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The Third Book of Moses: Leviticus

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- Chapter 27 -

1
Then the LORD said to Moses,
2
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
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if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver,(a) according to the sanctuary shekel.(b)
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Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.(c)
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And if the person is from five to twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels,(d) and for the female ten shekels.(e)
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Now if the person is from one month to five years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be five shekels of silver,(f) and for the female three shekels of silver.(g)
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And if the person is sixty years of age or older, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels (h) for the male and ten shekels for the female.
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But if the one making the vow is too poor to pay the valuation, he is to present the person (i) before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
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If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such animal given to the LORD shall be holy.
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He must not replace it or exchange it, either good for bad or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.
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But 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.
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The priest shall set its value, whether high or low; as the priest values it, the price will be set.
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If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value.
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Now if a man consecrates his house as holy to the LORD, then the priest shall value it either as good or bad. The price will stand just as the priest values it.
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But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him.
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If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.(j)
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If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation.
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But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced.
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And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him.
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If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed.
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When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.
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Now if a man consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased, which is not a part of his own property,
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then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD.
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In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land.
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Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.(k)
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But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.
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But if it is among the unclean animals, then he may redeem it according to your valuation and add a fifth of its value. If it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
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Nothing that a man sets apart (l) to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
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No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

Instruction on Tithes

(Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14)
30
Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
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If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value.
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Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD.
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He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’”
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These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

(a)27:3 50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver; also in verse 16.
(b)27:3 A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams; also in verse 25.
(c)27:4 30 shekels is approximately 12 ounces or 342 grams of silver.
(d)27:5 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver.
(e)27:5 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver; also in verse 7.
(f)27:6 5 shekels is approximately 2 ounces or 57 grams of silver.
(g)27:6 3 shekels is approximately 1.2 ounces or 34.2 grams of silver.
(h)27:7 15 shekels is approximately 6 ounces or 171 grams of silver.
(i)27:8 Or present himself
(j)27:16 A homer is a dry measure of approximately 6.24 bushels or 220 liters (probably about 291 pounds or 132 kilograms of barley seed).
(k)27:25 20 gerahs is equivalent to one shekel (approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams).
(l)27:28 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD; similarly in verse 29.
1
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man consecrates a person to the LORD in a vow, according to your valuation,
3
your valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel (a) of the sanctuary.
4
If she is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.
5
If the person is from five years old to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
6
If the person is from a month old to five years old, then your valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
7
If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if he is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
8
But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall assign a value to him. The priest shall assign a value according to his ability to pay.
9
“‘If it is an animal of which men offer an offering to the LORD, all that any man gives of such to the LORD becomes holy.
10
He shall not alter it, nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good. If he shall at all exchange animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy.
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If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to the LORD, then he shall set the animal before the priest;
12
and the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest evaluates it, so it shall be.
13
But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.
14
“‘When a man dedicates his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest evaluates it, so it shall stand.
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If he who dedicates it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.
16
“‘If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. The sowing of a homer (b) of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels (c) of silver.
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If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.
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But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain to the Year of Jubilee; and an abatement shall be made from your valuation.
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If he who dedicated the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall remain his.
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If he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more;
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but the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a devoted field. It shall be owned by the priests.
22
“‘If he dedicates a field to the LORD which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,
23
then 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 thing to the LORD.
24
In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs.
25
All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs (d) to the shekel.(e)
26
“‘However the firstborn among animals, which belongs to the LORD as a firstborn, no man may dedicate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is the LORD’s.
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If it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back according to your valuation, and shall add to it the fifth part of it; or if it isn’t redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
28
“‘Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Everything that is permanently devoted is most holy to the LORD.
29
“‘No one devoted to destruction, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death.

Instruction on Tithes

(Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14)
30
“‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.
31
If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it.
32
All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD.
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He shall not examine whether it is good or bad, neither shall he exchange it. If he exchanges it at all, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”
34
These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

(a)27:3 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
(b)27:16 1 homer is about 220 liters or 6 bushels
(c)27:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
(d)27:25 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.
(e)27:25 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
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