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
it leads to
- Isaiah 34:8
For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- Jeremiah 51:6
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
- Isaiah 61:2
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
- Isaiah 34:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
On this verse
On this chapter
About Leviticus
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 260; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.17; Bede, On the Tabernacle 2.2; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 50, CONCLUSION; Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, ON PRAYER 27.14.