Leviticus 27

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1God spoke to Moses. He said this:

2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.

2Tell the people of Israel this. Sometimes a person makes a special promise to God. He promises to give a person to God. Then he pays silver instead. You will set the price.

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.

3For a man from twenty to sixty years old, the price is fifty shekels of silver. Use the weight used at God's holy tent.

NoteA shekel was a small weight of silver, about the weight of four quarters. People used it like money. The "shekel of the sanctuary" was the official weight kept at God's holy tent.

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

4If it is a woman, then the price is 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.

5For someone from five to twenty years old, a boy costs twenty shekels. A girl costs 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.

6For a child from one month to five years old, a boy costs five shekels of silver. A girl costs three shekels of silver.

7And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

7For someone sixty years old or older, a man costs fifteen shekels. A woman costs ten shekels.

8But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

8Maybe the man who made the promise is too poor to pay. Then he brings the person to the priest. A priest is a man who serves God at the holy tent. The priest picks a smaller price. He picks a price the poor man can pay.

9And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.

9Someone might promise God an animal that is allowed as a gift. Then that animal is set apart for God.

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 it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

10He must not swap it for a different animal. He cannot trade a good one for a bad one. He cannot trade a bad one for a good one. If he does swap them, both animals belong to God.

11And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

11Some animals are unclean and cannot be given to God as a gift. If a man promised one of those, he brings it to the priest.

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

12The priest decides what the animal is worth, high or low. Whatever the priest says is the price.

13But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

13Maybe the owner wants to buy the animal back. Then he pays that price and one fifth more.

14And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

14A man might give his house to God. Then the priest decides what the house is worth. That price stands.

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.

15If the man wants his house back, he pays the price and one fifth more. Then the house is his again.

16And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

16A man might give God part of a field his family owns. The price depends on how much seed the field needs. A field that needs one homer of barley seed costs fifty shekels of silver.

NoteA homer was a large amount of grain. It would fill about six big buckets.

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

17If he gives the field in the year of Jubilee, the full price stands.

NoteThe Jubilee was a special year that came every fifty years. In it, land went back to the family that first owned it.

18But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

18If he gives it after the Jubilee, the priest counts the years left until the next Jubilee. Then he lowers the price to match.

19And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

19If the man wants the field back, he pays the price and one fifth more. Then the field is surely his.

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.

20Maybe he does not buy the field back. Or maybe he already sold it to another man. Then he can never buy it back.

21But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.

21When the Jubilee comes, that field is set apart for God. It is like a field given to God forever. It becomes land for the priests.

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

22A man might give God a field that he bought. It is not land his family has always owned.

23Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD.

23Then the priest counts what it is worth until the year of Jubilee. The man pays that price that same day as a holy gift to God.

24In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

24In the year of Jubilee the field goes back to the man who sold it. It returns to the family that owned the land first.

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

25All prices use the weight used at God's holy tent. One shekel weighs twenty gerahs.

26Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’s.

26The first baby animal born to a mother already belongs to God. So no one may promise it to God. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is already his.

27And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

27If it is an unclean animal, the owner may buy it back. He pays the set price and one fifth more. If he does not buy it back, it is sold at the set price.

28Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.

28But some things are given to God forever. A person, an animal, or family land can be given this way. These may not be sold or bought back. Every one of them belongs completely to God.

NoteThe old word here is "devoted." It means given to God for good, with no way to get it back.

29None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

29A person given to God this way cannot be bought back. That person must 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 the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.

30One tenth of everything the land grows belongs to God. That means grain from the fields and fruit from the trees. It is set apart for God.

31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

31If a man wants to buy back part of his tenth, he pays one fifth more.

32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

32Count the cows and sheep as they walk under the shepherd's stick. Every tenth animal is set apart for God.

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 the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

33He must not check whether it is good or bad. He must not swap it for another. If he does swap it, both animals belong to God. Neither one can be bought back.

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

34These are the commands God gave Moses for the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.