He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it. If he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”
- BSB He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’”
- NKJV He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’ ”
- NASB He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’ ”
- NLT You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy and cannot be bought back.”
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
The owner was not to sort the tithed animals by quality or swap them; any substitution made both animals holy. This guarded the tithe from manipulation.
Overview
By forbidding inspection or exchange of the tithed animal, the law prevented the owner from holding back the best for himself. Attempting to swap one animal for another only forfeited both to the LORD as holy. This protects the integrity of giving and exposes the heart's tendency to offer God less than our best, a temptation the gospel of grace overcomes by transforming the will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Lev 27:10He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.
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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 27:33 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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