Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
- KJV Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
- BSB As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess.
- NASB As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession.
- NLT “The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them.
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 could redeem their city houses at any time, without the one-year limit. Their special status received special protection.
Overview
Because the Levites had no tribal farmland but lived in designated cities, their houses could always be redeemed. Their dwellings were their inheritance, so the usual urban time limit did not apply. This provision honored the Levites' unique role as those set apart for God's service.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Num 35:1–8Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
- Josh 21:1–45Then the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
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Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 25:32 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
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