“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your valuation,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man consecrates a person to Yahweh in a vow, according to your valuation,
- KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.
- BSB “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
- NASB “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord.
- NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the Lord by paying the value of that person,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God gives rules for vows in which a person is consecrated to the LORD by a set valuation. Voluntary devotion to God must be handled faithfully.
Overview
Israelites could vow themselves or others to God's service; since most could not literally serve at the sanctuary, a monetary valuation allowed the vow to be honored. This shows that vows were voluntary but, once made, binding before God. It teaches the seriousness of our commitments to the Lord and the care He takes that they be kept.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Num 6:2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh,
- 1 Sam 1:28Therefore I have also given him to Yahweh. As long as he lives he is given to Yahweh.” He worshiped Yahweh there.
- Judg 11:39At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. She was a virgin. It was a custom in Israel
- Deut 23:21–23When you vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it; for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.
- Judg 11:30–31Jephthah vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
- 1 Sam 1:11She vowed a vow, and said, “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.”
- Gen 28:20–22Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,
- Num 30:3“Also when a woman vows a vow to Yahweh, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth,
- Eccl 5:4–5When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow.
- Num 21:2Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 27:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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