but [on] the seventhyearyou shall letit restand liefallow,so that the needyof your peoplemay eat;and whatever they leavethe beastof the fieldmay eat.You are to dothe samewith your vineyard[and] your olivegrove.
As for the peoplesof the landwho bringwaresor anygrainon the sabbathdayto sell,we will not buyfrom them on the sabbathor a holyday;and we will forego[the crops] the seventhyearand the exactionof everydebt.
We also placedourselves underobligationto contributeyearlyone thirdof a shekelfor the serviceof the houseof our God:
"You shall sowyour landfor sixyearsand gatherin its yield,
"Sixdaysyou are to doyour work,but on the seventhdayyou shall cease[from labor] sothat your oxand your donkeymay rest,and the sonof your femaleslave,as well as your stranger,may refreshthemselves.
But ifyou say,"Whatare we going to eaton the seventhyearifwe do not sowor gatherin our crops?"
When you are sowingthe eighthyear,you can still eatoldthingsfrom the crop,eating[the old] untilthe ninthyearwhenits cropcomesin.
"Indeed,you have not broughtus into a landflowingwith milkand honey,norhave you givenus an inheritanceof fieldsand vineyards.Would you putout the eyesof thesemen?We will not comeup!"
"For the poorwill nevercease[to be] in the land;thereforeI commandyou, saying,'You shall freelyopenyour handto your brother,to your needyand poorin your land.'
