Leviticus [27]

Leviticus 27

Vows and Consecration

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When someone makes a special vow to the Lord, valuing a person in terms of the Lord's sanctuary,

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

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

5 If it is from five years old to twenty years old, your valuation for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

6 If it is from a month old to five years old, your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.

7 If it is sixty years old or more, your valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

8 But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be brought before the priest, and the priest shall value him. According to the ability of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him.

Redeeming Vowed Property

9 "'If someone vows to the Lord an animal that may be used as food, all such offerings to the Lord shall be holy.

10 He shall not exchange it or substitute it for a good one or a bad one; if he does exchange it, both the animal he exchanged and the one he substituted for it shall be holy.

11 But if it is an animal unclean for food, which they are not allowed to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord, the animal shall be presented to the priest.

12 The priest shall value it, whether good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be.

13 But if he wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth of its value to it.

14 If someone consecrates a house to the Lord, the priest shall value it. If it is good, the priest shall value it as it is;

15 but if it is bad, the priest shall value it as it is. But if the one who consecrated it wishes to redeem his house, he must add a fifth of its value to it, and it shall be his again.

16 But if someone consecrates to the Lord a field of land, then your valuation shall be according to the sowing of it: a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17 If he consecrates it from the year of Jubilee, your valuation shall stand according to the price of the homer.

18 But if he consecrates it after the Jubilee, then the priest shall calculate for him the number of years remaining until the year of Jubilee, and he shall reduce your valuation accordingly.

19 But if the one who consecrated the field wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth of its value to it, and it shall be his again.

20 But if he does not redeem the field, and the field is sold to another person, it shall not be redeemed anymore;

21 but when the year of Jubilee comes, the field shall be restored, and it shall revert to the one to whom it was consecrated, to whom the land belonged.

Redeeming Vowed People

22 "'And if someone consecrates to the Lord a person,

23 whether he is a man or a woman, he shall not be redeemed; every one who is consecrated to the Lord shall be put to death.

24 But no one who is consecrated and is an animal of clean livestock may be redeemed; it shall surely be put to death.

25 But if it is an animal unclean for food, they shall redeem it for its valuation, adding a fifth of it. But if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold for its valuation.

Tithes and Firstborn

26 "'No one who is consecrated to the Lord, whether a person or an animal, may be sold or redeemed; every one who is consecrated to the Lord is most holy to the Lord.

27 No one who is defiled by a dead body may eat any consecrated thing.

28 But if someone buys a person who is consecrated to the Lord, that person may be redeemed. The price of his redemption shall be according to the valuation of a person, according to the years remaining until the year of Jubilee.

29 But if the one who consecrated him wishes to redeem him, he must add a fifth of the valuation to it.

30 But if he is not redeemed until the year of Jubilee, then he shall go out free, he and his children with him.

31 For the Lord is your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

The Lord's Portion

32 "'Therefore, you shall not consecrate any of your land to the Lord. For all the land belongs to me. You are aliens and tenants in my sight.

33 And in all the land of your possession you shall give a redemption for the land.

34 If someone buys land from his neighbor, he shall give the redemption for it to his neighbor.

35 But if he buys land from another person who is a stranger, he shall add a fifth of the price to it and give it to the priest as a redemption.

36 The priest shall take the redemption money and consecrate it to the Lord.

Firstborn

37 'You shall not sell the firstborn of your sons; for the firstborn of all your livestock, whether ox or sheep, is the Lord's.

38 If it is a male, you shall redeem it; but if it is a female, you shall kill it. And if you do not redeem it, you shall kill it.

39 All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be redeemed. You shall not redeem the firstborn of a donkey, but you shall kill it. And if you do not redeem it, you shall kill it.

40 You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons.

41 And when your son says to you, "What is this?" you shall say to him, "With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.

42 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn males, and I redeem all the firstborn of my sons."' "