Leviticus 27

Promises Are Important

1 The Lord said to Moses,2 “Speak to the people of Israel and tell them: ‘If someone makes a special promise to give a person as a servant to the Lord by paying a price that is the same value as that person,3 the price for a man twenty to sixty years old is about one and one-fourth pounds of silver. (You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place.)4 The price for a woman twenty to sixty years old is about twelve ounces of silver.5 The price for a man five to twenty years old is about eight ounces of silver; for a woman it is about four ounces of silver.6 The price for a baby boy one month to five years old is about two ounces of silver; for a baby girl the price is about one and one-half ounces of silver.

7 The price for a man sixty years old or older is about six ounces of silver; for a woman it is about four ounces of silver.

8 “ ‘If anyone is too poor to pay the price, bring him to the priest, and the priest will set the price. The priest will decide how much money the person making the vow can afford to pay.

Gifts to the Lord

9 “ ‘Some animals may be used as sacrifices to the Lord. If someone promises to bring one of these to the Lord, it will become holy.

10 That person must not try to put another animal in its place or exchange it, a good animal for a bad one, or a bad animal for a good one. If this happens, both animals will become holy.
11 “ ‘Unclean animals cannot be offered as sacrifices to the Lord, and if someone brings one of them to the Lord, that animal must be brought to the priest.12 The priest will decide a price for the animal, according to whether it is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the price for the animal.

13 If the person wants to buy back the animal, an additional one-fifth must be added to the price.

Value of a House

14 “ ‘If a person gives a house as holy to the Lord, the priest must decide its value, according to whether the house is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the price for the house.

15 But if the person who gives the house wants to buy it back, an additional one-fifth must be added to the price. Then the house will belong to that person again.

Value of Land

16 “ ‘If a person gives some family property to the Lord, the value of the fields will depend on how much seed is needed to plant them. It will cost about one and one-fourth pounds of silver for each six bushels of barley seed needed.17 If the person gives a field at the year of Jubilee, its value will stay at what the priest has decided.18 But if the person gives the field after the Jubilee, the priest must decide the exact price by counting the number of years to the next year of Jubilee. Then he will subtract that number from its value.

19 If the person who gave the field wants to buy it back, one-fifth must be added to that price, and the field will belong to the first owner again.
20 “ ‘If the person does not buy back the field, or if it is sold to someone else, the first person cannot ever buy it back.

21 When the land is released at the year of Jubilee, it will become holy to the Lord, like land specially given to him. It will become the property of the priests.
22 “ ‘If someone gives to the Lord a field he has bought, which is not a part of his family land,23 the priest must count the years to the next Jubilee. He must decide the price for the land, and the price must be paid on that day. Then that land will be holy to the Lord.

24 At the year of Jubilee, the land will go back to its first owner, to the family who sold the land.

25 “ ‘You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place in paying these prices; it weighs two-fifths of an ounce.

Value of Animals

26 “ ‘If an animal is the first one born to its parent, it already belongs to the Lord, so people may not give it again. If it is a cow or a sheep, it is the Lord’s.

27 If the animal is unclean, the person must buy it back for the price set by the priest, and the person must add one-fifth to that price. If it is not bought back, the priest must sell it for the price he had decided.

28 “ ‘There is a special kind of gift that people set apart to give to the Lord ; it may be a person, animal, or field from the family property. That gift cannot be bought back or sold. Every special kind of gift is most holy to the Lord.

29 “ ‘If anyone is given for the purpose of being destroyed, he cannot be bought back; he must be put to death.
30 “ ‘One-tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord, including the crops from fields and the fruit from trees. That one-tenth is holy to the Lord.

31 If a person wants to get back that tenth, one-fifth must be added to its price.
32 “ ‘The priest will take every tenth animal from a person’s herd or flock, and it will be holy to the Lord.

33 The owner should not pick out the good animals from the bad or exchange one animal for another. If that happens, both animals will become holy; they cannot be bought back.’ ”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave to Moses at 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.