The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
- KJV The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
- BSB You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.
- NASB You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep.
- NLT You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, and the first wool of the flock belong to the priest. The best and first of the produce was devoted to God's servants.
Overview
Israel honored God by giving the first and finest portions of harvest and flock to support the priesthood. Offering the firstfruits expressed trust that God, who gives the first, would provide the rest. The principle of giving God the first and best of what we have remains an enduring mark of faithful worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Neh 12:44–47On that day were men appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who waited.
- Exod 22:29“You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.
- Exod 23:19The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Lev 23:17You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.
- Num 18:12–24“I have given to you all the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh.
- Lev 23:10“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:
- 2 Chr 31:4–10Moreover he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to Yahweh’s law.
- Deut 26:9–10and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Job 21:20Let his own eyes see his destruction. Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 18:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.