Leviticus 25:20-22 · Bible study
Leviticus 25:20-22 Commentary: God's Provision for the Sabbath Year
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How can the Israelites trust God when the sabbatical year forbids sowing? God commands a superabundant sixth-year harvest, teaching reliance on His promises.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God promises a commanded blessing on the sixth year to provide enough for the sabbatical year and beyond, teaching Israel to trust His provision.
- Key words: 'command' (tsavah), divine sovereignty in provision; 'three years', the extent of the supply from sixth-year harvest to ninth-year harvest.
- Main debate: Whether this passage was originally part of the sabbatical year laws or redactionally inserted to apply also to the Jubilee year (Cambridge Bible suggests the latter).
- Theological theme: God's faithful provision for those who obey His rest commands; the connection between obedience, trust, and divine care.
- Best use: Teaching on anxiety and provision, trusting God when obedience seems costly, and understanding the rhythm of work and rest in God's design.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
20Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’
21But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.
22While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.
WEB World English Bible 2000
20If you said, “What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase;”
21then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bear fruit for the three years.
22You shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits from the old store until the ninth year. Until its fruits come in, you shall eat the old store.
KJV King James Version 1769
20And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
21Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
22And 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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
20And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase;
21then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for the three years.
22And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits, the old store; until the ninth year, until its fruits come in, ye shall eat the old store.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
20`And when ye say, What do we eat in the seventh year, lo, we do not sow, nor gather our increase?
21then I have commanded My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it hath made the increase for three years;
22and ye have sown the eighth year, and have eaten of the old increase; until the ninth year, until the coming in of its increase, ye do eat the old.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
20And if ye say, What shall we eat in the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather in our produce;
21then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, that it may bring forth produce for three years;
22and ye shall sow in the eighth year, and ye shall eat of the old fruit until the ninth year; until her produce come in, ye shall eat the old.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
20But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits?
21I will give you my blessing the sixth year: and it shall yield the fruits of three years.
22And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year: till new grow up, you shall eat the old store.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Leviticus 25:20
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the question in verse 20 reflects a natural human anxiety about the sabbatical year command. Calvin notes that 'men will never be obedient to God's precepts, unless their distrust of Him is corrected,' and that the question is a 'specious excuse' for disobedience. God's answer is a sovereign promise: 'I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year' (v.21). The Hebrew verb tsavah (צָוָה) conveys a deliberate, authoritative act: the blessing is a commanded provision. Clarke calls this a 'sovereign promise' that alone could lay the anxiety to rest. Gill sees the passage addressing those 'of little faith' who 'distrust the providence of God.' The consensus across traditions is clear: God pledges a superabundant harvest in the sixth year that will cover the seventh (sabbatical), the eighth (sowing year), and stretch into the ninth year when the new harvest comes in. The passage teaches that obedience to God's rest commands requires trust in His provision, a trust He meets with concrete faithfulness.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Traditional reading: The passage is a straightforward promise of provision for the sabbatical year, with the three years covering the sixth through eighth years.
- Redactional reading: Cambridge Bible suggests the passage was originally part of the sabbatical year laws and was later adapted by a redactor to also apply to the Jubilee year, accounting for the mention of the ninth year.
What is clear: God promises superabundant provision from the sixth-year harvest to sustain Israel through the sabbatical year and beyond.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the sixth-year blessing | It is a special act of God producing extraordinary abundance. | Some (Calvin) emphasize it as miraculous above the natural course; others (Clarke, Gill) describe it as a sovereign promise without specifying mechanism. |
| Timing of the three years | The sixth-year harvest provides food through the seventh and eighth years until the ninth-year harvest. | Whether the three years include the sixth, seventh, and eighth, or the seventh, eighth, and ninth; the Cambridge Bible notes the ambiguity and suggests redaction may have altered the original meaning. |
| Relationship to the Jubilee year | The passage is placed in the context of Jubilee regulations. | Cambridge Bible argues the passage was originally for the sabbatical year only and was adapted by a redactor for Jubilee; others read it as applying naturally to both. |
| The role of human faith | The question in v20 reflects human anxiety, and God's promise addresses it. | Calvin emphasizes that the question reveals inherent distrust that must be corrected; other interpreters (Matthew Henry) focus more on the encouragement to trust. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The sabbatical year command in Leviticus 25:4 required the land to rest every seventh year: no sowing, no pruning, no harvesting. For an agrarian society, this was a radical interruption of the economic cycle. The question in verse 20, 'What shall we eat the seventh year?', exactly captures the crisis of faith the law posed.
