Leviticus 27

1 And the Lord spake to Moses and said,

2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, A man that maketh a (special) vow, and promiseth his soul to God, he shall give the price under (the) value, either appraising thereof. (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, A person who maketh a special vow, and promiseth his life to God, to fulfill the vow, he shall pay the price of the value, or of the appraisal, of his life.)

3 If it is a male, from the twentieth year till to the sixtieth year, he shall give fifty shekels of silver, at the measure of the saintuary (by the measure of the sanctuary),

4 if it is a woman, she shall give thirty shekels;

5 forsooth from the fifth year till to the twentieth year, a male shall give twenty shekels, a woman shall give ten shekels;

6 from one month till to the fifth year, five shekels shall be given for a male, three shekels for a woman;

7 a male of sixty years and over shall give fifteen shekels, a woman shall give ten shekels.

8 If it is a poor man, and [he] may not yield the value, he shall stand before the priest, and as much as the priest appraiseth, and seeth that the poor man may yield, so much he shall give (that much he shall give).

9 Soothly if any man avoweth a beast, that may be offered to the Lord, it shall be holy,

10 and it shall not be able to be changed, that is, neither a better for a worse, neither an evil for a good; and if he changeth it, both that, that is changed, and that, for which it is changed, shall be hallowed to the Lord. (and he shall not be able to exchange it for another, that is, neither a better for a worse, nor a bad one for a good one; and if he exchangeth it, both that, which is exchanged, and that, for which it is exchanged, shall be holy to the Lord.)

11 Soothly if any man avoweth an unclean beast, that may not be offered to the Lord, it shall be brought before the priest,

12 and the priest shall deem whether it is good either evil (and the priest shall decide whether it is good or bad), and he shall set the price;

13 (for) which price, if he that offereth (it) will not give (it), he shall add the fifth part over the value (to buy it back).

14 If a man avoweth his house, and halloweth it to the Lord, the priest shall behold, whether it is good either evil, and by the price which is ordained of him, it shall be sold; (If a man voweth his house, and dedicateth it to the Lord, the priest shall look at it, and decide if it is good or bad, that is, he shall determine its value, and it shall be sold for the price which is ordained by him;)

15 soothly if he that avowed will again-buy it, he shall give the fifth part of the value above, and he shall have the house. (and if he who vowed it will buy it back, he shall add the fifth part above its value, and then he shall have the house.)

16 That if a man avoweth the field of his possession, and halloweth it to the Lord, the price shall be deemed by the measure of [the] seed (And if a man voweth the field of his possession, and dedicateth it to the Lord, its value shall be determined by the measure of its seed); if the field is sown with thirty bushels of barley, it shall be sold for fifty shekels of silver.

17 If he avoweth the field anon from the year of [the] beginning of the jubilee, as much as it may be worth, by so much it shall be appraised; (If he voweth the field from the beginning of the Jubilee Year, it shall be worth as much as it shall be appraised for;)

18 but if it be after some part of time, the priest shall reckon, either determine, the money by the number of the years that be left till to the jubilee, and it shall be withdrawn of the price. (but if it be after some time, the priest shall determine its value by the number of years that be left until the Jubilee, and that shall be deducted from the price.)

19 That if he that avowed will again-buy the field, he shall add the fifth part of the money that (it) is appraised (for), and he shall wield it; (And if he, who vowed the field, will buy it back, he shall add a fifth part to the value that it is appraised for, and then it shall be his;)

20 but if he will not again-buy it, but it is sold to any other man, he that avowed it shall never be able to again-buy it; (but if he will not buy it back, and it is sold to another man, then he who vowed it shall never be able to buy it back;)

21 for when the day of jubilee cometh, that field shall be hallowed to the Lord, and the possession hallowed pertaineth to the right of priests. (for when the Jubilee Year cometh, that field shall be holy to the Lord, and dedicated possessions belong to the priests.)

22 If the field is bought, and is not of the possession of greater men, that is, of ancestors, and it is hallowed to the Lord, (If a field is bought, and it is not part of a person's ancestral land, and it is holy to the Lord,)

23 the priest shall determine the price by the number of years till to the jubilee, and he that avowed the field shall give the price thereof to the Lord; (the priest shall determine its value by the number of years until the Jubilee, and he who vowed the field shall pay its value to the Lord;)

24 forsooth in the jubilee it shall turn again to the former lord that sold it, and he shall have it into the heritage of his possession. (but in the Jubilee Year it shall return to the original owner who sold it, and it shall be in the inheritance of his possession.)

25 All the appraising, or value, shall be weighed by the shekel of the saintuary (shall be made with the shekel of the sanctuary); a shekel hath twenty halfpence.

