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Leviticus 27:10

in Leviticus 27

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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 it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

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This verse in Leviticus 27

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, etc. - Whatever was consecrated to God by a vow, or purpose of heart, was considered from that moment as the Lord’s property; to change which was impiety; to withhold it, sacrilege. Reader, hast thou ever dedicated thyself, or any part of thy property, to the service of thy Maker? If so, hast thou paid thy vows? Or hast thou altered thy purpose, or changed thy offering? Has he received from thy hands a bad for a good?

This site's exposition

If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering

on Leviticus 27:9-13

An unclean animal is valued by the priest, and redeeming it costs a fifth more. Leviticus 5:16 and 6:5 lay the same fifth on restitution for a trespass, so taking back a gift to God is priced like damage.

This site's exposition

either good for bad or bad for good

John Wesley reads the loss of both animals as a penalty for treating a vow lightly. The ban runs both ways, and even a better animal may not be swapped in. Adam Clarke calls such a change impiety.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

It and the exchange - That is, both the thing first vowed, and the thing offered or given in exchange. This was inflicted upon him as a just penalty for his levity in such weighty matters.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

This teaches caution in making vows and constancy in keeping them when they are made; for it is a snare to a man to devour that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry, Prov. xx.
He shall not alter it nor change it,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord--a clean beast. After it had been vowed, it could neither be employed in common purposes nor exchanged for an equivalent--it must be sacrificed--or if, through some discovered blemish, it was unsuitable for the altar, it might be sold, and the money applied for the sacred service.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יַחֲלִיפֶ֗נּוּhe will substitute it

    yachalifenuH2498 →

  • וְלֹֽא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יָמִ֥ירhe will exchange

    yamirH4171 →14 times

  • אֹת֛וֹ<obj.> it

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • ט֥וֹבgood

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • בְּרָ֖עfor bad

    bera'H7451 →662 times

  • אוֹ־or

    ʾov-H176 →321 times

  • רַ֣עbad

    ra'H7451 →662 times

  • בְּט֑וֹבfor good

    betovH2896 →538 times

  • וְאִם־and if

    veim-H518 →1069 times

  • הָמֵ֨רever <to exchange>

    hamerH4171 →14 times

  • יָמִ֤ירhe will exchange

    yamirH4171 →14 times

  • בְּהֵמָה֙an animal

    behemahH929 →190 times

  • בִּבְהֵמָ֔הfor an animal

    bivhemahH929 →190 times

  • וְהָֽיָה־and it will be

    vehayah-H1961 →3559 times

  • ה֥וּאit

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

  • וּתְמוּרָת֖וֹand substitute its

    utemuratoH8545 →

  • יִֽהְיֶה־it will be

    yihyeh-H1961 →3559 times

  • קֹּֽדֶשׁ׃a holy thing

    kodeshH6944 →469 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

4 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    James 1:8

    He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 18:21

      Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did…

    • Matthew 6:24

      No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…

    • James 4:8

      Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

    • Isaiah 29:13

      Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…

    • 2 Peter 2:14

      Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

Where this verse is studied

About Leviticus

The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
Leviticus: the study guide →Read Leviticus 27 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Leviticus 27 →