Leviticus 25:22 kjv

And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

Leviticus 25:22 nkjv

And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

Leviticus 25:22 niv

While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.

Leviticus 25:22 esv

When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

Leviticus 25:22 nlt

When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year.

Leviticus 25 verses

Leviticus 25 22 Meaning

Leviticus 25:22 clarifies the practical manifestation of God's divine provision during the mandated Sabbath year. Following the people's natural concern about sustenance during the land's rest period (Lev 25:20) and God's promise of a special blessing in the sixth year (Lev 25:21), this verse explains how that blessing ensures a continued food supply. It details that even though sowing resumes only in the eighth year, the people will continue to subsist on the bountiful "old fruit" or "old store" harvested in the sixth year until the new crops planted in the eighth year are ready for harvest in the ninth year. This verse underscores God's faithfulness to His covenant and His ability to miraculously sustain His people through obedience to His commands.

Leviticus 25 22 Context

Leviticus chapter 25 details two significant land-based sabbaths commanded by God for Israel: the Sabbath year (Shmita) and the Year of Jubilee (Yovel). The Sabbath year required the land to lie fallow every seventh year, with no sowing or reaping, allowing only natural growth to be consumed. The Jubilee, occurring every fiftieth year (after seven Sabbath cycles), involved both land rest and the return of inherited property, as well as the freedom of bondservants. These laws were central to Israel's identity, economic system, and spiritual discipline, designed to cultivate faith, acknowledge God's sovereignty over the land, and prevent perpetual debt and poverty. Verse 22 specifically addresses the anxiety a farming community would naturally feel about extended periods without active cultivation. It serves as God's direct reassurance, following His promise in verse 21 of a magnified harvest in the sixth year, guaranteeing ample sustenance through the seventh (sabbatical) year and the eighth year, until the new crops of the ninth year yield their produce.

Leviticus 25 22 Word analysis

• For (כִּי, ki): This conjunction introduces a causal or explanatory statement. It connects directly to the preceding verse (Lev 25:21), explaining how God's promised blessing in the sixth year will practically unfold to provide sustenance for the required duration.
• ye shall sow (תִּזְרָעוּ, tizra'u): This is a future tense verb, indicating an action that will take place after the Sabbath year. It signifies the resumption of agricultural activity as normal life continues, but its timing highlights the gap in sowing.
• the eighth year (הַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁמִינִית, hashana hashsheminit): This precise timing specifies that after the land has rested throughout the seventh year, Israel would sow again in the first available season, which is the eighth year of the cycle. This timing underscores the full extent of their reliance on the divine provision from the sixth year. If a Jubilee year immediately followed a Sabbath year, the "eighth year" would effectively be the 51st year in the larger Jubilee cycle, indicating an even longer period of no direct human effort for two consecutive years.
• and eat yet (וַאֲכַלְתֶּם עָב֖וּר, va'akaltem avur): "Eat" indicates continued sustenance. "Yet" (from "avur" - old grain/produce) emphasizes that even without new harvests, consumption continues from what was already provided. It powerfully conveys sustained supply. This "old fruit" signifies the miraculous abundance from the previous (sixth) year's harvest, specially blessed by God.
• of old fruit (עָב֖וּר יָשָׁן, avur yashan): This term literally means "old produce" or "old grain." It refers to the harvest stored from the exceptionally abundant sixth year, demonstrating God's provision for future needs. The concept contrasts sharply with the common anxiety of immediate consumption and lack, pointing to surplus. This phrasing counteracts any implicit belief that human foresight and endless labor are the only means of provision; instead, God grants sufficiency.
• until the ninth year (עַד הַשָּׁנָה הַתְּשִׁיעִת, 'ad hashshanah hattechi'it): This sets the temporal boundary for their reliance on the stored provisions. The ninth year is when the produce from the eighth year's sowing would become available, marking the resumption of a normal agricultural cycle's yields.
• until her fruits come in (בֹּוא בְּתְבוּאָתָהּ, bo bivtu'atah): "Her" refers to the land. This phrase specifies what defines the ninth year as the end-point: the ripening and harvesting of the new crops. It reinforces the cyclical nature of agriculture, emphasizing the reliance on a distinct period of miraculous old store.
• ye shall eat of the old store (תֹּאכְל֫וּ מִן־הַיָּשָׁן, to'khlu min-hayashan): This repetition from "eat yet of old fruit" serves as an emphatic assurance. "Old store" is a repository of past abundance. The redundancy provides comfort and leaves no doubt regarding the source of their sustenance: God's extraordinary blessing upon the previous year's harvest.

Words-group Analysis:

• "For ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit...": This phrase initiates the practical explanation of divine providence. It establishes a timeline for human agricultural action, which only recommences in the eighth year, yet assures continuous eating through the period when no new harvest would ordinarily be expected. This showcases God orchestrating sustenance independent of immediate human labor.
• "...until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.": This second part delineates the duration and source of provision. It reinforces the span of dependence on the sixth year's blessing—extending into the ninth year—and reiterates that the sustenance will come from the pre-existing, divinely blessed "old store." This emphasis on the "old store" highlights both the prior blessing and the Israelite's faithfulness in conserving it, or perhaps more accurately, God's miraculous enabling of its abundance and longevity. It is a powerful affirmation of God's planning and provision for an obedient people, ensuring they will never lack.

Leviticus 25 22 Bonus section

The requirement to subsist on the 'old fruit' and 'old store' highlights the critical role of divine blessing in not only producing an exceptional yield in the sixth year (as mentioned in Lev 25:21) but also in supernaturally preserving that produce. In a warm climate with limited storage technology, storing enough grain and fruit for two to three years would have been a significant challenge without divine intervention ensuring its freshness and protection from spoilage or pests. This implies a deeper level of miraculous preservation alongside the extraordinary abundance. The obedience to such a financially challenging command fostered radical trust in God. It served as a weekly (Sabbath) and yearly (Sabbath year) reminder of who ultimately owns the land and provides all sustenance.

Leviticus 25 22 Commentary

Leviticus 25:22 serves as God's practical reassurance to Israel regarding their sustenance during the unique and seemingly counter-intuitive periods of land rest, namely the Sabbath year and potentially the Jubilee. While the previous verse promised God's "commanded blessing," this verse meticulously details how that blessing would unfold: the miraculous abundance harvested in the sixth year would be so vast that it would suffice not only through the non-sowing seventh year but also throughout the eighth year (when new crops were planted but not yet ready), lasting until the harvest arrived in the ninth year. This command demanded profound faith from an agrarian society, as it contradicted natural economic prudence. However, it vividly demonstrated God's sovereignty over the land and its yield, His commitment to His covenant, and His faithfulness to those who obey Him. It taught Israel dependence on divine promise over human anxiety and constant striving, highlighting that obedience to God's ways would never lead to deprivation, but rather to supernatural provision. This divine provision transcends typical agricultural cycles, confirming God as the ultimate provider and source of all well-being.