1 And the Lord spoke to Moses 2 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. 3 A man between the ages of twenty and sixty must pay fifty silver pieces by sanctuary reckoning, 4 and a woman of the same age must pay thirty. 5 Between the ages of five and twenty, a boy must pay twenty silver pieces, a girl ten. 6 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. 7 A man of sixty or over will pay fifteen pieces, a woman of the same age ten. 8 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.
1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 2 Loquere filiis Israël, et dices ad eos: Homo qui votum fecerit, et spoponderit Deo animam suam, sub æstimatione dabit pretium. 3 Si fuerit masculus a vigesimo anno usque ad sexagesimum annum, dabit quinquaginta siclos argenti ad mensuram sanctuarii: 4 si mulier, triginta. 5 A quinto autem anno usque ad vigesimum, masculus dabit viginti siclos: femina, decem. 6 Ab uno mense usque ad annum quintum, pro masculo dabuntur quinque sicli: pro femina, tres. 7 Sexagenarius et ultra masculus dabit quindecim siclos: femina, decem. 8 Si pauper fuerit, et æstimationem reddere non valebit, stabit coram sacerdote: et quantum ille æstimaverit, et viderit eum posse reddere, tantum dabit.
9 If anyone vows such a beast as is fit to be immolated in the Lord’s honour, that beast is consecrated, 10 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. 11 If it is some unclean beast, which cannot be offered to the Lord in sacrifice, it must be brought before the priest, 12 who will fix its value, according as he thinks it to be good or bad of its kind; 13 and if the worshipper would pay to redeem it, he must add on a fifth part to this valuation.
9 Animal autem, quod immolari potest Domino, si quis voverit, sanctum erit, 10 et mutari non poterit, id est, nec melius malo, nec pejus bono: quod si mutaverit, et ipsum quod mutatum est, et illud pro quo mutatum est, consecratum erit Domino. 11 Animal immundum, quod immolari Domino non potest, si quis voverit, adducetur ante sacerdotem: 12 qui judicans utrum bonum an malum sit, statuet pretium. 13 Quod si dare voluerit is qui offert, addet supra æstimationem quintam partem.
14 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, 15 and if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover possession of the house.
14 Homo si voverit domum suam, et sanctificaverit Domino, considerabit eam sacerdos utrum bona an mala sit, et juxta pretium, quod ab eo fuerit constitutum, venundabitur: 15 sin autem ille qui voverat, voluerit redimere eam, dabit quintam partem æstimationis supra, et habebit domum.
16 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. 17 If he vows the field in the first year of a jubilee period, it must be estimated at its full worth; 18 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. 19 And if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover the field. 20 If he does not wish to redeem it, and it is sold to some other, the worshipper has no further opportunity of redeeming it; 21 and when jubilee time comes round, it will be forfeit to the Lord; a consecrated piece of ground belongs to the priests by right. 22 If the piece of land consecrated to the Lord was bought, and not part of the worshipper’s ancestral property, 23 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; 24 when the jubilee comes, it will go back to its former owner, who sold it, since it is part of his patrimony. 25 Every valuation must be made by sanctuary reckoning. The silver piece is worth twenty pence.
16 Quod si agrum possessionis suæ voverit, et consecraverit Domino, juxta mensuram sementis æstimabitur pretium: si triginta modiis hordei seritur terra, quinquaginta siclis venundetur argenti. 17 Si statim ab anno incipientis jubilæi voverit agrum, quanto valere potest, tanto æstimabitur. 18 Sin autem post aliquantum temporis, supputabit sacerdos pecuniam juxta annorum, qui reliqui sunt, numerum usque ad jubilæum, et detrahetur ex pretio. 19 Quod si voluerit redimere agrum ille qui voverat, addet quintam partem æstimatæ pecuniæ, et possidebit eum. 20 Sin autem noluerit redimere, sed alteri cuilibet fuerit venundatus, ultra eum qui voverat redimere non poterit. 21 Quia cum jubilæi venerit dies, sanctificatus erit Domino, et possessio consecrata ad jus pertinet sacerdotum. 22 Si ager emptus est, et non de possessione majorum sanctificatus fuerit Domino, 23 supputabit sacerdos juxta annorum numerum usque ad jubilæum, pretium: et dabit ille qui voverat eum, Domino. 24 In jubilæo autem revertetur ad priorem dominum, qui vendiderat eum, et habuerat in sorte possessionis suæ. 25 Omnis æstimatio siclo sanctuarii ponderabitur. Siclus viginti obolos habet.
26 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. 27 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.
26 Primogenita, quæ ad Dominum pertinent, nemo sanctificare poterit et vovere: sive bos, sive ovis fuerit, Domini sunt. 27 Quod si immundum est animal, redimet qui obtulit, juxta æstimationem tuam, et addet quintam partem pretii: si redimere noluerit, vendetur alteri quantocumque a te fuerit æstimatum.
28 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.[1] 29 No human life that is forfeit can be redeemed; death is the only way.
28 Omne quod Domino consecratur, sive homo fuerit, sive animal, sive ager, non vendetur, nec redimi poterit. Quidquid semel fuerit consecratum, Sanctum sanctorum erit Domino: 29 et omnis consecratio, quæ offertur ab homine, non redimetur, sed morte morietur.
30 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; 31 if anyone would redeem his tithe, he must pay a fifth part besides. 32 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. 33 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.
30 Omnes decimæ terræ, sive de frugibus, sive de pomis arborum, Domini sunt, et illi sanctificantur. 31 Si quis autem voluerit redimere decimas suas, addet quintam partem earum. 32 Omnium decimarum bovis et ovis et capræ, quæ sub pastoris virga transeunt, quidquid decimum venerit, sanctificabitur Domino. 33 Non eligetur nec bonum nec malum, nec altero commutabitur, si quis mutaverit: et quod mutatum est, et pro quo mutatum est, sanctificabitur Domino, et non redimetur.
34 Such are the commands the Lord gave Moses on mount Sinai, to be proclaimed to the sons of Israel.
34 Hæc sunt præcepta, quæ mandavit Dominus Moysi ad filios Israël in monte Sinai.
[1] The word ‘forfeit’ is elsewhere used of persons or things placed under a public ban (cf. Num. 21.2-3), and the same custom may be alluded to here. But the bearing of verses 28 and 29 is obscure.
