Leviticus27

New King James Version

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¹Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your valuation,

³if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

⁴If it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels;

⁵and 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;

⁶and 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;

⁷and 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 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.

¹⁰He 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 holy.

¹¹If 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;

¹²and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.

¹³But if he wants at all to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth to your valuation.

¹⁴‘And when a man 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.

¹⁵If he who dedicated it wants to 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 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.

¹⁷If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.

¹⁸But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall 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.

¹⁹And 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.

²⁰But 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;

²¹but the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the Lord, as a devoted field; it shall be 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 his possession,

²³then 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.

²⁴In 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.

²⁵And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.

²⁶‘But the 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.

²⁷And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

²⁸‘Nevertheless no 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.

²⁹No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death.

³⁰And 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.

³¹If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.

³²And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

³³He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, 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.’ ”

³⁴These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 27.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The law concerning vows, Of persons and animals. (1–13). Vows concerning houses and land. (14–25). Devoted things not to be redeemed. (26–33). Conclusion. (34).

vv1-13

Zeal for the service of God disposed the Israelites, on some occasions, to dedicate themselves or their children to the service of the Lord, in his house for life. Some persons who thus dedicated themselves might be employed as assistants; in general they were to be redeemed for a value. It is good to be zealously affected and liberally disposed for the Lord's service; but the matter should be well weighed, and prudence should direct as to what we do; else rash vows and hesitation in doing them will dishonour God, and trouble our own minds.

vv14-25

Our houses, lands, cattle, and all our substance, must be used to the glory of God. It is acceptable to him that a portion be given to support his worship, and to promote his cause. But God would not approve such a degree of zeal as ruined a man's family.

vv26-33

Things or persons devoted, are distinguished from things or persons that were only sanctified. Devoted things were most holy to the Lord, and could neither be taken back nor applied to other purposes. Whatever productions they had the benefit, God must be honoured with the tenth of, if it could be applied. Thus they acknowledge God to be the Owner of their land, the Giver of its fruits, and themselves to be his tenants, and dependants upon him. Thus they gave him thanks for the plenty they enjoyed, and besought his favour in the continuance of it. We are taught to honour the Lord with our substance.

Key Words

spokeH1696Hebrew

דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue

MosesH4872Hebrew

מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver

sayingH559Hebrew

אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)

peopleH1121Hebrew

בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

IsraelH3478Hebrew

יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

anyoneH376Hebrew

אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)

specialH6381Hebrew

פָּלָא: properly, perhaps to separate, i.e. distinguish (literally or figuratively); by implication, to be (causatively, make) great, difficult, wonderful

vowH5088Hebrew

נֶדֶר: a promise (to God); also (concretely) a thing promised

valuationH6187Hebrew

עֵרֶךְ: a pile, equipment, estimate

personsH5315Hebrew

נֶפֶשׁ: properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)