Leviticus 27
27
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for Jehovah by thy estimation. 3And 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. 4And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7And if it be from sixty years old and upward; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
9And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation unto Jehovah, all that any man giveth of such unto Jehovah shall be holy. 10He 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 both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. 11And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer an oblation unto Jehovah, then he shall set the beast before the priest; 12and the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be. 13But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
14And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto Jehovah, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. 15And 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.
16And if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of the field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the sowing thereof: the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand. 18But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain unto the year of jubilee; and an abatement shall be made from thy estimation. 19And if he that sanctified the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him. 20And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more: 21but the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto Jehovah, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s. 22And if he sanctify unto Jehovah a field which he hath bought, which is not of the field of his possession; 23then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation unto the year of jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto Jehovah. 24In the year of jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongeth. 25And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
26Only the firstling among beasts, which is made a firstling to Jehovah, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it is Jehovah’s. 27And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to thine estimation, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.
28Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Jehovah. 29No one devoted, that shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he 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 Jehovah’s: it is holy unto Jehovah. 31And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof. 32And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah. 33He 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 that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34These are the commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
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Leviticus 27: ASV
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Leviticus 27
27
Redemption of Vowed People
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When a man makes a special votive offering#tn Cf. the note on Lev 22:21. Some take this as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be remarkable”), cf. Milgrom, Numbers [JPSTC], 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה, palah, “to set aside”). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice is a special gift to God that arose out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper. based on the conversion value of persons to the Lord,#tn Heb “in your valuation, persons to the Lord,” but “in your valuation” is a frozen form and, therefore, the person (“your”) does not figure into the translation (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 73). Instead of offering a person to the Lord one could redeem that person with the appropriate amount of money delineated in the following verses (see the note on Lev 5:15 above and the explanation in Hartley, 480-81). 3 the conversion value of the male#tn Heb “your conversion value shall be [for] the male.” from twenty years old up to sixty years old#tn Heb “from a son of twenty years and until a son of sixty years.” is fifty shekels by the standard of the sanctuary shekel.#tn See the note on Lev 5:15. 4 If the person is a female, the conversion value is thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the conversion value of the male is twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 If the person is one month old up to five years old, the conversion value of the male is five shekels of silver,#tn Heb “five shekels silver.” and for the female the conversion value is three shekels of silver. 7 If the person is from sixty years old and older, if he is a male the conversion value is fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 If he is too poor to pay the conversion value, he must stand the person before the priest and the priest will establish his conversion value;#tn Heb “and the priest shall cause him to be valued.” according to what the man who made the vow can afford,#tn Heb “on the mouth which the hand of the one who vowed reaches.” the priest will establish his conversion value.
Redemption of Vowed Animals
9 “‘If what is vowed is a kind of animal from which an offering may be presented#tn Heb “which they may present from it an offering.” The plural active verb is sometimes best rendered in the passive (GKC 460 §144.f, g). Some medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, a ms of the Targum, and the Vulgate all have the singular verb instead (cf. similarly v. 11). to the Lord, anything which he gives to the Lord from this kind of animal#tn Heb “from it.” The masculine suffix “it” here is used for the feminine in the MT, but one medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of Smr, the LXX, and the Syriac have the feminine. The referent (this kind of animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity. will be holy. 10 He must not replace or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good, and if he does indeed exchange one animal for another animal, then both the original animal#tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity. and its substitute will be holy. 11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest will establish its conversion value,#tn Heb “and the priest shall cause it to be valued.” See the note on v. 8 above. whether good or bad. According to the assessed conversion value of the priest, thus it will be. 13 If, however, the person who made the vow redeems the animal,#tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. The referent of “he” (the person who made the vow) and “it” (the animal) have both been specified in the translation for clarity. he must add one fifth to#tn Heb “on,” meaning “on top of, in addition to” (likewise in v. 15). its conversion value.
