Leviticus 19:25

Summary

Leviticus 19:25 states that in the fifth year the fruit of a tree may be eaten, with the stated result of increasing its yield. The verse closes with the self-identification formula "I am Yehovah your God."

Key words

• sha.Nah ("year", H8141) — feminine singular noun, marked with the definite article and preceded by va. ("in the"), setting the temporal frame "in the year."
• cha.mi.Shit ("fifth", H2549) — feminine singular ordinal, agreeing grammatically with sha.Nah, specifying which year is meant.
• to.khe.Lu ("you will eat", H0398) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, expressing an ongoing or future permitted/expected action addressed to a group.
• ho.Sif ("add", H3254H) — hiphil infinitive, causative form; the hiphil stem indicates causing an increase, here governed by the preposition le. ("to/in order to").
• te.vu.'a.T ("produce", H8393) — feminine singular noun in construct form ("produce of..."), bound to the suffix -o ("its"), naming what is increased.

What the text says

The verse opens with a temporal phrase, u.va.Sha.nah ha.cha.mi.Shit ("and in the fifth year"), where the ordinal cha.mi.Shit ("fifth", H2549) agrees in gender and definiteness with sha.Nah ("year", H8141), marking a specific point in a counted sequence. The main clause verb, to.khe.Lu ("you will eat", H0398), is a qal imperfect second-person plural, addressing a collective "you" and describing what may or will happen in that year: eating pir.yo ("its fruit", H6529 + suffix), the object marked by the untranslated particle 'et.

The second half of the verse pivots on the construction le.ho.Sif — the preposition le. ("to") plus the hiphil infinitive ho.Sif ("add", H3254H). The hiphil stem is causative, so the phrase conveys the idea of causing something "to add" or "to increase," directed la.khem ("to you", H9036 suffix on H9005), followed by te.vu.'a.To ("its produce", H8393 + suffix "its"). The construct relationship between te.vu.'a.T and its pronominal suffix ties the "produce" back to the tree/fruit mentioned earlier. Grammatically, this infinitive clause expresses purpose or result attached to the act of eating in the fifth year, though the Hebrew does not use an explicit finite verb of "increasing" — the causation is embedded in the infinitive form itself.

The verse ends with the fixed formula 'a.Ni Yehovah 'e.lo.hei.khem ("I [am] Yehovah, your God"), where 'e.lo.hei ("God", H0430G) stands in construct with the suffix -khem ("your," masculine plural).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders le.ho.Sif ("to add", H3254H) with the noun phrase prosthema hymin ("an addition/increase for you"), turning the Hebrew infinitive construction into a nominal predicate. The Vulgate renders the same clause as congregantes poma, quae proferunt ("gathering the fruits that they produce"), shifting the sense toward gathering rather than increasing. The BSB and SBLIBRE translations both interpret the infinitive clause as a result ("thus your harvest will be increased" / "that way he will give you a greater harvest"), while RV1909 renders it as a purpose clause ("para que os haga crecer su fruto").