57 Bible Verses about Land, As A Divine Responsibility
Most Relevant Verses
And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression; read more.
and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror [suffered by the Egyptians] and with signs and with wonders; and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it,
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), Your servants to whom You swore [an oath] by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
“Now the Lord was angry with me [at the waters of Meribah] because of you, and He swore [an oath] that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
However, there will be no poor among you, since the Lord will most certainly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,
so that innocent blood will not be shed [by blood avengers] in your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and blood guilt will not be on you [for the death of an innocent man].
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. To the larger tribe you shall give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller tribe the smaller inheritance; each tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers. read more.
But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers (tribal ancestors).
So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities and territories, the cities of the surrounding land.
Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel defeated them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land as a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
With the other half-tribe [of Manasseh], the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan eastward, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them;
“These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. You shall take one leader from every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. These are the names of the men: From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; read more.
from the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud; from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; from the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli; of the sons of Joseph: from the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod; from the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; from the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; from the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan; from the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; from the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” These are the [twelve] men whom the Lord commanded [to work with Joshua and Eleazar] to divide the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.
Now these are the territories which the tribes of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of Israel apportioned to them as an inheritance,
Now the lot (allotment) for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached [southward to] the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at its most southern part.
Now the lot (allotment) of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot fell between [the tribes of] the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.
Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families (clans), and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Judah.
Those numbered of the Levites were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, since no inheritance [of land] was given to them among the Israelites.
“The Levitical priests, the entire tribe of Levi, shall own [privately] no portion [of land] or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His portion.
It was only to the tribe of Levi that Moses gave no [territory as an] inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He told him.
So no inheritance of the Israelites shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for every one of the Israelites shall hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers (tribal ancestors). Every daughter who possesses an inheritance [of land] in any one of the tribes of the Israelites shall marry [only] a man whose family is of her father’s tribe, so that the Israelites may each possess the inheritance of his fathers (tribal ancestors). So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, but each of the tribes of the Israelites shall hold to its own inheritance.”
But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.”
Moreover, the prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance by oppression and by evicting them from their property; he shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”
‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me.
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country]. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. read more.
Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected and threw away,
Has become the chief Cornerstone;
This is the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was talking about them. And although they were trying to arrest Him, they feared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a prophet.
‘And all the tithe (tenth part) of the land, whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
Also [you shall observe] the Feast of Harvest (Weeks, Pentecost, or First Fruits), acknowledging the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. And [third] the Feast of Ingathering (Booths or Tabernacles) at the end of the year when you gather in [the fruit of] your labors from the field.
‘You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf (tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths (seven full weeks). You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring in from your places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. read more.
And you shall offer with the bread seven unblemished lambs, one year old, and one young bull and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. And you shall sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs, one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the first fruits and the two lambs. They are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. On this same day you shall make a proclamation, you are to have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.
The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop. read more.
But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard. Whatever reseeds itself (uncultivated) in your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you gather the grapes from your uncultivated vine, it shall be a year of sabbatical rest for the land. And all of you shall have for food whatever the [untilled] land produces during its Sabbath year; yourself, and your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the foreigners who reside among you, even your domestic animals and the [wild] animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.
‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the ram’s horn everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month (almost October); on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom [for the slaves] throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee (year of remission) for you, and each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property [that was sold to another because of poverty], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated by bondage]. read more.
That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; you shall not sow [seed], nor reap what reseeds itself, nor gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its crops out of the field. ‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property.
“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the forefathers [who first divided the territory] have set, in the land which you will inherit in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
The Lord will tear down the house of the proud and arrogant (self-righteous),
But He will establish and protect the boundaries [of the land] of the [godly] widow.
Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
Which your fathers have set.
Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
And do not go into the fields of the fatherless [to take what is theirs],
The princes of Judah are like those who move a boundary marker;
I will pour out My wrath on them like [an unrestrained flood of] water.
Woe (judgment is coming) to those who join house to house and join field to field [to increase their holdings by depriving others],
Until there is no more room [for others],
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Have you murdered and also taken possession [of the victim’s property]?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick up your blood as well.”’”
“For he has oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.
This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.” ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your forceful seizure of property from My people,” says the Lord God.
They covet fields and seize them,
And houses, and take them away.
They oppress and rob a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
“You shall sow your land six years and harvest its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [what the land grows naturally]; whatever they leave the animals of the field may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
And all of you shall have for food whatever the [untilled] land produces during its Sabbath year; yourself, and your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the foreigners who reside among you, even your domestic animals and the [wild] animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release (remission, pardon) from debt. This is the regulation for the release: every creditor shall forgive what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not require repayment from his neighbor and his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. You may require repayment from a foreigner, but whatever of yours is with your brother [Israelite] your hand shall release.
‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings (grain left after reaping) of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the edges of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”
“When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf [of grain] in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat [the olives off of] your olive tree, do not search through the branches again; [whatever is left] shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow. “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow. read more.
You shall [thoughtfully] remember [the fact] that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one [of the reapers] in whose sight I may find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So Ruth went and picked up the leftover grain in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the plot of land belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently listen to and obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all of His commandments which I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God. “You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field. read more.
“The offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your animals, the offspring of your herd and the young of your flock will be blessed. “Your basket and your kneading bowl will be blessed. “You will be blessed when you come in and you will be blessed when you go out.
‘Therefore you shall carry out My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them, so that you may live securely on the land. Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it.
“It shall come about, if you listen obediently and pay attention to My commandments which I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being]— that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early [fall] rain and the late [spring] rain, so that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your [olive] oil. And He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water];
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.
You water its furrows abundantly,
You smooth its ridges;
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths overflow.
read more.
The pastures of the wilderness drip [with dew],
And the hills are encircled with joy.
The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy and they sing.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its harvest [as evidence of His approval];
God, our God, blesses us.
“But it shall come about, if you do not listen to and obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today, then all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled; therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments (precepts) and shall not commit any of these repulsive acts, neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives temporarily among you read more.
(for all these repulsive acts have been done by the men who lived in the land before you, and the land has become defiled); [do none of these things] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.
‘Therefore keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out [as it did those before you]. You shall not follow the statutes (laws, practices, customs) of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them. But I have said to you, “You are to inherit and take possession of their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples (pagan nations).
then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham, and remember the land. But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. read more.
But I will, for their sake, [earnestly] remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
