Leviticus 25:20 kjv

And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:

Leviticus 25:20 nkjv

'And if you say, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?"

Leviticus 25:20 niv

You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?"

Leviticus 25:20 esv

And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?'

Leviticus 25:20 nlt

But you might ask, 'What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?'

Leviticus 25 verses

Leviticus 25 20 Meaning

Leviticus 25:20 anticipates and vocalizes the very practical and human question the Israelites would naturally pose when commanded by God to observe the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah). It expresses their understandable apprehension about sustenance during a year when they were forbidden from engaging in essential agricultural activities—sowing seeds and gathering their usual harvest. This question reveals a deep-seated human fear of scarcity and economic instability, directly challenging their reliance on human effort versus their trust in divine provision.

Leviticus 25 20 Context

Leviticus Chapter 25 is dedicated to the divine laws concerning the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah, verses 1-7) and the Year of Jubilee (Yovel, verses 8-55). The Sabbatical Year required the land to rest completely every seventh year: no sowing, no pruning, and no harvesting of volunteer crops for private gain. Whatever grew of its own accord was to be freely available to the poor, sojourners, and animals. This radical command aimed to teach Israel several key theological lessons: God's ultimate ownership of the land (v. 23), their dependence on Him for provision, and the importance of remembering their identity as sojourners under His care. Verse 20 represents the immediate, common-sense human objection or anxious question that such a command would evoke in an agrarian society completely reliant on the land for survival. It directly sets up God's subsequent promise of supernatural provision in verses 21-22, demonstrating that God anticipates and addresses human fears with His faithful assurance.

Leviticus 25 20 Word analysis

• "And if you say" (וְכִי-תֹאמְרוּ, v'khi-tom'ru): The initial Hebrew particle "וְכִי" (v'khi) can be translated as "and if," "and when," or even "and should." It introduces a hypothetical yet highly anticipated rhetorical question, implying God's awareness of the people's likely pragmatic concern. "תֹאמְרוּ" (tom'ru) is the second person plural form of "to say," directly addressing the entire community. This highlights that the query is not from an individual but is a widespread, shared anxiety.
• "'What'" (מַה, mah): A straightforward interrogative pronoun, expressing the core of their bewilderment and anxiety. It reflects a direct, existential question regarding survival.
• "'are we going to eat'" (נֹאכַל, nokhal): This is the first common plural future tense of the verb "to eat." It underscores the immediate and critical nature of their concern – the most basic human need, sustenance. Their fear is famine and starvation.
• "'in the seventh year'" (בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת, bashanah hashvi'it): "בַּשָּׁנָה" (bashanah) means "in the year," and "הַשְּׁבִיעִית" (hashvi'it) means "the seventh." This specifies the mandated time for rest – the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah), a distinctive period during which the land was to lie fallow. This particular year presented a unique test of faith.
• "'if we do not sow'" (הֵן לֹא נִזְרָע, hen lo nizra'): "הֵן" (hen) can mean "behold" or "if," introducing a condition. "לֹא" (lo) is "not," and "נִזְרָע" (nizra'*) is the first common plural imperfect of "to sow." This phrase pinpoints the primary forbidden activity – the deliberate cultivation of crops. It addresses their initial productive effort.
• "'or gather in our produce?'" (וְלֹא נֶאֱסֹף אֶת-תְּבוּאָתֵנוּ, v'lo ne'esof et t'vu'atenu): "וְלֹא נֶאֱסֹף" (v'lo ne'esof) means "and not gather" or "collect." "אֶת-תְּבוּאָתֵנוּ" (et t'vu'atenu) means "our produce" or "our harvest." This covers the second crucial part of their agricultural cycle – the harvesting of any yields. By prohibiting both sowing and gathering the primary yield, God effectively commands a full year of economic inactivity reliant on the land, challenging their entire self-sustaining economy.
• Words-group analysis:
  • "What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our produce?": This collective rhetorical question encapsulates the core human tension between a divinely mandated act of faith (resting the land) and an immediate, pressing economic concern (providing for oneself). It highlights the profound challenge the Sabbatical Year posed to Israel's conventional understanding of livelihood in an agricultural society. The question demonstrates that God is fully aware of their anxieties, providing an opportunity to assert His sovereign provision in the verses that follow, ultimately demanding absolute trust in His faithfulness over human self-sufficiency or wisdom.

Leviticus 25 20 Bonus section

• God's Pedagogical Strategy: The inclusion of this anxious question within the divine law itself serves a pedagogical purpose. God did not simply issue a command; He foresaw and addressed the natural human response, validating the fear while guiding them towards a greater trust in Him. This teaches that it is permissible to bring our practical concerns to God, as He desires to demonstrate His faithfulness in addressing them.
• Echoes of the Manna: The promised provision for the Sabbatical Year in Lev 25:21-22 (a triple harvest in the sixth year to cover three years) directly mirrors God's miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, where a double portion was given on the sixth day to cover the Sabbath (Exod 16). This reinforces a consistent divine pattern of providing miraculously for times of mandated rest and trust.
• Consequences of Neglect: The failure of the Israelites to consistently observe the Sabbatical Years over centuries ultimately led to their seventy-year Babylonian exile, during which "the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths" (2 Chron 36:21), thus fulfilling the neglected land-rests predicted in the curses of the Mosaic covenant (Lev 26:34-35). This illustrates the severe consequences of distrust and disobedience.
• Spiritual Parallel for New Testament Believers: The principle of resting and trusting in God's provision in the face of anxiety resonates strongly with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament about not worrying about food or clothing (Matt 6:25-34). The Sabbatical year demonstrates an Old Testament precedent for radical faith that extends beyond mere agricultural concerns to all aspects of a believer's life and stewardship.

Leviticus 25 20 Commentary

Leviticus 25:20 encapsulates the most natural human objection to the radical command of the Sabbatical Year. It articulates the immediate and practical fear of an agrarian society deprived of its primary means of sustenance for an entire year. This anticipated question reveals God's understanding of human anxieties and sets the stage for a profound lesson in divine faithfulness. By permitting this question to be posed, the LORD implicitly validates their concern while simultaneously preparing to address it with an unprecedented promise of supernatural provision in the subsequent verses (Lev 25:21-22). This command was not merely an economic policy; it was a profound theological test, compelling Israel to remember that true security does not lie in relentless human effort or the fertility cults of neighboring nations (which associated agricultural success with pagan deities like Baal), but in absolute obedience to and reliance upon Yahweh, the true owner of the land and source of all blessing. The Sabbatical Year cultivated faith, taught dependence, ensured land conservation, and provided social welfare, all predicated on trust that God would provide miraculously.