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

27 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.

And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy.

10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

11 And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.

13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

15 And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17 If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

18 But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

19 And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

20 And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21 But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.

22 And if a man sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;

23 Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord.

24 In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

25 And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the Lord's.

27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

30 And 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 unto the Lord.

31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.

33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34 These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

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: A man from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay twenty-five dollars;[a] a woman from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay fifteen dollars; a boy from five to twenty shall pay ten dollars; a girl, five dollars. 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. A man over sixty shall pay seven and a half dollars; a woman, five dollars. 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.

“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

  1. Leviticus 27:3 shall pay twenty-five dollars. Note: The actual value by today’s standards is uncertain. The above figures are approximate.
  2. Leviticus 27:13 If the animal is a kind that may be offered as a sacrifice, implied.
  3. Leviticus 27:20 and has given to the Lord his rights to it at the Year of Jubilee, implied.
  4. 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.”
  5. 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.”