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Instructions About Vows

27 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites,[b] and say[c] to them, ‘When a man makes a vow according to your[d] proper value of persons to Yahweh, if[e] your proper value is for a male[f] from twenty years of age[g] up to[h] sixty years of age,[i] then[j] your proper value shall be fifty shekels of money according to the sanctuary’s shekel. But[k] if it is for a female, then[l] your proper value shall be thirty shekels. And if from five years of age[m] up to[n] twenty years of age,[o] then[p] your proper value shall be twenty shekels for the male and ten shekels for the female. And if from a month of age[q] up to[r] five years of age,[s] then[t] your proper value shall be five shekels of money for the male, and your proper value for the female shall be three shekels of money. And if from sixty years of age[u] and above: if a male, then[v] your proper value shall be fifteen shekels; and for the female, ten shekels. But[w] if he is poorer than your proper value, then[x] he shall present himself before[y] the priest, and the priest shall set a value on him; the priest shall value him according to[z] what the person who made a vow can afford.[aa]

“‘And if it is a domestic animal from which they present an offering for Yahweh, all that he gives from it for Yahweh shall be a holy object. 10 He shall not replace it, nor shall he exchange it, either good with bad or bad with good; and if he indeed exchanges a domestic animal with a domestic animal, then[ab] it and its substitution shall be a holy object.[ac] 11 But[ad] if it is any unclean animal from which they may not present an offering for Yahweh, then[ae] he shall present the animal before[af] the priest. 12 And the priest shall set a value on it, either good or bad;[ag] as the priest sets your proper value, so it shall be. 13 And if he indeed wants to redeem it, then[ah] he shall add a fifth of it onto your proper value.

14 “‘And if a man consecrates his house as a holy object for Yahweh, then[ai] the priest shall set a value on it, either good or bad;[aj] just as the priest sets a value on it, so it shall remain. 15 But[ak] if the one who consecrates it wants to redeem his house, then[al] he shall add a fifth of your proper value’s money onto it, and it shall be his.

16 “‘And if a man consecrates some of[am] his property’s fields[an] for Yahweh, then[ao] your proper value shall be in accordance with its seed requirements:[ap] a homer of barley seed for fifty shekels of money. 17 If he consecrates his field from the Year of Jubilee, it shall stand as your proper value. 18 But[aq] if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, then[ar] the priest shall calculate the money for him according to the number of years[as] that are left over until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your proper value. 19 And if he indeed redeems the field that is consecrated, then[at] he shall add a fifth of your proper value’s money onto it, and it shall stand for[au] him. 20 And if he does not redeem the field and if he sells the field to another man, it may not be redeemed again, 21 and the field shall be a holy object for Yahweh when it goes out[av] in the Jubilee, like a devoted[aw] field; it shall be the priest’s property.[ax]

22 “‘And if he consecrates for Yahweh his acquired[ay] field that is not the field of his inherited possession, 23 then[az] the priest shall calculate for him the amount[ba] of your proper value until the year of the Jubilee, and he shall give your proper value on that day as a holy object for Yahweh. 24 In the Year of the Jubilee the field shall return to the one who bought it from him, to the one whose property the land is. 25 And every proper value of yours shall be in the sanctuary’s shekel—the shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

26 “‘However, a man shall not consecrate a firstborn among livestock, which belongs as firstborn to Yahweh; whether an ox or[bb] small livestock, it is for Yahweh. 27 And if it is among the unclean animals, then[bc] he shall ransom it according to your proper value, and he shall add a fifth of its value onto it; and if it is not redeemed, then[bd] it shall be sold according to your proper value. 28 However, anything devoted[be] that a man has devoted to Yahweh from all that he has,[bf] from human or[bg] animal, or[bh] from the field of his property, may not be sold, and it may not be redeemed; anything devoted is a most holy thing[bi] for Yahweh. 29 Anyone devoted who is devoted from human beings[bj] cannot be ransomed—he shall surely be put to death.

30 “‘And any tithe of the land from the land’s seed or from the fruit of the trees is for Yahweh; it is a holy object for Yahweh. 31 And if a man indeed redeems from his tithe, he shall add a fifth of its value onto it. 32 As for[bk] every tithe of cattle or[bl] of the flock,[bm] all which crosses under the rod, the tenth shall be a holy object for Yahweh. 33 He shall not inspect between the good and the bad, and he shall not exchange it; but[bn] if he indeed exchanges it, then[bo] it and its substitution shall be[bp] a holy object—it shall not be redeemed.’”