God's answer builds on a pattern already established in the wilderness. When the manna was provided, a double portion fell on the sixth day to cover the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-30). Calvin draws this connection explicitly. Now, for the land, God promises a 'blessing' on the sixth year that produces enough for three years. The timeline requires explanation. The sixth-year harvest (spring/summer) would normally supply food until the next harvest in the seventh year. But because no harvest occurs in the seventh year, the food must last until the harvest of the eighth year (sown in the eighth year, harvested later). The text says the supply extends 'until the ninth year', that is, until the eighth-year harvest is fully gathered in (typically autumn). Thus the sixth-year produce must stretch across three agricultural cycles: the remainder of the sixth year, the whole seventh year, and most of the eighth year until the ninth-year harvest. This is the 'fruit for three years' (v.21).
The passage appears in a section that also regulates the Jubilee year. The Cambridge Bible suggests that a redactor placed these verses here to indicate that the same provision applies to the Jubilee as well, since the Jubilee year (the 50th) might also involve a fallow year. That would mean two consecutive years of rest (seventh and 50th), making the need for provision even more acute.
Historically, the law was given before Israel entered Canaan (Leviticus 25:2: 'When you come into the land'). It was a prospective test of trust: would a settled agricultural people trust God enough to let the land rest? Ellicott's notes that the law 'had no immediate bearing on the condition of Israel' at the time of giving. The promise in verses 20-22 was designed to disarm that anxiety before it arose.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentators note no significant textual variants for Leviticus 25:20-22. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the passage's structure is consistent in the versions (Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta) with minor differences in word order but no changes in meaning. The discussion in Cambridge Bible about possible redaction pertains to literary composition, not textual corruption.
Reception History
Christian interpreters have consistently seen in this passage a model of divine provision for those who obey God's commands. The Reformers, including Calvin, emphasized that the passage corrects human distrust and invites believers to rely on God's promise rather than on visible means. In the Wesleyan tradition, Adam Clarke highlighted the 'sovereign promise' as the only adequate answer to human worry. Puritan commentators like John Gill used the passage to rebuke 'little faith' and encourage trust in providence. The passage also influenced Jewish interpretation, with the Talmud discussing the mechanics of the sabbatical year provision. In more recent centuries, the passage has been used in sermons on tithing and Sabbath rest, connecting the principle of trusting God with our resources. While modern scholarship (Cambridge Bible, Ellicott) has explored the literary structure and possible redaction, the devotional reading has remained remarkably consistent: God provides when His people obey.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The honest question. Israel's 'What shall we eat?' is not unbelief but a real concern. God does not rebuke the question; He answers it. This invites us to bring our anxieties about provision to Him.
- The sovereign promise. 'I will command my blessing.' The blessing comes by divine order, not by human effort. God takes responsibility for the outcome of obedience.
- The extended provision. The sixth-year harvest covers three years, more than enough. God does not merely meet needs; He overpours. The timeline teaches patience and dependence.
Five-point outline
- The sabbatical year command (Lev 25:4): Rest for the land as an act of trust in Yahweh.
- The anxious question (v.20): The immediate response of human calculation.
- The divine response (v.21): God commands a blessing, not just a natural increase. The verb tsavah (command) emphasizes sovereignty.
- The extended timeline (v.22): From sixth year to ninth year, three years of provision. The old store must be eaten until the new comes in. This requires patience.
- The foundation (v.23): The land belongs to God. The entire system rests on the truth that we are tenants, not owners.
Illustration hooks
- A farmer who takes a year off from planting due to crop rotation or soil conservation, and has to trust that the previous surplus will last. The difference: God's promise here is far more certain.
- A person who takes a Sabbath from work, a full day of rest, and worries about lost productivity. Yet the six days of work often produce more when the seventh is trusted to God.
