What phrase is inscribed on the Liberty Bell?

The Liberty Bell is inscribed with the phrase “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.”

The inscription comes from Leviticus 25:10, a biblical passage associated with liberty and the proclamation of freedom. The bell was commissioned in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and cast in London in 1752 by Lester and Pack, later known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

The bell cracked soon after arriving in Philadelphia and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow. Their surnames appear on the bell. The famous crack visible today developed later, and the bell was retired from regular ringing in the nineteenth century.

A popular story says it rang on July 4, 1776, after independence was adopted. Historians have found no contemporary evidence for that exact event. It may have rung during the first public reading on July 8, but that too is not certain.