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Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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New Century Version

Leviticus 25:23

"‘The land really belongs to me, so you can't sell it for all time. You are only foreigners and travelers living for a while on my land.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Agriculture;   God Continued...;   Jubilee;   Land;   Thompson Chain Reference - Business Life;   Divine;   Land;   Ownership, Divine;   Real Estate;   Stewardship-Ownership;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Agriculture or Husbandry;   Feast of Jubilee, the;   Holy Land;   Titles and Names of Saints;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jubilee;   Naboth;   Poor;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Foreigner;   Sabbatical year;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Citizenship;   Foreigner;   Hospitality;   Incest;   Jubilee, Year of;   King, Christ as;   Kinsman-Redeemer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Naboth;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Agriculture;   Ahab;   Heir;   Hospitality;   Jubilee;   King;   Palestine;   Pentateuch;   Year;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Alien;   Earth, Land;   Festivals;   Firstfruits;   Leviticus;   Loan;   Naboth;   Number Systems and Number Symbolism;   Pentateuch;   Year of Jubilee;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Agriculture;   Canon of the Old Testament;   Congregation, Assembly;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Elijah;   Hexateuch;   Holiness;   Law;   Leviticus;   Poverty;   Priests and Levites;   Sabbatical Year;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   Slave, Slavery;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Firstborn;   Quotations;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Redemption;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Feasts;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Jubilee;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Agriculture;   A'hab;   Hospitality;   Law of Moses;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Naboth;   Year;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Agrarian Laws;   Courts, Judicial;   Goel;   Inheritance;   Jubilee Year;   Perpetual;   Ransom;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Agrarian Laws;   Aliens;   Charity and Charitable Institutions;   Commandments, the 613;   Restraints on Alienation;   Sidra;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
King James Version
The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Lexham English Bible
"‘But the land must not be sold in perpetuity, because the land is mine, because you are aliens and temporary residents with me.
New English Translation
The land must not be sold without reclaim because the land belongs to me, for you are foreigners and residents with me.
Amplified Bible
'The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me.
New American Standard Bible
'The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because the land is Mine; for you are only strangers and residents with Me.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also the lande shall not be solde to be cut off from the familie: for the land is mine, and ye be but strangers and soiourners with me.
Legacy Standard Bible
‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but sojourners and foreign residents with Me.
Contemporary English Version
No land may be permanently bought or sold. It all belongs to me—it isn't your land, and you only live there for a little while.
Complete Jewish Bible
"‘The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to me — you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me.
Darby Translation
And the land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Easy-to-Read Version
"The land really belongs to me, so you cannot sell it permanently. You are only foreigners and travelers living on my land with me.
English Standard Version
"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
George Lamsa Translation
Surely the land shall not be sold outright; for the land is mine; you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Good News Translation
Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.
Christian Standard Bible®
“The land is not to be permanently sold because it is mine, and you are only aliens and temporary residents on my land.
Literal Translation
And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for you are aliens and tenants with Me.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Therfore shall ye not sell the londe for euer, for the lode is myne. And ye are straungers and indwellers before me.
American Standard Version
And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Bible in Basic English
No exchange of land may be for ever, for the land is mine, and you are as my guests, living with me for a time.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The lande shall not be solde to waste: for the lande is myne, & ye be but staungers and soiourners with me.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and settlers with Me.
King James Version (1611)
The land shall not be sold for euer: for the land is mine, for ye were strangers and soiourners with me.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the land shall not be sold for a permanence; for the land is mine, because ye are strangers and sojourners before me.
English Revised Version
And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Berean Standard Bible
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and sojourners with Me.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also the lond schal not be seeld `in to with outen ende, for it is myn, and ye ben my comelyngis and tenauntis;
Young's Literal Translation
`And the land is not sold -- to extinction, for the land [is] Mine, for sojourners and settlers [are] ye with Me;
Update Bible Version
And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Webster's Bible Translation
The land shall not be sold for ever; for the land [is] mine, for ye [are] strangers and sojourners with me.
World English Bible
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
New King James Version
"The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
New Living Translation
"The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.
New Life Bible
‘The land will not be sold to be kept forever. For the land is Mine. You are only strangers staying with Me.
New Revised Standard
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The land moreover shall not be sold beyond recovery, for, mine, is the land, - for, sojourners and settlers, ye are with me.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The land also shall not be sold for ever: because it is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Revised Standard Version
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
THE MESSAGE
"The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners—you're my tenants. You must provide for the right of redemption for any of the land that you own.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.

