“You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest all the fruit be defiled, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
- KJV Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
- BSB Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
- NASB “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, otherwise all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the yield of the vineyard will be forfeited to the sanctuary.
- NLT “You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop.
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
You must not sow a vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited. The law teaches Israel to honor distinctions and avoid improper mixtures.
Overview
This is one of several laws (vv. 9-11) forbidding certain mixtures, likely to teach Israel the principle of holy separation and distinctness as God's people. The practical effect symbolized that God's covenant people were not to blend what He had set apart. While the ceremonial specifics are not binding on Christians, the underlying call to holiness and consecration endures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 19:19“‘You shall keep my statutes. “‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
- 2 Cor 11:3But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
- Matt 9:16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
- Jas 3:10Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
- Rom 11:6And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
- Matt 6:24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
- Jas 1:6–8But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.
- 2 Cor 1:12For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
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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 22:9 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.