Exodus 34:20

20 But the firstborn of an ass thou shalt ransom with a lamb, and if thou ransom him not, then shalt thou cut off his head. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt ransom, and none shall appear before me empty.

Exodus 34:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 34:20

Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem
This goes along with the former, (See Gill on Exodus 13:13):

and none shall appear before me empty;
at the grand festivals, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, (See Gill on Exodus 13:15).

Exodus 34:20 In-Context

18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou didst come out from Egypt.

19 All that opens the womb is mine; and every firstborn among thy livestock, whether of cow or of sheep, that is male.

20 But the firstborn of an ass thou shalt ransom with a lamb, and if thou ransom him not, then shalt thou cut off his head. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt ransom, and none shall appear before me empty.

21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt cease; in ploughing time and in harvest thou shalt cease.

22 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of the reaping of the wheat, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.