Leviticus 27

Special Vows

1 The Lord spoke to Moses,2 “Tell the Israelites: If any of you makes a special vow to give a person to the Lord, you may give money instead of the person.3 The amount you must give for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 20 ounces of silver. Use the standard weight of the holy place.4 If it is a woman, give 12 ounces.5 For a boy from 5 to 20 years old, give 8 ounces and for a girl give 4 ounces.6 For a boy from one month to five years old, give 2 ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce.7 For a man 60 years or over, give 6 ounces and for a woman give 4 ounces.

8 But the person who is too poor to pay the required amount must stand in front of the priest. The priest will determine the amount based on what the person can afford.
9 “If the vow is to give the kind of animal that people offer to the Lord, it will be considered holy.10 Don’t exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you do exchange one animal for another, then both animals will be holy.11 If it is an unclean animal that cannot be brought to the Lord as an offering, bring it in front of the priest.12 The priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides.

13 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more.
14 “If you give your house to the Lord as something holy, the priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides.

15 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more.
16 “If a person gives part of a field to the Lord as something holy, its value will be based on the seed planted on it. Ground planted with 2 quarts of barley will be worth 20 ounces of silver.17 If you give your field in the jubilee year, it will have its full value.18 But if you give the field after the jubilee year, the priest will estimate its value based on the number of years left until the next jubilee year.19 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more.20 But if you don’t buy it back and it is sold to someone else, you cannot buy it back.21 When the field is released in the jubilee year, it will be holy like a field claimed by the Lord. It will become the property of the priest.22 You may give a field you bought (not one that was a part of your family property) to the Lord as something holy.23 The priest must figure out the field’s value until the jubilee year. You will pay its value on that day as something holy, belonging to the Lord.

24 In the jubilee year the field will go back to the person from whom it was bought, to whom it belongs as family property.
25 “All values will be set using the standard weight of the holy place.t26 “A firstborn animal already belongs to the Lord because it was born first. Therefore, it cannot be set apart as holy. Whether it is a bull or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord.

27 But if it is an unclean animal, it must be bought back. The payment will be its full value plus one-fifth more. If it is not bought back, it must be sold at the value given it.
28 “However, everything dedicated to the Lord for destruction—a person, an animal, or a field that belongs to you—must not be sold or bought back. Everything dedicated in that way is very holy. It belongs to the Lord.

29 People dedicated this way cannot be bought back. They must be put to death.
30 “One-tenth of what comes from the land, whether grain or fruit, is holy and belongs to the Lord.31 If you buy back any part of it, you must add one-fifth more to it.32 Every tenth head of cattle or sheep that you counted is holy and belongs to the Lord.

33 You must not look to see if it is good or bad or exchange it. But if you do exchange it, both the first animal and its substitute will be holy. They cannot be bought back.”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

Leviticus 27

Redemption of Vowed People

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When a man makes a special votive offeringt based on the conversion value of persons to the Lord,t3 the conversion value of the malet from twenty years old up to sixty years oldt is fifty shekels by the standard of the sanctuary shekel.t4 If the person is a female, the conversion value is thirty shekels.5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the conversion value of the male is twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.6 If the person is one month old up to five years old, the conversion value of the male is five shekels of silver,t and for the female the conversion value is three shekels of silver.7 If the person is from sixty years old and older, if he is a male the conversion value is fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

8 If he is too poor to pay the conversion value, he must stand the person before the priest and the priest will establish his conversion value;t according to what the man who made the vow can afford,t the priest will establish his conversion value.

Redemption of Vowed Animals

9 “‘If what is vowed is a kind of animal from which an offering may be presentedt to the Lord, anything which he gives to the Lord from this kind of animalt will be holy.10 He must not replace or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good, and if he does indeed exchange one animal for another animal, then both the original animalt and its substitute will be holy.11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest,12 and the priest will establish its conversion value,t whether good or bad. According to the assessed conversion value of the priest, thus it will be.

13 If, however, the person who made the vow redeems the animal,t he must add one fifth tot its conversion value.

Redemption of Vowed Houses

14 “‘If a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will establish its conversion value, whether good or bad. Just as the priest establishes its conversion value, thus it will stand.t

15 If the one who consecrates it redeems his house, he must add to it one fifth of its conversion value in silver, and it will belong to him.t

Redemption of Vowed Fields

16 “‘If a man consecrates to the Lord some of his own landed property, the conversion value must be calculated in accordance with the amount of seed needed to sow it,t a homer of barley seed being priced at fifty shekels of silver.t17 If he consecrates his field in the jubilee year,t the conversion value will stand,18 but ift he consecrates his field after the jubilee, the priest will calculate the pricet for him according to the years that are left until the next jubilee year, and it will be deducted from the conversion value.19 If, however, the one who consecrated the field redeems it,t he must add to it one fifth of the conversion pricet and it will belong to him.t20 If he does not redeem the field, but sellst the field to someone else, he may never redeem it.

21 When it revertst in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field;t it will become the priest’s property.t
22 “‘If he consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased,t which is not part of his own landed property,23 the priest will calculate for him the amount of its conversion value until the jubilee year, and he must payt the conversion value on that jubilee day as something that is holy to the Lord.24 In the jubilee year the field will return to the one from whom he bought it, the one to whom it belongs as landed property.

25 Every conversion value must be calculated by the standard of the sanctuary shekel;t twenty gerahs to the shekel.

Redemption of the Firstborn

26 “‘Surely no man may consecrate a firstborn that already belongs to the Lord as a firstborn among the animals; whether it is an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord.t

27 If, however,t it is among the unclean animals, he may ransom it according tot its conversion value and must add one fifth to it, but if it is not redeemed it must be sold according to its conversion value.

Things Permanently Dedicated to the Lord

28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lordt from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord.

29 Any human being who is permanently dedicatedt must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.

Redemption of the Tithe

30 “‘Any tithet of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.31 If a man redeemst part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it.t32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord.s

33 The ownert must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it,t both the original animalt and its substitute will be holy.t It must not be redeemed.’”

Final Colophon

34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelitest at Mount Sinai.