Leviticus 27:27

27 And if [it is] among the unclean animals, then he shall ransom [it] according to your proper value, and he shall add a fifth of its [value] onto it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your proper value.

Leviticus 27:27 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 27:27

And if [it be] of an unclean beast
This is to be understood, not of the firstling of unclean creatures in common, which were to be redeemed with a lamb, and not with money, according to the estimation of the priest, and a fifth part added to that; but of such as were sanctified, or vowed, for the reparation of the sanctuary, as Jarchi notes:

then he shall redeem [it] according to thine estimation;
the price the priest should set upon it, how much it was worth in his judgment:

and shall add a fifth [part] of it thereto;
to the price, set upon a fifth part of that over and above the sum; this the sanctifier, or he that made the vow, was obliged to pay, if he thought fit to redeem it:

or if it be not redeemed;
by him, he does not choose to give the price, and the fifth part:

then it shall be sold according to thy estimation;
to another man, without the fifth part, that chooses to purchase it, and then the purchase money was laid out for sacred uses.

Leviticus 27:27 In-Context

25 And every proper value of yours shall be in the sanctuary's shekel--the shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

26 " 'However, a man shall not consecrate a firstborn among livestock, which belongs as firstborn to Yahweh; whether an ox {or} small livestock, it is for Yahweh.

27 And if [it is] among the unclean animals, then he shall ransom [it] according to your proper value, and he shall add a fifth of its [value] onto it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your proper value.

28 However, anything devoted that a man has devoted to Yahweh {from all that he has}, from human or animal, or from the field of his property, may not be sold, and it may not be redeemed; anything devoted [is] {a most holy thing} for Yahweh.

29 Anyone devoted who is devoted from {human beings} cannot be ransomed--he shall surely be put to death.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "and"
• [b] Or "and"