49 or an uncle or a cousin or another close relative may buy them back; or if they themselves earn enough, they may buy their own freedom.
50 They must consult the one who bought them, and they must count the years from the time they sold themselves until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for their release on the basis of the wages paid hired workers.
51-52 They must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left,
53 as if they had been hired on an annual basis. Their master must not treat them harshly.
54 If they are not set free in any of these ways, they and their children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration.
55 Israelites cannot be permanent slaves, because the people of Israel are the Lord's slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the Lord their God.