Contextual Overview

23 "‘The land really belongs to me, so you can't sell it for all time. You are only foreigners and travelers living for a while on my land. 24 People might sell their land, but it must always be possible for the family to get its land back. 25 If a person in your country becomes very poor and sells some land, then close relatives must come and buy it back. 26 If there is not a close relative to buy the land back, but if the person makes enough money to be able to buy it back, 27 the years must be counted since the land was sold. That number must be used to decide how much the first owner should pay back the one who bought it. Then the land will belong to the first owner again. 28 But if there is not enough money to buy it back, the one who bought it will keep it until the year of Jubilee. During that celebration, the land will go back to the first owner's family. 29 "‘If someone sells a home in a walled city, for a full year after it is sold, the person has the right to buy it back. 30 But if the owner does not buy back the house before a full year is over, it will belong to the one who bought it and to his future sons. The house will not go back to the first owner at Jubilee. 31 But houses in small towns without walls are like open country; they can be bought back, and they must be returned to their first owner at Jubilee. 32 "‘The Levites may always buy back their houses in the cities that belong to them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The land: Leviticus 25:10, 1 Kings 21:3, Ezekiel 48:14

for ever: or, to be quite cut off, Heb. for cutting off, for the land. Deuteronomy 32:43, 2 Chronicles 7:20, Psalms 24:1, Psalms 85:1, Isaiah 8:8, Hosea 9:3, Joel 2:18, Joel 3:2

for ye are: Genesis 47:9, 1 Chronicles 29:15, Psalms 39:12, Psalms 119:19, Hebrews 11:9-13, 1 Peter 2:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 23:4 - stranger Exodus 21:6 - for ever Leviticus 25:34 - General Numbers 36:4 - General 1 Samuel 1:22 - for ever Jeremiah 32:7 - for Ezekiel 45:1 - ye shall offer

Cross-References

Genesis 17:4
"I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations.
Genesis 17:16
I will bless her and give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her."
Genesis 24:60
They blessed Rebekah and said, "Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of people, and may your descendants capture the cities of their enemies."
Genesis 25:1
Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah.
Genesis 25:2
She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Genesis 25:5
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
Genesis 25:6
But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.
Genesis 25:7
Abraham lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old.
Genesis 25:8
He breathed his last breath and died at an old age, after a long and satisfying life.
Genesis 25:9
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. (Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite.)

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The land shall not be sold for ever,.... That is, the land of Israel; the meaning is, any part of it, for that the whole might be sold or disposed of at once is not to be supposed, but anyone part of it, which was the property of a single man, or belonged to a family; though it might be sold in case of necessity, yet not for ever, so as never to return to the owner, or his heirs; for if it was sold for ever it returned in the year of the jubilee: the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render the word "absolutely", simply, properly; a proper absolute sale was not to be made, but a conditional one, or for so many years, or with a view to its reversion in the year of jubilee, and so the agreement to be made according to the number of years, as before directed: the word, as Aben Ezra observes, signifies "cutting off", and the sense is, that no land should be sold entirely, so as that the proprietor or his heirs should be wholly cut off from it, or that the entail of it upon the family should be cut off:

for the land [is] mine; as indeed the whole earth is, but the land of Canaan was peculiarly his, which he had chosen above all other lands for the inheritance of his people; out of which he drove the old inhabitants of it for their sins, and put in his own people to possess it under him; where he himself had his dwelling place, and where he was served and worshipped, and where the Messiah was to be born, and was born, and therefore called Immanuel's land; and which was a figure of the better country, or the heavenly glory and happiness, which is of God's preparing and giving, and will never be alienated from those whose right it is:

for ye [are] strangers and sojourners with me; as the Gentiles that lived among them were strangers and sojourners with them, so they were with the Lord; he was the original proprietor, they were but tenants at will; though it was both an honour and happiness to be with him, under any character, to board, and lodge, and dwell with him; and they might well be content to be reckoned not proprietors but strangers and sojourners, and especially such as had faith and hope in a better inheritance, of which this was only a figure; however, this being their present case, it was a reason good, why they could not for ever dispose of their lands and possessions, any more than a sojourner or inmate can of a house of which he has only a part.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These verses express the principle on which the law of Jubilee, as it regards the land, was based. The land belonged to Yahweh, and it was He who allotted it among the families of Israel for their use. No estate could therefore be alienated in perpetuity, by any human authority, from the family to whose lot it might fall.

Leviticus 25:24

Grant a redemption for the land - i. e. grant power to recover the land to the original holder who had parted with it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 25:23. The land shall not be sold for ever - the land is mine — As God in a miraculous manner gave them possession of this land, they were therefore to consider themselves merely as tenants to him; and on this ground he, as the great landholder or lord of the soil, prescribes to them all the conditions on which they shall hold it. This one circumstance was peculiarly favourable to their advancement in religion, in righteousness, and true holiness; for feeling that they had nothing which they could call their own upon earth, they must frequently, by this, be put in mind of the necessity of having a permanent dwelling in the heavenly inheritance, and of that preparation without which it could not be possessed.


 
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