Leviticuschapter 27

34 verses · ASV

This chapter sends 139 cross-references outward and receives 129 — heaviest partner: Leviticus.

See Leviticus book hub for context

Chapter summary

Vows and dedications — the book's appendix. A person vowed to the LORD is redeemed by a graduated valuation (age and sex). A beast may be changed only with a penalty. A house vowed to the LORD is valued and redeemed with a fifth added. Land vowed is valued by the years to the Jubilee. The firstborn of clean beasts is already the LORD's and cannot be vowed. Devoted things (cherem) are most holy; a man devoted cannot be redeemed but must die. The tithe of the land belongs to the LORD; redeemed by adding a fifth. ‘These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.’ The book ends where it began — at the mount.

Drafted from Matthew Henry, Calvin, Gill, Clarke, JFB, and Barnes.

Context

Law · Moses — see the Leviticus overview for the book's full setting.

1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak 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.

3 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.

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

5 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.

6 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.

7 And 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.

8 But 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.

9 And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation unto Jehovah, all that any man giveth of such unto Jehovah 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 both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.

11 And 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;

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

13 But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14 And 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.

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 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.

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

18 But 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.

19 And 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.

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 jubilee, shall be holy unto Jehovah, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.

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

23 then 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.

24 In 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.

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

26 Only 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.

27 And 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.

28 Notwithstanding, 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.

29 No one devoted, that shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he 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 Jehovah’s: it is holy unto Jehovah.

31 And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof.

32 And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah.

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 that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

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

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