Leviticus 25:16

Lev 25:16-17. The number of the years of fruits — The meaning is, he selleth not the land, but only the fruits thereof, and that but for a certain time. Ye shall not oppress one another — By seeking to turn each other out of the perpetual possession of his lands, as Ahab did Naboth; but thou shalt fear thy God — The best proof men can give of fearing God is to abstain from evil, and to comply with his will.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And not the full possession of the land.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(16) According to the multitude of years . . . and according to.—Better, in proportion to the multitude of years . . . and in proportion to, as the words in the original here are not the same which are used in Lev_25:15 and at the end of this verse, which are translated “according” in the Authorised Version. Having laid down in the preceding verse the principles of equitable dealings both for the purchaser and vendor, the Lawgiver, in his anxiety lest the distressed seller should be taken advantage of, reverts again to the purchaser, who is enjoined strictly to regulate the purchase price in proportion to the number of years the lease of the field has still to run.

For according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell.—Better, for a number of crops he selleth, that is, the vendor does not sell the land but a certain number of harvests till the next jubile.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof,.... More was to be asked and required, and should be given for an estate, when, for instance, there were thirty years to the year of jubilee, than when there were but twenty:

and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it; if it wanted but five, or six, or ten years unto it, then, in proportion, less was to be insisted upon and given:

for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee; which also must be considered, how many years of tillage of land, and cultivation of vineyards, &c. there were in the account, and how many sabbatical years to be deducted; for only according to the number of fruit years was the estate to be valued and sold.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, for the number of the fruits. The meaning is, he selleth not the land, but only the fruits thereof, and that for a certain time.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Years of fruits - Or, For the number of the fruits. The meaning is, he selleth not the land, but only the fruits thereof, and that for a certain time.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

תרבה מקנתו THOU SHALT INCREASE THE PRICE THEREOF — i. e. you may sell it at a high price

תמעיט מקנתו — You shall offer a lower price.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

You shall increase its purchase price. You should pay more to purchase the land than it would cost to rent it for those years, because when you buy it for many years until the jubilee you can make pens for your flock, dovecotes, and the like, besides the produce, for many years.

You shall decrease its purchase price. You should not purchase it for a small amount of years for the price of renting, and certainly not for [the price of] buying it. The reason is: “since it is the number of produce-seasons that he is selling to you” — when you buy for only a few years you may only use the field for produce but not for something that weakens the soil in a way that it will not be replenished by the time the field returns to the owner, as the Sages said: “One who receives a field from his fellow man for a small amount of years may not plant flax”.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.