Leviticus 27

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

2 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When a man maketh a wonderful vow, by thy valuation the persons [are] Jehovah's.

“Tell the Israeli people [that this is what I am saying to them]: If anyone solemnly promises to dedicate another person to [work solely] for me, the person who is dedicated to me is allowed to be free from having to do that by someone paying [to the priest] a fixed amount of money. The money that is given must be calculated by comparing it with the official pieces of silver in the Sacred Tent.

3 When thy valuation hath been of the male from a son of twenty years even unto a son of sixty years, then hath been thy valuation fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary.

[These are the amounts that must be paid]: 50 pieces of silver for men who are between 20 and 60 years old,

4 And if it [is] a female — then hath thy valuation been thirty shekels;

30 pieces of silver for adult women [who are between 20 and 60 years old],

5 and if from a son of five years even unto a son of twenty years — then hath thy valuation been of the male twenty shekels, and for the female, ten shekels;

20 pieces of silver for young men who are between five and 20 years old, ten pieces of silver for young women who are between five and 20 years old,

6 and if from a son of a month even unto a son of five years — then hath thy valuation been of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy valuation [is] three shekels of silver;

five pieces of silver for boys who are between one month and five years old, three pieces of silver for girls who are between one month and five years old,

7 and if from a son of sixty years and above — if a male, then hath thy valuation been fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels.

15 pieces of silver for men who are more than 60 years old, ten pieces of silver for women who are more than 60 years old.

8 'And if he is poorer than thy valuation, then he hath presented himself before the priest, and the priest hath valued him; according to that which the hand of him who is vowing doth reach doth the priest value him.

‘If anyone who has made such a solemn promise is very poor and unable to pay, to free that person from doing what he had promised, he must take that person to the priest. The priest will set the price [for freeing him] to be what the person who made that solemn promise is able to pay.

9 'And if [it is] a beast of which they bring near an offering to Jehovah, all that [one] giveth of it to Jehovah is holy;

‘If someone solemnly promises to give an animal that is acceptable to be an offering to me, that animal becomes sacred [and belongs to me].

10 he doth not change it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he really change beast for beast, — then it hath been — it and its exchange is holy.

The person who promised to give it must not give another animal instead of the one that he promised; he must not substitute a bad animal for a good one or even a better one than the one offered. If he would substitute one animal for the other, both animals would belong to me.

11 'And if [it is] any unclean beast of which they do not bring near an offering to Jehovah, then he hath presented the beast before the priest,

If the animal that he wishes to dedicate to me is a kind that is unacceptable to be an offering to me, he must take that animal to the priest.

12 and the priest hath valued it; whether good or bad, according to thy valuation, O priest, so it is;

The priest will then decide what its value is, according to the animal’s good and bad points. Whatever value the priests sets will be the value of the animal, [and that is the price that the priest must pay for the animal].

13 and if he really redeem it, then he hath added its fifth to thy valuation.

If the man who gave the animal later decides that he wants to buy it back, he must pay [to the priest] that price plus an additional 20 percent.

14 'And when a man sanctifieth his house, a holy thing to Jehovah, then hath the priest valued it, whether good or bad; as the priest doth value it so it standeth;

‘[Similarly], if someone dedicates his house to be a sacred gift to belong to me, the priest will decide how much it is worth, which will depend on whether the house is in good condition. Whatever the priest says that it is worth, that will be its value [and that is the price that the priest must pay for it].

15 and if he who is sanctifying doth redeem his house, then he hath added a fifth of the money of thy valuation to it, and it hath become his.

If the man who dedicated his house to me later wants to buy it back, he must pay that price plus an additional 20 percent, and then the house will belong to him again.

16 'And if of the field of his possession a man sanctify to Jehovah, then hath thy valuation been according to its seed; a homer of barley-seed at fifty shekels of silver;

‘If someone dedicates to me some of the property that belongs to him and his family, its value will be determined by the number of bushels of seed that will be needed to plant seeds on that land: Its value will be ten pieces of silver for each bushel of seed.

17 if from the year of the jubilee he sanctify his field, according to thy valuation it standeth;

If he dedicates the land during the Year of Celebration, its full value will be that amount.

