Rules concerning Assessments

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(A)When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord. If your assessment is of a male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your assessment shall be fifty shekels of silver, by (B)the shekel of the sanctuary. Or if [a]the person is a female, then your assessment shall be thirty shekels. And if the person is from five years even to twenty years old, then your assessment for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. But if the person is from a month even up to five years old, then your assessment shall be (C)five shekels of silver for a male, and for a female your assessment shall be three shekels of silver. If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. But if he is poorer than your assessment, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; (D)according to [b]the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall assess him.

‘Now if it is an animal of the kind that [c]one can present as an offering to the Lord, any such animal that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 (E)He shall not replace it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; yet if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. 11 If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which [d]one does not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest. 12 And the priest shall assess it [e]as either good or bad; as you, the priest, assess it, so shall it be. 13 But if he should ever want to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of it to your assessment.

14 ‘Now if someone consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest shall assess it [f]as either good or bad; as the priest assesses it, so shall it stand. 15 Yet if the one who consecrates it should want to redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may be his.

16 ‘Again, if someone consecrates to the Lord part of the field of his own property, then your assessment shall be [g]proportionate to the seed needed for it: a [h]homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he consecrates his field as of the year of jubilee, according to your assessment it shall stand. 18 If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for [i]him [j]proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your assessment. 19 If the one who consecrates it should ever want to redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may belong to him. 20 Yet if he does not redeem the field, [k]but has sold the field to another person, it may no longer be redeemed; 21 and when it [l]reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field banned from secular use; (F)it shall be for the priest as his property. 22 Or if he consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his own property, 23 then the priest shall calculate for [m]him the amount of your assessment up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your assessment as holy to the Lord. 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 Every assessment of yours, moreover, shall be by (G)the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

26 (H)However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no one may consecrate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lords. 27 But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall [n]redeem it according to your assessment and add to it a fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your assessment.

28 ‘Nevertheless, (I)[o]anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for [p]destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord. 29 No [q]one who may have been [r]set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.

30 ‘Now (J)all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If, therefore, someone should ever want to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it a fifth of it. 32 For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever (K)passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 (L)He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

34 (M)These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 27:4 Lit she
  2. Leviticus 27:8 Lit what the hand reaches
  3. Leviticus 27:9 Lit they
  4. Leviticus 27:11 Lit they
  5. Leviticus 27:12 Lit between
  6. Leviticus 27:14 Lit between good
  7. Leviticus 27:16 Lit according to its seed
  8. Leviticus 27:16 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubic meters
  9. Leviticus 27:18 Or it
  10. Leviticus 27:18 Lit according to the years
  11. Leviticus 27:20 Or if he
  12. Leviticus 27:21 Lit goes out
  13. Leviticus 27:23 Or it
  14. Leviticus 27:27 Or ransom
  15. Leviticus 27:28 Lit anything banned
  16. Leviticus 27:28 I.e., as an offering
  17. Leviticus 27:29 Lit one devoted; or banned
  18. Leviticus 27:29 Lit put under the ban

Funding the Sanctuary

27 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When someone makes a special vow(A) to the Lord that involves the assessment of people, 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) If the person is a female, your assessment is 30 shekels.(D) 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. 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. If the person is 60 years or more, your assessment is 15 shekels for a male and 10 shekels for a female. 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.

“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

  1. Leviticus 27:13 Lit your
  2. Leviticus 27:15 Lit your
  3. Leviticus 27:16 Lit for a homer
  4. Leviticus 27:16 Or grain
  5. Leviticus 27:19 Lit your
  6. Leviticus 27:23 Lit your