1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible

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Leviticus 27:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, *saying:

Year of the World 2514.
Leviticus 27:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man that shall have made a vow, and promised his soul to God, shall give the price according to estimation.

Estimation. Hebrew is obscure, "Whoever has separated, or made a singular vow; the souls to the Lord according to thy estimation." (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "shall vow as it were the price of a soul to the Lord." (Haydock) --- The person or the beast shall belong to the Lord; but if it be redeemed, the priests shall fix a price, according to the following regulations. Whatever was vowed must be subject to these rules, or it shall remain for the service of the altar. The priests may sell it, if it be an impure animal. Those which were fit for sacrifice, were to be immolated, ver. 9, etc. No change of them was allowed, lest a worse should ever be substituted for a better; (Calmet) and because God is better pleased with things that are offered to him by vow. (Worthington)
Leviticus 27:3 If it be a man from twenty years old unto sixty years old, he shall give fifty sicles of silver, after the weight of the sanctuary:
Leviticus 27:4 If a woman, thirty.
Leviticus 27:5 But from the fifth year until the twentieth, a man shall give twenty sicles: a woman ten.

Fifth. The parents might make a vow of their children. (Menochius)
Leviticus 27:6 From one month until the fifth year, for a male shall be given five sicles: for a female three.
Leviticus 27:7 A man that is sixty years old, or upwards, shall give fifteen sicles: a woman ten.
Leviticus 27:8 If he be poor, and not able to pay the estimation, he shall stand before the priest: and as much as he shall value him at, and see him able to pay, so much shall he give.

The estimation. Hebrew is pointed improperly, "thy estimation;" for the price was fixed already. The priest had leave to reduce it only in favour of the poor. (Houbigant) See ver. 2, and following.
Leviticus 27:9 But a beast, that may be sacrificed to the Lord, if any one shall vow, shall be holy,
Leviticus 27:10 And cannot be changed, that is to say, neither a better for a worse, nor a worse for a better. And if he shall change it: both that which was changed, and that for which it was changed, shall be consecrated to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:11 An unclean beast, which cannot be sacrificed to the Lord, if any man shall vow, shall be brought before the priest:
Leviticus 27:12 Who judging whether it be good or bad, shall set the price:
Leviticus 27:13 Which if he that offereth it will give, he shall add above the estimation, the fifth part.

That offereth it. This addition of the Vulgate shews, that if any other purchased the animal, he would not have to give a fifth part more than the value. That only concerned the person who had made the vow, to punish him for his inconstancy, and that he might not have a desire to get possession again of what he had once consecrated to the Lord. If the beast was valued at 40 sicles, he would therefore have to pay 50. (Calmet)
Leviticus 27:14 If a man shall vow his house, and sanctify it to the Lord, the priest shall consider it, whether it be good or bad, and it shall be sold according to the price which he shall appoint.
Leviticus 27:15 But if he that vowed, will redeem it, he shall give the fifth part of the estimation over and above, and shall have the house.

House. The Rabbins say this fifth part went towards repairing the temple. We may suppose it was laid on to indemnify the priests, for the loss which they sustained by selling a house, or a field, (ver. 16,) to the former owner; since if any other had purchased them, the priests would have been able to sell them again at the return of every jubilee. At that period, even the former proprietor would not obtain a title to possess them for ever; (ver. 21,) and therefore he would not need to pay any more than the stated value. (Tostat) (Calmet)
Leviticus 27:16 And if he vow the field of his possession, and consecrate it to the Lord, the price shall be rated according to the measure of the seed. If the ground be sowed with thirty bushels of barley, let it be sold for fifty sicles of silver.

Possession, or inheritance. If he had only purchased the field, he could not, by his vow, transfer the property of it to the priests beyond the year of jubilee, ver. 22. --- Seed, not of the produce, which is uncertain. The goodness of the soil must also be considered. --- Silver: which rent must be paid every year, except on those of rest, when the earth was not cultivated. (Calmet)
Leviticus 27:17 If he vow his field immediately from the year of jubilee that is beginning, as much as it may be worth, at so much it shall be rated.
Leviticus 27:18 But if some time after: the priest shall reckon the money according to the number of years that remain until the jubilee, and the price shall be abated.
Leviticus 27:19 And if he that had vowed, will redeem his field, he shall add the fifth part of the money of the estimation, and shall possess it.
Leviticus 27:20 And if he will not redeem it, but it be sold to any other man, he that vowed it, may not redeem it any more;
Leviticus 27:21 For when the day of jubilee cometh, it shall be sanctified to the Lord, and as a possession consecrated pertaineth to the right of the priests.

Consecrated. Hebrew, "a field of anathema," devoted and separated from common uses for ever to the Lord. (Haydock) --- Priests. They were bound to sell it from one jubilee to another to some of the same tribe, to which the person, who vowed it, had belonged. (Menochius) --- In the new law, religious people often consecrate themselves and their effects to the service of God; and it would be a sacrilege to alienate them from such pious uses to any thing profane. They are anathema, a deposit of offering to the Lord; while those who violate them, are anathema, accursed. (Haydock) (Tirinus)
Leviticus 27:22 If a field that was bought, and not of a man's ancestors' possession, be sanctified to the Lord,
Leviticus 27:23 The priest shall reckon the price according to the number of years, unto the jubilee: and he that had vowed, shall give that to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:24 But in the jubilee, it shall return to the former owner, who had sold it, and had it in the lot of his possession.
Leviticus 27:25 All estimation shall be made according to the sicle of the sanctuary. *A sicle hath twenty obols.

