Leviticus 27

Vows, Dedications, and Redemptions

1-8 God spoke to Moses: He said, "Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, If anyone wants to vow the value of a person to the service of God, set the value of a man between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the Sanctuary shekel. For a woman the valuation is thirty shekels. If the person is between the ages of five and twenty, set the value at twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. If the person is between one month and five years, set the value at five shekels of silver for a boy and three shekels of silver for a girl. If the person is over sixty, set the value at fifteen shekels for a man and ten shekels for a woman. If anyone is too poor to pay the stated amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will then set the value for him according to what the person making the vow can afford.

9-13  "If he vowed an animal that is acceptable as an offering to God, the animal is given to God and becomes the property of the Sanctuary. He must not exchange or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if he should dishonestly substitute one animal for another, both the original and the substitute become property of the Sanctuary. If what he vowed is a ritually unclean animal, one that is not acceptable as an offering to God, the animal must be shown to the priest, who will set its value, either high or low. Whatever the priest sets will be its value. If the owner changes his mind and wants to redeem it, he must add twenty percent to its value.

14-15  "If a man dedicates his house to God, into the possession of the Sanctuary, the priest assesses its value, setting it either high or low. Whatever value the priest sets, that's what it is. If the man wants to buy it back, he must add twenty percent to its price and then it's his again.

16-21  "If a man dedicates to God part of his family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed that is needed for it at the rate of fifty shekels of silver to six bushels of barley seed. If he dedicates his field during the year of Jubilee, the set value stays. But if he dedicates it after the Jubilee, the priest will compute the value according to the years left until the next Jubilee, reducing the value proportionately. If the one dedicating it wants to buy it back, he must add twenty percent to its valuation, and then it's his again. But if he doesn't redeem it or sells the field to someone else, it can never be bought back. When the field is released in the Jubilee, it becomes holy to God, the possession of the Sanctuary, God's field. It goes into the hands of the priests.

22-25  "If a man dedicates to God a field he has bought, a field which is not part of the family land, the priest will compute its proportionate value in relation to the next year of Jubilee. The man must pay its value on the spot as something that is now holy to God, belonging to the Sanctuary. In the year of Jubilee it goes back to its original owner, the man from whom he bought it. The valuations will be reckoned by the Sanctuary shekel, at twenty gerahs to the shekel.

26-27  "No one is allowed to dedicate the firstborn of an animal; the firstborn, as firstborn, already belongs to God. No matter if it's cattle or sheep, it already belongs to God. If it's one of the ritually unclean animals, he can buy it back at its assessed value by adding twenty percent to it. If he doesn't redeem it, it is to be sold at its assessed value.

28  "But nothing that a man irrevocably devotes to God from what belongs to him, whether human or animal or family land, may be either sold or bought back. Everything devoted is holy to the highest degree; it's God's inalienable property.

29  "No human who has been devoted to destruction can be redeemed. He must be put to death.

30-33  "A tenth of the land's produce, whether grain from the ground or fruit from the trees, is God's. It is holy to God. If a man buys back any of the tenth he has given, he must add twenty percent to it. A tenth of the entire herd and flock, every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod, is holy to God. He is not permitted to pick out the good from the bad or make a substitution. If he dishonestly makes a substitution, both animals, the original and the substitute, become the possession of the Sanctuary and cannot be redeemed."

34  These are the commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai for the People of Israel.

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.