34 These are the commands that Yahweh commanded Moses for the Israelites[bq] on Mount Sinai.[br]

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 27:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 27:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Leviticus 27:2 Or “and you shall say”
  4. Leviticus 27:2 Singular when modifying “proper value” throughout the entire chapter
  5. Leviticus 27:3 Or “and”
  6. Leviticus 27:3 Hebrew “the male”
  7. Leviticus 27:3 Literally “a son of twenty years”
  8. Leviticus 27:3 Or “and up to”
  9. Leviticus 27:3 Literally “a son of sixty years”
  10. Leviticus 27:3 Or “and”
  11. Leviticus 27:4 Or “And”
  12. Leviticus 27:4 Or “and”
  13. Leviticus 27:5 Literally “a son of five years”
  14. Leviticus 27:5 Or “and up to”
  15. Leviticus 27:5 Literally “a son of twenty years”
  16. Leviticus 27:5 Or “and”
  17. Leviticus 27:6 Literally “a son of a month”
  18. Leviticus 27:6 Or “and up to”
  19. Leviticus 27:6 Literally “a son of five years”
  20. Leviticus 27:6 Or “and”
  21. Leviticus 27:7 Literally “a son of sixty years”
  22. Leviticus 27:7 Or “and”
  23. Leviticus 27:8 Or “And”
  24. Leviticus 27:8 Or “and”
  25. Leviticus 27:8 Literally “to the faces of”
  26. Leviticus 27:8 Literally “on a mouth of”
  27. Leviticus 27:8 Literally “his hand produces”
  28. Leviticus 27:10 Or “and”
  29. Leviticus 27:10 Literally “it shall be and its substitution shall be holy”
  30. Leviticus 27:11 Or “And”
  31. Leviticus 27:11 Or “and”
  32. Leviticus 27:11 Literally “to the faces of”
  33. Leviticus 27:12 Literally “between good and between bad”
  34. Leviticus 27:13 Or “and”
  35. Leviticus 27:14 Or “and”
  36. Leviticus 27:14 Literally “between good and between bad”
  37. Leviticus 27:15 Or “And”
  38. Leviticus 27:15 Or “and”
  39. Leviticus 27:16 Literally “from”
  40. Leviticus 27:16 Collective singular; Hebrew “field”
  41. Leviticus 27:16 Or “and”
  42. Leviticus 27:16 Literally “to the number of its seed”
  43. Leviticus 27:18 Or “And”
  44. Leviticus 27:18 Or “and”
  45. Leviticus 27:18 Literally “on the mouth of the years”
  46. Leviticus 27:19 Or “and”
  47. Leviticus 27:19 Or “remain for” or “belong to”
  48. Leviticus 27:21 Or “is released” or “reverts”
  49. Leviticus 27:21 Or “permanently set apart”; a different Hebrew word than previously translated “consecrated” in this chapter
  50. Leviticus 27:21 Literally “to/for the priest it shall be his property”
  51. Leviticus 27:22 Or “purchased”
  52. Leviticus 27:23 Or “and”
  53. Leviticus 27:23 Literally “number”
  54. Leviticus 27:26 Literally “whether” or “if”
  55. Leviticus 27:27 Or “and”
  56. Leviticus 27:27 Or “and”
  57. Leviticus 27:28 Or “permanently set apart”; a different Hebrew word than previously translated “consecrated” in this chapter
  58. Leviticus 27:28 Literally “from all that is for him”
  59. Leviticus 27:28 Or “and”
  60. Leviticus 27:28 Or “and”
  61. Leviticus 27:28 Literally “a holy thing of holy things”
  62. Leviticus 27:29 Literally “the human”
  63. Leviticus 27:32 Or “And”
  64. Leviticus 27:32 Or “and”
  65. Leviticus 27:32 The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
  66. Leviticus 27:33 Or “and”
  67. Leviticus 27:33 Or “and”
  68. Leviticus 27:33 Literally “it shall be and its substitution shall be”
  69. Leviticus 27:34 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  70. Leviticus 27:34 Literally “the mountain of Sinai”

Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

27 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow(A) to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[a] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[b];(B) for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[c]; for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[d](C) and of a female at ten shekels[e]; for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[f](D) of silver and that of a female at three shekels[g] of silver; for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[h] and of a female at ten shekels. If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay(E) the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value(F) according to what the one making the vow can afford.

“‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord,(G) such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.(H) 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one;(I) if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal(J)—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem(K) the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.(L)

14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it,(M) they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.

16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer[i] of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee,(N) the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain(O) until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it,(P) they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee,(Q) it will become holy,(R) like a field devoted to the Lord;(S) it will become priestly property.

22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee,(T) and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought,(U) the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel,(V) twenty gerahs(W) to the shekel.

26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord;(X) whether an ox[j] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals,(Y) it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.

28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes[k](Z) to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy(AA) to the Lord.

29 “‘No person devoted to destruction[l] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.(AB)

30 “‘A tithe(AC) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy(AD) to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem(AE) any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value(AF) to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod(AG)—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.(AH) If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.(AI)’”

34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai(AJ) for the Israelites.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
  2. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
  3. Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
  4. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  5. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
  6. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  7. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
  8. Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
  9. Leviticus 27:16 That is, probably about 300 pounds or about 135 kilograms
  10. Leviticus 27:26 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  11. Leviticus 27:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  12. Leviticus 27:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

27 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.

And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy.

10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

11 And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.

13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

15 And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17 If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

18 But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

19 And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

20 And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21 But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.

22 And if a man sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;

23 Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord.

24 In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

25 And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the Lord's.

27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord.

31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.

33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34 These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.