- Families who have faced a gap between jobs or income sources and experienced unexpected provision through gifts, savings, or opportunities they did not plan.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I obey God when the cost seems too high? This passage shows that God provides for those who obey His commands, even when the math doesn't work out.
- Does God still give miraculous provision today? While we are not under the sabbatical year law, God's character hasn't changed. He still answers trust with faithfulness.
- How do I handle the anxiety that comes when my normal sources of provision are removed? The passage invites us to bring that anxiety to God and listen for His promise.
Leading a Discussion
This passage addresses a question every believer faces sooner or later: 'If I obey God, will I be okay?' The Israelites were commanded to let the land rest every seventh year. Their immediate reaction was concern about food. God's answer is a promise of superabundant provision. Use these questions to explore what this teaches about God and our trust in Him.
Discussion questions
- Read Leviticus 25:20-22. What is the worry the Israelites express, and how does God respond to it?
- Why do you think God commanded the land to rest? What does this reveal about His priorities for His people?
- God says 'I will command my blessing.' What does the word 'command' suggest about the nature of this provision? How is it different from ordinary harvest?
- The provision extends 'for three years.' Why do you think God provided such abundance rather than just enough? What does this show about His character?
- How does this passage connect to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:25-34 about not worrying about food and clothing?
- In what areas of your life do you find yourself asking 'What shall we eat?', worrying about provision or security? How might God be inviting you to trust Him in that area?
- What would it look like for your community to 'let the land rest', to practice Sabbath or generosity in a way that requires trust in God's provision?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 25:4 | but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to Yahweh. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. |
| Numbers 11:4 | The mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? |
| Numbers 11:13 | Where could I get meat to give all these people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ |
| II Kings 6:15 | When the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” |
| II Kings 6:17 | Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. |
| II Kings 7:2 | Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, “Behold, if Yahweh made windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.” |
| II Chronicles 25:9 | Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “Yahweh is able to give you much more than this.” |
| Psalms 78:19 | Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes the question is entirely natural: without a miracle, the people would face famine. He highlights that God’s sovereign promise to bless the sixth year’s harvest so it lasts three years is the only answer that could satisfy such a practical, anxious concern.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin points out that God's command to let the land rest every seventh year would naturally stir distrust and fear of famine. So God promised an extraordinary blessing on the sixth year, making it yield enough for three years at once, just as He gave double manna before the Sabbath. This special provision met Israel's unique need.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that these verses are a hortatory addition interrupting the Jubilee regulations. A later editor placed them here to apply the sabbatical year promises to the Jubilee as well. The mention of sowing in the ninth year suggests the editor understood the Jubilee as the 50th year, requiring two consecutive rest years.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights God’s specific provision for the sabbatical year: His blessing on the sixth year makes the land yield enough to last through the seventh, eighth, and even into the ninth year. This timing allows them to sow in the eighth year and live on stored grain until the next harvest comes in.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that the promise of a three-year harvest in the sixth year is placed right after the sabbatical year command because the same worry applies to the jubilee year, which requires a four-year supply. His distinctive insight is that this arrangement encourages faith: if God can provide for three years, He can certainly provide for four.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB argues that the law of the sabbatic year could only come from a lawgiver aware he acted under God's authority. Only a people who had actually seen the promised miraculous provision would faithfully suspend farming every seventh year and at the Jubilee.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the Sabbatical and Jubilee years as a single system for keeping the land itself holy, restoring the original theocratic order. He emphasizes that Jehovah is Lord over every part of the land, its people, and its social arrangements. The Jubilee year especially points forward as a prophecy of the Gospel's proclamation of freedom.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry ties the Jubilee directly to the Day of Atonement, noting that the same day that brought pardon also proclaimed liberty, restoring every person to their family and property. This design, he argues, prevented lasting inequality and enforced the command not to oppress, since the land and its inhabitants belonged to God.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley clarifies that the "three years" does not mean three full calendar years but a period stretching from the latter part of the sixth year through the seventh and into the eighth year before harvest. He sees this detail as showing God's fairness: while testing their trust, God also providentially provided enough old fruit to sustain them.