Leviticus 27
Living Bible
27 1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that when a person makes a special vow to give himself to the Lord, he shall give these payments instead: 3 A man from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay twenty-five dollars;[a] 4 a woman from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay fifteen dollars; 5 a boy from five to twenty shall pay ten dollars; a girl, five dollars. 6 A boy one month to five years old shall have paid for him two and a half dollars; a girl, one and a half dollars. 7 A man over sixty shall pay seven and a half dollars; a woman, five dollars. 8 But if the person is too poor to pay this amount, he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall talk it over with him, and he shall pay as the priest shall decide.
9 “But if it is an animal that is vowed to be given to the Lord as a sacrifice, it must be given. 10 The vow may not be changed; the donor may neither change his mind about giving it to the Lord, nor substitute good for bad or bad for good; if he does, both the first and the second shall belong to the Lord! 11-12 But if the animal given to the Lord is not a kind that is permitted as a sacrifice, the owner shall bring it to the priest to value it, and he shall be told how much to pay instead. 13 If the animal is a kind that may be offered as a sacrifice,[b] but the man wants to redeem it, then he shall pay 20 percent more than the value set by the priest.
14-15 “If someone donates his home to the Lord and then wishes to redeem it, the priest will decide its value, and the man shall pay that amount plus 20 percent, and the house will be his again.
16 “If a man dedicates any part of his field to the Lord, value it in proportion to its size, as indicated by the amount of seed required to sow it. A section of land that requires ten bushels of barley seed for sowing is valued at twenty-five dollars. 17 If a man dedicates his field in the Year of Jubilee, then the whole estimate shall stand; 18 but if it is after the Year of Jubilee, then the value shall be in proportion to the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. 19 If the man decides to redeem the field, he shall pay 20 percent in addition to the priest’s valuation, and the field will be his again. 20 But if he decides not to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to someone else and has given to the Lord his rights to it at the Year of Jubilee,[c] it shall not be returned to him again. 21 When it is freed in the Year of Jubilee, it shall belong to the Lord as a field devoted to him, and it shall be given to the priests.
22 “If a man dedicates to the Lord a field he has bought, but which is not part of his family possession, 23 the priest shall estimate the value until the Year of Jubilee, and he shall immediately give that estimated value to the Lord, 24 and in the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the original owner from whom it was bought. 25 All the valuations shall be stated in standard money.[d]
26 “You may not dedicate to the Lord the firstborn of any ox or sheep, for it is already his. 27 But if it is the firstborn of an animal that cannot be sacrificed because it is not on the list of those acceptable to the Lord, then the owner shall pay the priest’s estimate of its worth, plus 20 percent; or if the owner does not redeem it, the priest may sell it to someone else. 28 However, anything utterly devoted to the Lord—people, animals, or inherited fields—shall not be sold or redeemed, for they are most holy to the Lord. 29 No one sentenced by the courts to die may pay a fine instead; he shall surely be put to death.[e]
30 “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy. 31 If anyone wants to buy back this fruit or grain, he must add a fifth to its value. 32 And the Lord owns every tenth animal of your herds and flocks and other domestic animals, as they pass by for counting. 33 The tenth given to the Lord shall not be selected on the basis of whether it is good or bad, and there shall be no substitutions; for if there is any change made, then both the original and the substitution shall belong to the Lord, and may not be bought back!”
34 These are the commandments the Lord gave to Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 27:3 shall pay twenty-five dollars. Note: The actual value by today’s standards is uncertain. The above figures are approximate.
- Leviticus 27:13 If the animal is a kind that may be offered as a sacrifice, implied.
- Leviticus 27:20 and has given to the Lord his rights to it at the Year of Jubilee, implied.
- Leviticus 27:25 All the valuations shall be stated in standard money, literally, “All your estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.”
- Leviticus 27:29 No one sentenced by the courts to die may pay a fine instead; he shall surely be put to death, literally, “No one who is under the ban of God to be put to death may be ransomed.”
Leviticus 27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Funding the Sanctuary
27 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When someone makes a special vow(A) to the Lord that involves the assessment of people, 3 if the assessment concerns a male from 20 to 60 years old, your assessment is 50 silver shekels(B) measured by the standard sanctuary shekel.(C) 4 If the person is a female, your assessment is 30 shekels.(D) 5 If the person is from five to 20 years old, your assessment for a male is 20 shekels(E) and for a female 10 shekels. 6 If the person is from one month to five years old, your assessment for a male is five silver shekels,(F) and for a female your assessment is three shekels of silver. 7 If the person is 60 years or more, your assessment is 15 shekels for a male and 10 shekels for a female. 8 But if one is too poor to pay the assessment, he must present the person before the priest and the priest will set a value for him. The priest will set a value for him according to what the one making the vow can afford.
