None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the Lord; it is set apart as holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to Yahweh.
- KJV And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
- BSB They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.
- NKJV And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they may not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.
- NASB Moreover, they shall not sell or exchange any of it, or allow this choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the Lord.
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 Levites may not sell, trade, or alienate this land, for it is holy to the LORD. What is consecrated to God must remain set apart.
Overview
The Levites' holy portion is permanently inalienable because it belongs to the LORD. This safeguards the sanctity and permanence of what is dedicated to God. The principle that God's holy things are not to be treated as common property reflects the reverence due to all that He claims as His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 27:28“‘Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.
- Lev 27:9–10“‘If it is an animal, of which men offer an offering to Yahweh, all that any man gives of such to Yahweh becomes holy.
- Lev 25:34But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
- Lev 27:32–33All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh.
- Ezek 48:12It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.
- 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.
- Mal 3:8–10Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Lev 23:20The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 48:14 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.