Leviticus 27:22-30

22 If you dedicate to the Lord a field that you have bought,

23 the priest shall estimate its value according to the number of years until the next Year of Restoration, and you must pay the price that very day; the money belongs to the Lord.

24 At the Year of Restoration the field shall be returned to the original owner or to the descendants.

25 All prices shall be set according to the official standard.

26 The first-born of an animal already belongs to the Lord, so no one may dedicate it to him as a freewill offering. A calf, a lamb, or a kid belongs to the Lord,

27 but the first-born of an unclean animal may be bought back at the standard price plus an additional 20 percent. If it is not bought back, it may be sold to someone else at the standard price.

28 None of you may sell or buy back what you have unconditionally dedicated to the Lord, whether it is a human being, an animal, or land. It belongs permanently to the Lord. ¹

29 Not even human beings who have been unconditionally dedicated may be bought back; they must be put to death.

30 One tenth of all the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord. ²

Leviticus 27:22-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVEITICUS 27

This chapter contains various laws concerning vows made unto the Lord, whether of persons whose estimation was to be made by the priest, according to their age, sex, and condition, Le 26:1-8; or of beasts, clean and unclean, good or bad, Le 26:9-13; or of houses, fields, and lands, the estimation of which was to be according to its seed, and the time of its being set apart, whether from or after the year of jubilee, and the number of years to it, Le 26:14-25; with this exception to the above laws, that no firstling of the Lord's might be sanctified, and if an unclean beast it might be redeemed, but nothing devoted to the Lord, whether of man, beast, or field, might be sold or redeemed, Le 26:26-29; and the chapter is concluded with some laws concerning the redemption or change of tithes, what might or what might not be redeemed or changed, Le 26:30-34;

Cross References

• 1. 27.28Numbers 18.14.
• 2. 27.30-33Numbers 18.21;Deuteronomy 14.22-29.

Footnotes

• [a]. unconditionally dedicated: [Anything dedicated in this way belonged completely to the Lord and could not be used; it had to be destroyed.]