Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the LORD.
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the LORD.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto Jehovah.
Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land which I will give you, let the land keep a Sabbath to the Lord.
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the LORD.
"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to Yahweh.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
The land keep a Sabbath - See this ordinance explained, Exodus 23:11 (note). It may be asked here: if it required all the annual produce of the field to support the inhabitants, how could the people be nourished the seventh year, when no produce was received from the fields? To this it may be answered, that God sent his blessing in an especial manner on the sixth year, (see Leviticus 25:21, Leviticus 25:22), and it brought forth fruit for three years. How astonishing and convincing was this miracle! Could there possibly be any deception here? No! The miracle speaks for itself, proves the Divine authenticity of the law, and takes every prop and stay from the system that wishes to convict the Mosaic ordinances of imposture. See Exodus 23:11. It is evident from this that the Mosaic law must have had a Divine origin, as no man in his senses, without God's authority, could have made such an ordinance as this; for the sixth year, from its promulgation, would have amply refuted his pretensions to a Divine mission.
25:2 When ye come into the land — So as to be settled in it; for the time of the wars was not to be accounted, nor the time before Joshua's distribution of the land among them.
Keep a sabbath — That is, enjoy rest and freedom from plowing, and tilling.
Unto the Lord — In obedience and unto the honour of God. This was instituted, 1. For the assertion of God's sovereign right to the land, in which the Israelites were but tenants at God's will. 2. For the trial of their obedience. 3. For the demonstration of his providence as well in general towards men, as especially towards his own people. 4. To wean them from inordinate love, and pursuit of worldly advantages, and to inure them to depend upon God alone, and upon God's blessing for their subsistence. 5. To put them in mind of that blessed and eternal rest provided for all good men.