18 and if after the jubilee he sanctify his field, then hath the priest reckoned to him the money according to the years which are left, unto the year of the jubilee, and it hath been abated from thy valuation.

But if he dedicates the field after the Year of Celebration, the priest will count the number of years until the next Year of Celebration, and if there are not many years that remain, the price will be much lower [than the full price].

19 'And if he really redeem the field — he who is sanctifying it — then he hath added a fifth of the money of thy valuation to it, and it hath been established to him;

If the person who dedicated the field later wants to buy it back, he must pay [to the priest] the price that the priest says it is worth, plus an added one-fifth, and then the field will belong to that man again.

20 and if he do not redeem the field, or if he hath sold the field to another man, it is not redeemed any more;

However, if he does not buy it back, or if it has been sold (OR, the priest has sold it) to someone else, that person will never be permitted to buy it back again.

21 and the field hath been, in its going out in the jubilee, holy to Jehovah as a field which is devoted; to the priest is its possession.

In the Year of Celebration, it will become sacred again, and it will be given to the priest.

22 'And if the field of his purchase (which [is] not of the fields of his possession) [one] sanctify to Jehovah —

‘If someone dedicates to me some land that he has bought, land which is not part of the land that his family has always owned,

23 then hath the priest reckoned to him the amount of thy valuation unto the year of jubilee, and he hath given thy valuation in that day — a holy thing to Jehovah;

the priest will count the number of years until the next Year of Celebration to determine how much it is worth, and the man must pay that amount to the priest on that day, [and then that land will belong to that man again].

24 in the year of the jubilee the field returneth to him from whom he bought it, to him whose [is] the possession of the land.

But in the Year of Celebration, the land will again be owned by the person from whom he bought it, the person whose family had always owned that land.

25 And all thy valuation is by the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs is the shekel.

All the silver that is paid must be compared with the official pieces of silver in the Sacred Tent.

26 'Only, a firstling which is Jehovah's firstling among beasts — no man doth sanctify it, whether ox or sheep; it [is] Jehovah's.

‘No one is permitted to dedicate to me the firstborn of any cow or sheep, because the firstborn already belongs to me [DOU].

27 And if among the unclean beasts, then he hath ransomed [it] at thy valuation, and he hath added its fifth to it; and if it is not redeemed, then it hath been sold at thy valuation.

If someone gives to me a kind of animal that is not acceptable to me, that person may later buy it back by paying what it is worth plus an additional 20 percent of its value. If he does not buy it back, it must be sold (OR, the priest must sell it) for its standard price.

28 'Only, no devoted thing which a man devoteth to Jehovah, of all that he hath, of man, and beast, and of the field of his possession, is sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah.

‘However, no slave or animal or family land that someone owns can be sold or bought back after it has been dedicated to me [and no price has been paid for it]. That kind of gift belongs to me permanently/forever.

29 'No devoted thing, which is devoted of man, is ransomed, it is surely put to death.

‘No person who has [done something that I consider to be very wicked] is permitted to be freed [from being punished]; that person must surely be executed.

30 And all tithe of the land, of the seed of the land, of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah's — holy to Jehovah.

‘One tenth of all the crops and grain or fruit that is produced on anyone’s land is sacred and belongs to me.

31 'And if a man really redeem [any] of his tithe, its fifth he addeth to it.

If anyone wants to buy back any of that tenth, he must pay [to the priest] what it is worth plus an additional 20 percent.

32 'And all the tithe of the herd and of the flock — all that passeth by under the rod — the tenth is holy to Jehovah;

One of every ten domestic animals belongs to me. When a shepherd counts his animals [MTY] [to decide which ones he will give to me], he must mark every tenth one as belonging to me.

33 he enquireth not between good and bad, nor doth he change it; and if he really change it — then it hath been — it and its exchange is holy; it is not redeemed.'

When he does that, he must not pick out the good ones for himself or leave the bad ones, or substitute bad ones for good ones. If he substitutes one animal for another, both animals will belong to me, and he will not be permitted to buy them back (OR, the shepherd cannot buy them back).’”

34 These [are] the commands which Jehovah hath commanded Moses for the sons of Israel, in mount Sinai.

Those are the commands that Yahweh gave to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain [to tell to the people].