New Living Translation
Leviticus 25:32
32“The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them.
Leviticus 25:32 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
Context of Leviticus 25:32
30But if it is not bought back within a year, the sale of the house within the walled town cannot be reversed. It will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. 31But a house in a village—a settlement without fortified walls—will be treated like property in the countryside. Such a house may be bought back at any time, and it must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. “The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them. 33And any property that is sold by the Levites—all houses within the Levitical towns—must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the houses in the towns reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel. 34The open pastureland around the Levitical towns may never be sold. It is their permanent possession.
Read all of Leviticus 25Leviticus 25:32 word by word
וְעָרֵי֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם בָּתֵּ֖י עָרֵ֣י אֲחֻזָּתָ֑ם גְּאֻלַּ֥ת עוֹלָ֖ם תִּהְיֶ֥ה לַלְוִיִּֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Leviticus 25:32
- Numbers 35:2“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands.
- Joshua 21:1Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel.
Commentaries on Leviticus 25:32
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32The cities of the Levites - The law in this and the following verses was also a very wise one. A Levite could not ultimately sell his house: if sold he could redeem it at any time in the interim between the two jubilees; but if not redeemed, it must go out at the following jubilee. And why? "Because Moses framed his laws so much in favor of the priesthood, that they had peculiar privileges?" etc. Just the reverse: they were so far from being peculiarly…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32Rather, And concerning the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, etc. If one of the Levites redeems a house in the city, etc. The meaning appears to be, if a Levite redeemed a house which had been sold to a person of a different tribe by another Levite, it was to revert in the Jubilee to the latter Levite as its original possessor. The purchaser of a Levite‘s house was in fact only in the condition of a tenant at will, while…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-34Verses 23-34 If the land were not redeemed before the year of jubilee, it then returned to him that sold or mortgaged it. This was a figure of the free grace of God in Christ; by which, and not by any price or merit of our own, we are restored to the favour of God. Houses in walled cities were more the fruits of their own industry than land in the country, which was the direct gift of God's bounty; therefore if a man sold a house in a city, he might…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 32-34The tribe of Levi did not inherit land like other tribes. As the priestly tribe, they lived throughout the land (Deuteronomy 18:1; see Genesis 49:5–7; Numbers 35:1–8; Josh 21:1–42). The Levites could only inherit specific cities and the surrounding pasturelands (Numbers 35:2). The Levites were an exception to land ownership rules. They carefully protected their small holdings. They could redeem their houses even in walled cities. They could not sell the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 32-3432-34. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, &c.--The Levites, having no possessions but their towns and their houses, the law conferred on them the same privileges that were granted to the lands of the other Israelites. A certain portion of the lands surrounding the Levitical cities was appropriated to them for the pasturage of their cattle and flocks (Nu 35:4, 5). This was a permanent endowment for the support of the ministry and could not be…Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 25:32
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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