Leviticus 27

Making Vows to the Lord

1 The Lord spoke to Moses.

2 Tell the Israelites, if someone makes a special vow to the Lord, setting a value on a person,

3 The value for a male between twenty and sixty years old is fifty silver shekels, using the sanctuary standard.

4 For a female, the value is thirty shekels.

5 For a male between five and twenty years old, the value is twenty shekels, and for a female, it is ten shekels.

6 For a child between one month and five years old, the value is five shekels for a male and three shekels for a female.

7 For a person sixty years or older, the value is fifteen shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female.

8 If someone is too poor to pay the set value, they must go to the priest, who will determine a fair amount based on what they can afford.

Dedicating Animals to the Lord

9 If someone dedicates an animal that can be offered to the Lord, it becomes holy.

10 They must not exchange it or substitute it, whether it is good for bad or bad for good. If they try to swap one animal for another, both animals become holy.

11 If the animal is unclean and cannot be used as an offering, they must bring it to the priest.

12 The priest will determine its value, and whatever value he sets, it will stand.

13 If the owner wants to buy it back, they must pay its value plus twenty percent.

Dedicating Houses to the Lord

14 If someone dedicates their house to the Lord, the priest will determine its value, and whatever he decides will be final.

15 If the owner wants to buy it back, they must pay its value plus twenty percent. Then the house will belong to them again.

Dedicating Land to the Lord

16 If someone dedicates part of their land to the Lord, its value will be based on how much seed it takes to plant. A field requiring about five bushels of seed is worth fifty shekels of silver.

17 If they dedicate the land in the Year of Jubilee, the full value stands.

18 If they dedicate it after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price based on the years left until the next Jubilee.

19 If the owner wants to buy the land back, they must pay its value plus twenty percent.

20 If they do not buy it back and it is sold to someone else, it cannot be bought back again.

21 When the land is released in the Year of Jubilee, it becomes holy and belongs permanently to the Lord. It will belong to the priests.

22 If someone dedicates land they bought rather than inherited,

23 The priest will calculate its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and they must pay the price that day as something holy to the Lord.

24 In the Year of Jubilee, the land will return to the original owner who inherited it.

25 All values must be measured using the sanctuary standard of twenty gerahs to a shekel.

Rules for Firstborn Animals

26 No one may dedicate the firstborn of any animal, because it already belongs to the Lord. Whether it is a cow, sheep, or goat, it is already the Lord’s.

27 If it is an unclean animal, they may buy it back at its value plus twenty percent. If not, it must be sold at its value.

28 Anything a person sets apart for the Lord, whether a person, an animal, or land, cannot be sold or bought back. It is most holy to the Lord.

29 No one set apart for destruction may be bought back. They must be put to death.

Tithes Belong to the Lord

30 A tenth of everything from the land, grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord. It is holy to Him.

31 If someone wants to buy back part of their tithe, they must add twenty percent to it.

32 Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s staff belongs to the Lord. It is holy.

33 Do not pick out the best or make substitutions. If you try to swap one animal for another, both become holy and cannot be bought back.

Final Instructions

34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.