Ezekiel 48:14
in Ezekiel 48They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first-fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy unto Jehovah.
KJV
And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 48
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 14) They shall not sell any of it or exchange it, nor shall the firstfruits of the land be taken away from it, for they are holy to the Lord. However, what the LXX said: 'It will not be measured, nor will it be taken away,' is clear that it does not have the same meaning as what we said: 'It will not be changed, nor will it be transferred.'
This site's exposition
Bordering the territory of the priests
on Ezekiel 48:13-14
The Levites receive a strip beside the priests. “They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land”. Ordinary inheritance in Israel could return to its owner at the jubilee, while this ground stays fixed to its holy use.
This site's exposition
They must not sell or exchange any of it
Leviticus 25:34 had already barred the sale of the Levites' pasturelands. Jerome's Latin calls this ground the firstfruits of the land, where the Berean reads best part. Firstfruits belonged to the Lord before any harvest was used (Exodus 23:19).
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is sacrilege to convert that to other uses which is dedicated to God. The land allotted for the city and its suburbs is called a profane place (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they shall not sell of it,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
or exchange And he shall not exchange it for any other land.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the Levites: opposite the border of the priests Alongside the strips of the priests, like the measurement of the priests, parallel to its entire length.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמְכְּר֣וּ | yimkeru | they will sell | H4376 → | 80 times |
| מִמֶּ֗נּוּ | mimenu | any of it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמֵ֛ר | yamer | anyone will exchange | H4171 → | |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲבִ֖יר | yaavur | one will make pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| רֵאשִׁ֣ית | reshit | [the] choicest of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קֹ֖דֶשׁ | kodesh | [it is] a holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| לַיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִמְכְּר֣וּthey will sell
yimkeruH4376 →80 times
מִמֶּ֗נּוּany of it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמֵ֛רanyone will exchange
yamerH4171 →
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲבִ֖ירone will make pass over
yaavurH5674 →556 times
רֵאשִׁ֣ית[the] choicest of
reshitH7225 →51 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קֹ֖דֶשׁ[it is] a holy place
kodeshH6944 →469 times
לַיהוָֽה׃to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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
Leviticus 27:28Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:17–19
Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies…
- Leviticus 27:21
When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.
- Exodus 22:20
If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
- Joshua 6:17–19
Through
Exodus 22:29You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
it leads to
- Exodus 13:2
“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”
- Exodus 23:16
You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year,…
- James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- Deuteronomy 26:2–10
you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go…
- Exodus 23:19
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 13:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.