9 “If the vow involves one of the animals that may be brought as an offering to the Lord, any of these he gives to the Lord will be holy. 10 He may not replace it or make a substitution for it, either good for bad, or bad for good.(G) But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.
11 “If the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the Lord, the animal must be presented before the priest. 12 The priest will set its value, whether high or low; the price will be set as the priest makes the assessment for you. 13 If the one who brought it decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the[a] assessed value.(H)
14 “When a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will assess its value, whether high or low. The price will stand just as the priest assesses it. 15 But if the one who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the[b] assessed value, and it will be his.(I)
16 “If a man consecrates to the Lord any part of a field that he possesses, your assessment of value will be proportional to the seed needed to sow it, at the rate of 50 silver shekels for every five bushels[c] of barley seed.[d] 17 If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee,(J) the price will stand according to your assessment. 18 But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price for him in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your assessment will be reduced. 19 If the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the[e] assessed value, and the field will transfer back to him. 20 But if he does not redeem the field or if he has sold it to another man, it is no longer redeemable. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord like a field permanently set apart; it becomes the priest’s property.
22 “If a person consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased that is not part of his inherited landholding, 23 then the priest will calculate for him the amount of the[f] assessment up to the Year of Jubilee, and the person will pay the assessed value on that day as a holy offering to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will return to the one he bought it from,(K) the original owner. 25 All your assessed values will be measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, 20 gerahs to the shekel.(L)
26 “But no one can consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, whether an animal from the herd or flock, to the Lord, because a firstborn already belongs to the Lord.(M) 27 If it is one of the unclean livestock, it must be ransomed according to your assessment by adding a fifth of its value to it. If it is not redeemed, it can be sold according to your assessment.(N)
28 “Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the Lord from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the Lord. 29 No person who has been set apart for destruction is to be ransomed; he must be put to death.(O)
30 “Every tenth of the land’s produce, grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord;(P) it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man decides to redeem any part of this tenth, he must add a fifth to its value. 32 Every tenth animal from the herd or flock, which passes under the shepherd’s rod,(Q) will be holy to the Lord. 33 He is not to inspect whether it is good or bad, and he is not to make a substitution for it. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute will be holy;(R) they cannot be redeemed.”(S)
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.(T)
Footnotes
- Leviticus 27:13 Lit your
- Leviticus 27:15 Lit your
- Leviticus 27:16 Lit for a homer
- Leviticus 27:16 Or grain
- Leviticus 27:19 Lit your
- Leviticus 27:23 Lit your
Leviticus 27
New King James Version
Redeeming Persons and Property Dedicated to God
27 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (A)‘When a man [a]consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your [b]valuation, 3 if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, (B)according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels; 5 and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valuation for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels; 6 and if from a month old up to five years old, then your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver; 7 and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
8 ‘But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for (C)him; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.
9 ‘If it is an animal that men may bring as an offering to the Lord, all that anyone gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good; and if he at all exchanges animal for animal, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be (D)holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal which they do not offer as a sacrifice to the Lord, then he shall present the animal before the priest; 12 and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 (E)But if he wants at all to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth to your valuation.
14 ‘And when a man [c]dedicates his house to be holy to the Lord, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 If he who dedicated it wants to [d]redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.
16 ‘If a man [e]dedicates to the Lord part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall (F)reckon to him the money due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field ever wishes to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. 20 But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore; 21 but the field, (G)when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the Lord, as a (H)devoted field; it shall be (I)the possession of the priest.
22 ‘And if a man dedicates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not the field of (J)his possession, 23 then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation, up to the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy offering to the Lord. 24 (K)In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to the one who owned the land as a possession. 25 And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: (L)twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 ‘But the (M)firstborn of the animals, which should be the Lord’s firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and (N)shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
28 (O)‘Nevertheless no [f]devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord. 29 (P)No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. 30 And (Q)all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord. 31 (R)If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever (S)passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, (T)nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’ ”
34 (U)These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount (V)Sinai.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 27:2 Or makes a difficult or extraordinary vow
- Leviticus 27:2 appraisal
- Leviticus 27:14 sets apart
- Leviticus 27:15 buy back
- Leviticus 27:16 sets apart
- Leviticus 27:28 Given exclusively and irrevocably
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