Redemption of Vowed Houses
14 “‘If a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will establish its conversion value, whether good or bad. Just as the priest establishes its conversion value, thus it will stand.#tn The expression “it shall stand” may be a technical term for “it shall be legally valid”; cf. NLT “assessment will be final.” 15 If the one who consecrates it redeems his house, he must add to it one fifth of its conversion value in silver, and it will belong to him.#tn Heb “and it shall be to him.”
Redemption of Vowed Fields
16 “‘If a man consecrates to the Lord some of his own landed property, the conversion value must be calculated in accordance with the amount of seed needed to sow it,#tn Heb “a conversion value shall be to the mouth of its seed.” a homer of barley seed being priced at fifty shekels of silver.#tn Heb “seed of a homer of barley in fifty shekels of silver.” 17 If he consecrates his field in the jubilee year,#tn Heb “from the year of the jubilee.” For the meaning of “jubilee,” see the note on Lev 25:10 above. the conversion value will stand, 18 but if#tn Heb “And if.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here. he consecrates his field after the jubilee, the priest will calculate the price#tn Heb “the silver.” for him according to the years that are left until the next jubilee year, and it will be deducted from the conversion value. 19 If, however, the one who consecrated the field redeems it,#tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems [finite verb] the field, the one who consecrated it.” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. he must add to it one fifth of the conversion price#tn Heb “the silver of the conversion value.” and it will belong to him.#tn Heb “and it shall rise to him.” See HALOT 1087 s.v. קום 7 for the rendering offered here, but see also the note on the end of v. 14 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 476, 478). 20 If he does not redeem the field, but sells#tn Heb “and if he sells.” the field to someone else, he may never redeem it. 21 When it reverts#tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34). in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field;#tn Heb “like the field of the permanent dedication.” The Hebrew word חֵרֶם (kherem) is a much discussed term. In this and the following verses it refers in a general way to the fact that something is permanently devoted to the Lord and therefore cannot be redeemed (cf. v. 20b). See J. A. Naudé, NIDOTTE 2:276-77; N. Lohfink, TDOT 5:180-99, esp. pp. 184, 188, and 198-99; and the numerous explanations in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 483-85. it will become the priest’s property.#tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”
22 “‘If he consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased,#tn Heb “his field of purchase,” which is to be distinguished from his own ancestral “landed property” (cf. v. 16 above). which is not part of his own landed property, 23 the priest will calculate for him the amount of its conversion value until the jubilee year, and he must pay#tn Heb “give” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT). the conversion value on that jubilee day as something that is holy to the Lord. 24 In the jubilee year the field will return to the one from whom he bought it, the one to whom it belongs as landed property. 25 Every conversion value must be calculated by the standard of the sanctuary shekel;#tn See the note on Lev 5:15. twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Redemption of the Firstborn
26 “‘Surely no man may consecrate a firstborn that already belongs to the Lord as a firstborn among the animals; whether it is an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord.#tn Heb “to the Lord it is.” 27 If, however,#tn Heb “And if.” it is among the unclean animals, he may ransom it according to#tn Heb “in” or “by.” its conversion value and must add one fifth to it, but if it is not redeemed it must be sold according to its conversion value.
Things Permanently Dedicated to the Lord
28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord#tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated [thing] which a man shall permanently dedicate to the Lord.” The Hebrew term חֵרֶם (kherem) refers to things that are devoted permanently to the Lord (see the note on v. 21 above). from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord. 29 Any human being who is permanently dedicated#tn Heb “permanently dedicated from among men.” must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.
Redemption of the Tithe
30 “‘Any tithe#tn On the “tithe” system in Israel, see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:1035-55 and esp. pp. 1041-42 on Lev 27:30-33. of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man redeems#tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] a man redeems [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it.#tn Heb “its one fifth on it.” 32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord.#sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 485, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 200). 33 The owner#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity. must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it,#tn Heb “And if exchanging [infinitive absolute] he exchanges it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. both the original animal#tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity. and its substitute will be holy.#tn Heb “it shall be and its substitute shall be holy.” It must not be redeemed.’”
Final Colophon
34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites#tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus. at Mount Sinai.
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