Promises Are Important

27 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel and tell them: ‘If someone makes a ·special promise [vow] ·to give a person as a servant to the Lord by paying a price that is the same value as that person [^Lconcerning an equivalent for a person; ^Ca person, such as a child or a slave, could be given for God’s service, or money paid instead to fulfill the vow], ³ the ·price [equivalent] for a man twenty to sixty years old is about ·one and one-fourth pounds [^Lfifty shekels] of silver. (You must use the measure as set by the ·Holy Place [sanctuary].) ⁴ The ·price [equivalent] for a woman twenty to sixty years old is about ·twelve ounces [^Lthirty shekels] of silver. ⁵ The ·price [equivalent] for a man five to twenty years old is about ·eight ounces [^Ltwenty shekels] of silver; for a woman it is about ·four ounces [^Lten shekels] of silver. ⁶ The ·price [equivalent] for a baby boy one month to five years old is about ·two ounces [^Lfive shekels] of silver; for a baby girl the price is about ·one and one-half ounces [^Lthree shekels] of silver. ⁷ The ·price [equivalent] for a man sixty years old or older is about ·six ounces [^Lfifteen shekels] of silver; for a woman it is about ·four ounces [^Lten shekels] of silver.

⁸ “‘If anyone is too poor to pay the ·price [equivalent], 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 [gifts] to the Lord. If someone ·promises to bring [^Lgives] one of these to the Lord, it will become holy. ¹⁰ That person must not try to ·put another animal in its place [^Lsubstitute for it] 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 [^Cin a ritual sense] animals cannot be offered as ·sacrifices [gifts] 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 [equivalent] for the animal, according to whether it is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the ·price [equivalent] for the animal. ¹³ If the person wants to ·buy back [redeem] the animal, an additional one-fifth must be added to the ·price [equivalent].

Value of a House

¹⁴ “‘If a person ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] a house as holy to the Lord, the priest must decide its ·value [equivalent], according to whether the house is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the ·price [equivalent] for the house. ¹⁵ But if the person who ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] the house wants to ·buy it back [redeem it], an additional one-fifth must be added to the ·price [equivalent]. Then the house will belong to that person again.

Value of Land

¹⁶ “‘If a person ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] some family property to the Lord, the ·value [equivalent] of the fields will depend on how much seed is needed to plant them. It will cost about ·one and one-fourth pounds [^Lfifty shekels] of silver for each ·six bushels [^Lhomer] of barley seed needed. ¹⁷ If the person ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] a field at the year of Jubilee [25:8–22], its value [equivalent] ·will stay at what the priest has decided [^Lwill stand]. ¹⁸ But if the person ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] the field after the Jubilee, the priest must ·decide [calculate] the exact ·price [equivalent] by counting the number of years to the next year of Jubilee. Then he will subtract that number from its ·value [equivalent]. ¹⁹ If the person who ·gave [dedicated; consecrated] the field wants to ·buy it back [redeem it], one-fifth must be added to that ·price [equivalent], and the field will belong to the first owner again.

²⁰ “‘If the person does not ·buy back [redeem] the field, or if it is sold to someone else, the first person cannot ever ·buy it back [redeem it]. ²¹ When the land is released at the year of Jubilee, it will become holy to the Lord, like land ·specially given [devoted] to him. It will become the property of the priests.

²² “‘If someone ·gives [dedicates; consecrates] to the Lord a field he has bought, which is not a part of his family land, ²³ the priest must ·count [calculate] the years to the next Jubilee. He must decide the ·price [equivalent] for the land, and the ·price [equivalent] 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 [sanctuary] in paying these ·prices [equivalents]; ·it weighs two-fifths of an ounce [^Ltwenty gerahs will make a shekel].

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 [dedicate; consecrate] it again. If it is a ·cow [^Lox] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. ²⁷ If the animal is unclean [^Cin a ritual sense], the person must ·buy it back [ransom it] for the ·price set by the priest [equivalent], and the person must add one-fifth to that price. If it is not ·bought back [redeemed], the priest must sell it for ·the price he had decided [its equivalent].

²⁸ “‘·There is a special kind of gift that people set apart to give [^LAll devoted things that are devoted…] to the Lord; it may be a person, animal, or field from the family property. That gift cannot be ·bought back [redeemed] or sold. Every ·special kind of gift [devoted thing] is most holy to the Lord.

²⁹ “‘·If anyone is given for the purpose of being destroyed, he [^LEveryone who is devoted from among people] cannot be ·bought back [redeemed]; 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 [redeem] that tenth, one-fifth must be added to its price.

³² “‘·The priest will take every [^LEvery] tenth animal from a person’s herd or flock, ·and it [^La tenth of all that passes under the shepherd’s rod,] will be holy to the Lord. ³³ The owner should not ·pick out the good animals from the bad [inquire whether they are good or bad] or exchange one animal for another. If that happens, both animals will become holy; they cannot be ·bought back [redeemed].’”

³⁴ These are the commands the Lord ·gave to [commanded] Moses at Mount Sinai for the ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel.