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27 The Eternal One gave Moses the rules regarding the fulfillment of vows.

Now there is nothing to suggest that God requires His people to make vows; but when they do, they must be taken seriously. So if a person pledges to give God something in exchange for His help or blessing on a matter, then that person is bound to keep his promise. It would be better not to make a vow in the first place than to make it and not fulfill it.

Eternal One: Go, talk with the Israelites and tell them that whenever someone makes a special vow to Me regarding the value of a human being, the proper value of a 20- to 60-year-old male is 20 ounces of silver, according to the sanctuary weights. The proper value of a female of those ages is 12 ounces. If the person is 5 to 20 years old, the proper value for the male is 8 ounces; for the female 4 ounces. But if the person is anywhere from one month to 5 years old, the proper value is 2 ounces of silver for males and 1¼ ounces of silver for females. If the person is 60 years old or older, it is to be 6 ounces for the male and 4 ounces for the female. If someone cannot afford these prices, then bring him to stand before the priest, and the priest will assess the situation and value him according to what the person can afford.

Whenever someone vows to give an animal that is acceptable as an offering to Me, then that animal is sacred and is the property of the sanctuary. 10 Whoever makes the vow should not switch one animal for another, a good animal for a bad, or vice versa. If someone does switch one for another, then both animals are considered sacred. 11 But if the vow involves an animal that is impure and not acceptable as an offering to Me, he needs to bring the animal before the priest. 12 The priest will determine its value—either high or low—and whatever he determines will be its price. 13 If the owner desires to buy the animal back from the sanctuary, he must pay that price plus ⅕.

Animals that are unclean according to the law are not be donated in fulfillment of a vow because they are not acceptable as sacrifices. They are taken to the market and sold; the money gained from the sale supports the priests and their service.

Eternal One: 14 If a man dedicates his house as a sacred gift to Me, the priest will determine its value—either high or low—and whatever he determines will be its price. 15 If the person who dedicates his house desires to buy it back, he must pay that price plus ⅕, and the house will be his once again.

16 If a man dedicates any piece of his property to Me, the value fixed must be in proportion to the amount of seed it requires for planting. Six bushels of barley seed is worth 20 ounces of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field during the year of jubilee, the fixed value still stands. 18 If he dedicates his field after the jubilee year, the priest will determine its value according to how many years remain until the jubilee and reduce it accordingly. 19 If the person who dedicates the property desires to buy it back, he must pay that price plus ⅕; then the piece of land will be his once again. 20 If he decides not to buy the property back, or if he has sold it to another person, then he forfeits the right to redeem it. 21 If the original owner releases the field in the jubilee, it must be treated as a holy gift dedicated to Me; then it will become the property of the priests.

22 If someone dedicates land to Me that he has bought and is not part of his ancestral lands, 23 then the priest will determine its value according to how many years remain until the jubilee. The man must pay that amount as his sacred gift to Me. 24 In the jubilee year, the property will revert back to the one who sold it, its original owner; it will be his once again.

25 All of your assessments should be based on the sanctuary’s weights: the basic unit is ⅖ of an ounce.

26 Firstborn animals already belong to Me, so no one is allowed to dedicate any firstborn animal—be it an ox or a sheep. It is already Mine. 27 If it is an impure animal—unsuitable as a sacrifice—then the person making the vow may redeem it for its value plus ⅕. If the owner decides not to redeem it, then it must be sold for its proper value and the sanctuary will keep the proceeds.

28 Surely nothing devoted to Me as an irrevocable vow, regardless of what it is—a person, an animal, or a piece of property—can be sold or bought back; it must be destroyed. Anything devoted in this way is most holy to Me and cannot be put to another use. 29 No person who is devoted irrevocably to Me[a] can be redeemed. He must be put to death.

30 One-tenth of everything the land produces—seeds from the ground and fruits from the trees—belongs to Me and is sacred to Me. 31 If a man desires to buy back a portion of My ⅒, he must pay its value plus ⅕. 32 Regarding your livestock, ⅒ of the herd or flock must be set apart for Me as holy. As you count them, every tenth animal that passes beneath the shepherd’s rod belongs to Me. 33 It does not matter whether the animals are good or bad, and one must not think about switching or replacing one for another. If he does, then the original and the replacement are both sacred and cannot be redeemed.

34 These are the commandments the Eternal gave to Moses for the people of Israel at Mount 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.