1The Lord said to Moses,2‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value,3set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[1] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[2];4for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[3];5for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[4] and of a female at ten shekels[5];6for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[6] of silver and that of a female at three shekels[7] of silver;7for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[8] and of a female at ten shekels.8If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.9‘ “If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.10They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy.11If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal – one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord – the animal must be presented to the priest,12who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be.13If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.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.15If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, 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[9] of barley seed.17If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.18But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced.19If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs.20If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed.21When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord; 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,23the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord.24In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was.25Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.26‘ “No-one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox[10] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s.27If it is one of the unclean animals, 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[11] to the Lord – whether a human being or an animal or family land – may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.29‘ “No-one devoted to destruction[12] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.30‘ “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.31Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it.32Every tithe of the herd and flock – every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod – will be holy to the Lord.33No-one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.” ’34These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
Leviticus 27
English Standard Version
Laws About Vows
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, (Jud 11:30; Jud 11:39; 1Sa 1:11; 1Sa 1:28)3then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels[1] of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. (Ex 30:13; Le 27:25)4If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels.5If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.6If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver.7And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.8And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.9“If the vow[2] is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy.10He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. (Le 27:33)11And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest,12and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be.13But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation. (Le 22:14; Le 27:15; Le 27:19)14“When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand.15And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his. (Le 27:13)16“If a man dedicates to the Lord part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer[3] of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.17If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand,18but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. (Le 25:15; Le 27:23)19And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. (Le 27:13)20But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore.21But the field, when it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been devoted. The priest shall be in possession of it. (Le 25:28; Le 25:30; Le 25:33; Le 25:41; Le 27:28; Nu 18:14; Eze 44:29)22If he dedicates to the Lord a field that he has bought, which is not a part of his possession, (Le 25:10; Le 25:25)23then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. (Le 27:18)24In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. (Le 25:28)25Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs[4] shall make a shekel. (Ex 30:13; Le 27:3)26“But a firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. (Ex 13:2)27And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation. (Le 27:11)28“But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. (Le 27:21; Jos 6:17; 1Sa 15:21)29No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction[5] from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death. (Nu 21:2; Jud 11:35)30“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. (Ge 14:20; Ge 28:22; Nu 18:21; Nu 18:24; De 14:28; 2Ch 31:5; 2Ch 31:12; Ne 13:12; Mal 3:8; Mal 3:10)31If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.32And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. (Jer 33:13; Eze 20:37)33One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” (Le 27:10)34These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. (Le 25:1; Le 26:46)