26 No man may hallow and avow the first engendered things that pertain to the Lord, whether it is (an) ox, or (a) sheep, (for) they be the Lord's part.

27 That if the beast is unclean that is avowed, he that offered it shall again-buy it after the value that it is appraised to, and he shall add to (it) the fifth part of the price; (or) if he will not again-buy it, it shall be sold to another man, for as much as it is appraised. (And if the beast that is vowed is unclean, he who offered it can buy it back for the value that it is appraised for, and he shall add to it the fifth part of its value; or if he will not buy it back, it shall be sold to another man, for the value that it is appraised for.)

28 All thing that is hallowed to the Lord, whether it is man, or beast, (or) whether (the) field of his heritage, it shall not be sold, neither it shall be able to be again-bought; whatever thing is hallowed once, it shall be holy of holy things to the Lord, (Everything that is dedicated to the Lord, whether it is a man, or a beast, or the field of his inheritance, shall not be sold, nor shall it be able to be bought back; once something is dedicated, it shall be a most holy thing to the Lord,)

29 and each hallowing which is offered of man, shall not be again-bought, but it shall die by death. (yea, even a man who is dedicated to the Lord, shall not be able to be bought back, but he shall be put to death.)

30 All the tithes of [the] earth, whether of fruits of corn, whether of apples of trees, be the Lord's part, and be hallowed to him; (All the tithes from the land, whether grain, or the fruits of trees, be the Lord's portion, and be holy to him;)

31 soothly if any man will again-buy his tithes, he shall add to (them) the fifth part of those; (and if anyone will buy back his tithes, he shall add the fifth part to their value;)

32 (yea,) of all the tithes of sheep, and of oxen, and of goats, that pass under the shepherd's rod, whatever thing cometh to the tenth part, it shall be hallowed to the Lord (it shall be holy to the Lord);

33 it shall not be chosen, neither good, neither evil; neither it shall be changed for another; if any man changeth it, both that, that is changed, and that, for which it is changed, shall be hallowed to the Lord, and it shall not be again-bought. (it shall not be chosen from out of the whole, neither good, nor bad; nor shall it be exchanged for another; if anyone exchangeth it, both that, which is exchanged, and that, for which it is exchanged, shall be holy to the Lord, and shall not be bought back.)

34 These be the commandments which the Lord commanded to Moses, and to the sons of Israel, in the hill of Sinai. (These be the commandments which the Lord commanded to Moses, and to the Israelites, on Mount Sinai.)

Leviticus 27 Commentary

Chapter 27

The law concerning vows, Of persons and animals. (1-13) Vows concerning houses and land. (14-25) Devoted things not to be redeemed. (26-33) Conclusion. (34)

Verses 1-13 Zeal for the service of God disposed the Israelites, on some occasions, to dedicate themselves or their children to the service of the Lord, in his house for life. Some persons who thus dedicated themselves might be employed as assistants; in general they were to be redeemed for a value. It is good to be zealously affected and liberally disposed for the Lord's service; but the matter should be well weighed, and prudence should direct as to what we do; else rash vows and hesitation in doing them will dishonour God, and trouble our own minds.

Verses 14-25 Our houses, lands, cattle, and all our substance, must be used to the glory of God. It is acceptable to him that a portion be given to support his worship, and to promote his cause. But God would not approve such a degree of zeal as ruined a man's family.

Verses 26-33 Things or persons devoted, are distinguished from things or persons that were only sanctified. Devoted things were most holy to the Lord, and could neither be taken back nor applied to other purposes. Whatever productions they had the benefit, God must be honoured with the tenth of, if it could be applied. Thus they acknowledge God to be the Owner of their land, the Giver of its fruits, and themselves to be his tenants, and dependants upon him. Thus they gave him thanks for the plenty they enjoyed, and besought his favour in the continuance of it. We are taught to honour the Lord with our substance.

Verse 34 The last verse seems to have reference to this whole book. Many of the precepts in it are moral, and always binding; others are ceremonial, and peculiar to the Jewish nation; yet they have a spiritual meaning, and so teach us; for unto us, by these institutions, is the gospel preached, as well as unto them, Heb. 4:2 . The doctrine of reconciliation to God by a Mediator, is not clouded with the smoke of burning sacrifice, but cleared by the knowledge of Christ and him crucified. We are under the sweet and easy institutions of the gospel, which pronounces those true worshippers, who worship the Father in spirit and truth, by Christ only, and in his name. Yet, let us not think, because we are not tied to the ceremonial rites and oblations, that a little care, time, and expense, will serve to honour God with. Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart, and in full assurance of faith, worshipping God with the more cheerfulness and humble confidence, still saying, BLESSED BE GOD FOR JESUS CHRIST.

Chapter Summary

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;