Deuteronomy 14:29
in Deuteronomy 14Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou doest.
KJV
And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
At the end of every three years
on Deuteronomy 14:28-29
Every third year the tithe is laid up “within your gates”, and 26:12 calls that year the year of the tithe. The Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow come and eat, as they do together at 16:11, 16:14 and 26:12-13. So the man who serves the sanctuary eats from the provision that feeds the widow, and James 1:27 keeps the widow at the centre of religion.
This site's exposition
eat and be satisfied
Albert Barnes counts the three years from the sabbatical year, which puts this tithe for the poor in the third and sixth years of every seven. The promise that the LORD will bless the work of your hands returns at 24:19 over the sheaf left for the foreigner and the widow. The giver is the one blessed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,....
It is his honour, and will be ours, to help the helpless. And if we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised here that the Lord our God will bless us in all the work of our hand. Note, (1.) The blessing of God is all in all to our outward prosperity, and, without that blessing, the work of our hands which we do will bring nothing to pass.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the Levite (because he hath no part nor inheritance - And hence much of his support depended on the mere freewill-offerings of the people. God chose to make his ministers thus dependent on the people, that they might be induced (among other motives) to labor for their spiritual profiting, that the people, thus blessed under their ministry, might feel it their duty and privilege to support and render them comfortable.
How the passage was read
On Deuteronomy 14:22-29On Deuteronomy 14:22-29
The tithe system behind the mint and cumin
The Torah's tithe was agricultural: a tenth of grain, wine, and oil, eaten before the LORD or given, in the third year, to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. The oral tradition extended the duty far beyond the named crops. The Mishnah's tractate on tithes opens with the general rule: “whatever is food, and is looked after, and grows from the land, is liable for tithes” (Maasrot 1:1). Under that rule even kitchen herbs were tithed, a scruple carried out leaf by leaf.
That is the practice behind Jesus' words about tithing “mint and dill and cumin” (Matthew 23:23). Read His sentence whole: “these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” He affirms the scruple and indicts the inversion of weight, the tithed herb beside the neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The woe is about proportion, not about tithing.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָ֣א | uva' | and he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַלֵּוִ֡י | halevi | the Levite | H3881 → | 291 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לוֹ֩ | lo | [belongs] to <the> him | ||
| חֵ֨לֶק | chelek | a portion | H2506 → | 67 times |
| וְנַחֲלָ֜ה | venachalah | and an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| עִמָּ֗ךְ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְ֠הַגֵּר | vehager | and the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| וְהַיָּת֤וֹם | vehaiyatom | and the fatherless one | H3490 → | 42 times |
| וְהָֽאַלְמָנָה֙ | vehaalmanah | and the widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ | bishareikha | [are] in gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וְאָכְל֖וּ | veakhelu | and they will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְשָׂבֵ֑עוּ | vesaveu | and they will be satisfied | H7646 → | 97 times |
| לְמַ֤עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֙ | yevarekha | he may bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה | maaseh | [the] work of | H4639 → | 236 times |
| יָדְךָ֖ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃ ס | taaseh | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וּבָ֣אand he will come
uva'H935 →2568 times
הַלֵּוִ֡יthe Levite
haleviH3881 →291 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵֽין־not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
לוֹ֩[belongs] to <the> him
lo
חֵ֨לֶקa portion
chelekH2506 →67 times
וְנַחֲלָ֜הand an inheritance
venachalahH5159 →222 times
עִמָּ֗ךְwith you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
וְ֠הַגֵּרand the sojourner
vehagerH1616 →92 times
וְהַיָּת֤וֹםand the fatherless one
vehaiyatomH3490 →42 times
וְהָֽאַלְמָנָה֙and the widow
vehaalmanahH490 →56 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ[are] in gates your
bishareikhaH8179 →374 times
וְאָכְל֖וּand they will eat
veakheluH398 →810 times
וְשָׂבֵ֑עוּand they will be satisfied
vesaveuH7646 →97 times
לְמַ֤עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יְבָרֶכְךָ֙he may bless you
yevarekhaH1288 →330 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה[the] work of
maasehH4639 →236 times
יָדְךָ֖hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃ סyou will do
taasehH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
- Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Matthew 25:40
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
- Proverbs 28:27
Through
Deuteronomy 14:27And do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:12
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 18:20
Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
- Deuteronomy 12:12
Through
Deuteronomy 15:10Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything…
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:9
A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
- Proverbs 22:9
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.