²³你们到了 迦南地 ，栽种 各样结果子的 树木 ，就要以 所结的果子 如未受割礼的 一样。三 年 之久，你们要以这些果子，如未受割礼的 ，是不可吃的 。

²³ ¶ And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

²³ Verse 23. Three years shall it be as uncircumcised] I see no

great reason to seek for mystical meanings in this prohibition.

The fruit of a young tree cannot be good; for not having arrived

at a state of maturity, the juices cannot be sufficiently

elaborated to produce fruit excellent in its kind. The

Israelites are commanded not to eat of the fruit of a tree till

the fifth year after its planting: in the three first years the

fruit is unwholesome; in the fourth year the fruit is holy, it

belongs to God, and should be consecrated to him, Le 19:24; and

in the fifth year and afterward the fruit may be employed for

common use, Le 19:25.