Knox Bible

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And the Lord spoke to Moses

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giving him this message for the Israelites: If anyone makes a vow by which he promises to God a life that belongs to him, he must pay a fixed ransom.

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A man between the ages of twenty and sixty must pay fifty silver pieces by sanctuary reckoning,

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and a woman of the same age must pay thirty.

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Between the ages of five and twenty, a boy must pay twenty silver pieces, a girl ten.

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From the age of one month to the age of five years, five silver pieces will be the price for a boy and three for a girl.

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A man of sixty or over will pay fifteen pieces, a woman of the same age ten.

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If the maker of the vow is poor, and cannot pay the full price, he must present himself before the priest, and pay whatever the priest judges to be within his means.

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If anyone vows such a beast as is fit to be immolated in the Lord’s honour, that beast is consecrated,

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and there is no exchanging better for worse, or worse for better; if he sacrifices one beast in exchange for another, that other is none the less forfeit.

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If it is some unclean beast, which cannot be offered to the Lord in sacrifice, it must be brought before the priest,

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who will fix its value, according as he thinks it to be good or bad of its kind;

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and if the worshipper would pay to redeem it, he must add on a fifth part to this valuation.

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If a man vows to consecrate his house to the Lord, the priest shall examine it and decide its worth. The valuation he makes shall be the price assigned to it,

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and if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover possession of the house.

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If a man vows to consecrate to the Lord some piece of land which is part of his patrimony, it must be valued according to the worth of its yield; if it takes eight bushels to seed it, the price fixed will be fifty silver pieces.

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If he vows the field in the first year of a jubilee period, it must be estimated at its full worth;

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but if some time has passed, then the priest will count up the years still left before the jubilee comes, and will lower the price accordingly.

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And if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover the field.

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If he does not wish to redeem it, and it is sold to some other, the worshipper has no further opportunity of redeeming it;

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and when jubilee time comes round, it will be forfeit to the Lord; a consecrated piece of ground belongs to the priests by right.

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If the piece of land consecrated to the Lord was bought, and not part of the worshipper’s ancestral property,

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then the priest will reckon its value according to the number of years till jubilee time, and the worshipper will pay that sum to the Lord;

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when the jubilee comes, it will go back to its former owner, who sold it, since it is part of his patrimony.

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Every valuation must be made by sanctuary reckoning. The silver piece is worth twenty pence.

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First-born creatures, which belong to the Lord already, cannot be the subject of a vow or a consecration; ox or sheep, it belongs to the Lord by right.

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But if it is the first-born of some unclean animal, thou, the priest, shalt put a value on it; if the worshipper would redeem it, let him pay that price and a fifth besides, if not, let it be sold at the price thou hast reckoned.

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What is forfeit to the Lord, whether man or beast or piece of ground, can neither be sold nor be redeemed; once forfeit, it is set apart for holy uses, consecrated to the Lord.✻

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No human life that is forfeit can be redeemed; death is the only way.

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The tenth part of what the land yields, whether grain crop or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord, and is consecrated to him;

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if anyone would redeem his tithe, he must pay a fifth part besides.

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There will be tithes, too, of oxen and sheep and goats; every tenth beast, as they pass under the herdsman’s rod, must be consecrated to the Lord.

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No choice must be made of good or bad, and there must be no exchanging one beast for another. If any exchange is made, both beasts are forfeit to the Lord, and there is no redemption.

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Such are the commands the Lord gave Moses on mount Sinai, to be proclaimed to the sons of Israel.