Leviticus 27:26

26 And every first-born which shall be produced among thy cattle shall be the Lord's, and no man shall sanctify it: whether calf or sheep, it is the Lord's.

Leviticus 27:26 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 27:26

Only the firstlings of the beasts
These are excepted from being sanctified, or set apart for sacred uses, for a very good reason, suggested in the next clause:

which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it;
it being what he has a claim upon, and ordered to be sanctified to him by a law previous to this, ( Exodus 13:2 ) ; wherefore to sanctify such a creature, would be to sanctify what was his before; not merely in a general sense, in which all creatures are his, but in a special sense, having in a peculiar manner required it as his; and therefore to sanctify, or vow to him, what was his before, must be trifling with him, and mocking of him:

whether [it be] ox, or sheep;
the firstlings of either of them:

it [is] the Lord's;
which he has claimed as his own special and peculiar property, antecedent to any vow of its owner.

Leviticus 27:26 In-Context

24 And in the year of release the land shall be restored to the man of whom the other bought it, whose the possession of the land was.

25 And every valuation shall be by holy weights: the didrachm shall be twenty oboli.

26 And every first-born which shall be produced among thy cattle shall be the Lord's, and no man shall sanctify it: whether calf or sheep, it is the Lord's.

27 But if he should redeem an unclean beast, according to its valuation, then he shall add the fifth part to it, and it shall be his; and if he redeem it not, it shall be sold according to its valuation.

28 And every dedicated thing which a man shall dedicate to the Lord of all that he has, whether man or beast, or of the field of his possession, he shall not sell it, nor redeem it: every devoted thing shall be most holy to the Lord.