sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

complete verse (Leviticus 25:27)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:27:

  • Kupsabiny: “He must be allowed to get his field back and buy it according to the years which the release has not yet reached. That man may then go and live in his field that he has brought back.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He will be able to redeem that possession by repaying the harvest money for the remaining years until the next Year of Jubilee.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If this happens he is-to-pay the-one-who bought his land a price which (is) according-to the crops of the land until the arrival of the Year of Setting-Free and Returning, then he may now buy-back/redeem his land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “he must calculate how many years there will be until the next Year of Celebration. Then he must pay to the man who bought the land the money that he would have earned by continuing to grow crops on that land for those years.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 25:27

Since Good News Translation begins this verse with a new sentence, it is necessary to make the relationship with the preceding verse clear. This is done by means of the words “In that case….”

The years since he sold it: literally “the years of its value.” This may also be expressed as “the number of years that the alienation would have lasted” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Pay back the overpayment: New Jerusalem Bible reads “refund the difference.” The word translated overpayment in Revised Standard Version really means “balance.” The man who is buying back his land must subtract the value of the crops harvested from the original price and pay the balance. Another way of saying this is that he must pay the value of the crops for the time remaining until the next Year of Restoration (compare Good News Translation).

Return to his property: that is, take back his land. See verses 10 and 13.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .