The Sabbath Year

1 ^wThe Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into ^xthe land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 ^yYou shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 The Sabbath of the land¹ shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves² and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, 7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: ^zall its yield shall be for food.

The Year of Jubilee

8 “You shall count seven weeks³ of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound ^athe loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. ^bOn the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and ^cproclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of ^dyou shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it ^eyou shall neither sow nor reap ^ywhat grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. ^fYou may eat the produce of the field.⁴

13 ^d“In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14 And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, ^gyou shall not wrong one another. 15 ^hYou shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. 16 If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. 17 ⁱYou shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.

18 ^j“Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then ^kyou will dwell in the land securely. 19 ^lThe land will yield its fruit, and ^myou will eat your fill ^kand dwell in it securely. 20 And if you say, ⁿ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if ^owe may not sow or gather in our crop?’ 21 I will ^pcommand my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. 22 ^qWhen you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of ^rthe old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

Redemption of Property

23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for ^sthe land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, ^tthen his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, 27 let ^uhim calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. 28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall ^vbe released, and ^whe shall return to his property.

29 “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. 30 If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; ^vit shall not be released in the jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and ^vthey shall be released in the jubilee. 32 As for ^xthe cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. 33 And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. 34 But the fields ^yof pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.

Kindness for Poor Brothers

35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, ^zyou shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 ^aTake no interest from him or profit, but ^bfear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 ^aYou shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 ^cI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 ^d“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 ^vThen he shall go out from you, ^ehe and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return ^fto the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are ^gmy servants,⁵ whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 ^hYou shall not rule over him ⁱruthlessly but ^jshall fear your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. 45 ^kYou may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel ^lyou shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

Redeeming a Poor Man

47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and ^myour brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may ⁿredeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he ^ogrows rich he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be ^prated as the time of a hired worker. 51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. 52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. 53 He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. ^lHe shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then ^qhe and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. 55 For it is ^rto me that the people of Israel are servants.⁶ They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to ^hDo Not Destroy. A ⁱMiktam¹ of David.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 ^rNow the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called ^sthe Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes ^twere seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

Judas to Betray Jesus

3 ^uThen ^vSatan entered into ^wJudas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and ^xofficers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to ^ybetray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

The Passover with the Disciples

7 ^zThen came ^athe day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus¹ sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and tell the master of the house, ^b‘The Teacher says to you, Where is ^cthe guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 And he will show you ^da large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it ^ejust as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

14 ^fAnd when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it^{2 g}until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and ^hwhen he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 ⁱFor I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine ^guntil the kingdom of God comes.” 19 ^jAnd he took bread, and ^hwhen he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ^k“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ^k“This cup that is poured out for you is ^lthe new ^mcovenant in my blood.³ 21 ⁿBut behold, the hand of him who betrays me is ^owith me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes ^pas it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

24 ^qA dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 ^rAnd he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles ^sexercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 ^tBut not so with you. Rather, let ^sthe greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, ^uone who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But ^vI am among you as the one who serves.

28 “You are those who have stayed with me ^win my trials, 29 and ^xI assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 ^ythat you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and ^zsit on thrones judging ^athe twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, ^bSatan demanded to have you,^{4 c}that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but ^dI have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, ^estrengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter⁵ said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both ^fto prison and ^gto death.” 34 ^hJesus⁶ said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus

35 And he said to them, ⁱ“When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that ^jthis Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ^k‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For ^lwhat is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two ^mswords.” And he said to them, ⁿ“It is enough.”

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 ^oAnd he came out and went, ^pas was his custom, to ^qthe Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 ^rAnd when he came to ^sthe place, he said to them, ^t“Pray that you may not ^uenter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and ^vknelt down and prayed, 42 saying, ^w“Father, if you are willing, remove ^xthis cup from me. ^yNevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him ^zan angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And ^wbeing in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.⁷ 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and ^apray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 ^bWhile he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called ^cJudas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike ^dwith the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant⁸ of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and ^eofficers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When ^fI was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is ^gyour hour, and ^hthe power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus

54 ⁱThen they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, ^jand Peter was following at a distance. 55 ^kAnd when they had kindled a fire in the middle of ^lthe courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another ^minsisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and ⁿlooked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ^o“Before the rooster crows today, you will ^pdeny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Is Mocked

63 ^qNow the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 ^qThey also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ^r“Prophesy! ^rWho is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, ^sblaspheming him.

Jesus Before the Council

66 ^tWhen day came, ^uthe assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their ^vcouncil, and they ^wsaid, 67 ^x“If you are ^ythe Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated ^zat the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you ^athe Son of God, then?” And he said to them, ^b“You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”