Exodus 30:13.; Numbers 3:47.; Ezechiel 45:12. 		Obols. Hebrew, "gerah." which were worth 1d.-2687; so that a sicle amounts to 2s. 3d.-375. (Arbuthnot.)
Leviticus 27:26 The first-born, which belong to the Lord, no man may sanctify and vow: whether it be bullock, or sheep, they are the Lord's.

First-born. Septuagint add "of beasts." Men, though belonging to the Lord on that title already, (Exodus 13:2,) might still be more particularly consecrated to him by vow, as Samuel was. (Calmet) --- A vow must be concerning some greater good to which we are not otherwise bound. Such vows are agreeable to God, and can never be broken without sin. See Genesis 31:13 and 1 Timothy 5:12. (Worthington)
Leviticus 27:27 And if it be an unclean beast, he that offereth it shall redeem it, according to thy estimation, and shall add the fifth part of the price. If he will not redeem it, it shall be sold to another, for how much soever it was estimated by thee.

Unclean, either on account of some blemish, or because it is of those species which cannot be sacrificed; such as the horse, camel, etc., which might nevertheless be vowed to the Lord, and sold for the benefit of his priests. --- By thee. Moses and the succeeding priests. Many manuscripts read, with the Septuagint and Chaldean, "by him," leaving the matter to the person's conscience; but the printed Hebrew and Vulgate agree. (Calmet)
Leviticus 27:28 *Any thing that is devoted to the Lord, whether it be man, or beast, or field, shall not be sold, neither may it be redeemed. Whatsoever is once consecrated, shall be holy of holies to the Lord.

Josue 6:17.; Josue 6:25. 		Devoted. Hebrew, "anathema," different from the other vows. In this case all that had life was slain, (or consecrated to God; Haydock) houses were demolished, the land belonged to the priests for ever, so that they could only let it out to laymen for a certain rent. Moses thus devoted the Amalecites to destruction; (Exodus 17:14) and Saul had orders to put in execution what he had denounced, 1 Kings xv. It is doubtful whether people could thus devote their children and slaves. Most authors suppose, that it was necessary that God or the nation at large should pronounce such a sentence, as was done with respect to Achan, Josue viii. See Numbers 21:2 and Judges 11:31. (Calmet)
Leviticus 27:29 And any consecration that is offered by man, shall not be redeemed, but dying shall die.

Die. Grotius says, only public enemies and deserters could be thus devoted. Other men and women were only consecrated for ever to the divine service. (Du Hamel)
Leviticus 27:30 All tithes of the land, whether of corn, or of the fruits of trees, are the Lord's, and are sanctified to him.

Tithes. Abraham and Jacob paid tithes, out of devotion, Genesis xiv. and 28:22. Moses first made a law on this subject, which began to be in force when the Hebrews had obtained quiet possession of Chanaan. The people paid them more exactly when they were determined to keep God's law, and had pious princes at their head, 2 Paralipomenon 31:5. At other times they were very negligent, Malachias 3:10. This forced Esdras to appoint inspectors, Namnim, to collect them. The Pharisees affected a degree of exactitude in this respect, (Luke 11:42 and Matthew 23:23,) paying what some Jews do not suppose to be necessary, though our Saviour says it was. Since the destruction of the temple the Jews pay none. The first-fruits and tithes of wheat, barley, figs, raisins, olives, pomegranates, and dates, were required, though it be not certain what quantity of the first-fruits was given; some say between the 40th and the 60th part of the produce. Wine and wool were also to be offered. The tithes were taken after the first-fruits and the heaved oblations (thorume) were paid. They belonged to the Levites, and these gave a tithe to the priests, Numbers 18:28. See Leviticus 19:24. The Eastern kings required a tithe of their subjects, for the support of their families, 1 Kings 8:15. God does the like, Malachias 3:10. The Persians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, and even the Arabs and Scythians, religiously paid their tithes in honour of their false gods. See Cyrop. iv. and Q. Curtius 4:2.; Herodotus 2:135.; Pliny, [Natural History?] 12:14.; Mela. 2:5, etc. The Romans often consecrate the tithes of their spoils to Hercules, as the Carthaginians did also. The Scythians sent them to Apollo. (Solin 27, etc.) (Calmet) --- Scaliger and Amama dispose the tithes, and the oblations of the Hebrews, in the following order. Supposing a person's annual produce amount to 6000 bushels, an oblation (thorume) of at least 100 was to be made to the priests: out of the remaining 5900, a first tithe of 590 belonged to the Levites, out of which they paid 59 to the priests. The residue, of 5310 bushels, paid a second tithe of 531, to be consumed in feasts in the temple, (a custom which the ancient Christians imitated in their love-feasts, called agape; Calmet) The original produce was thus reduced to 4779 bushels; and both the tithes amounted to 1121 and the oblation to 100. The thorume consisted of flour dressed, and of oil, wine (Amama) and wool, (Calmet) to be given to the priests on the feast of Pentecost, Leviticus 23:15. It could not be less than the 60th part of the produce, (Ezechiel 45:13.) and it was necessary to pay it before any could be used in the family. Hence these oblations are often called first-fruits, and have been confounded with those sheaves which were to be offered at the beginning of harvest. (Amama)
Leviticus 27:31 And if any man will redeem his tithes, he shall add the fifth part of them.

Of them. When the distance from Jerusalem was great, so that a person judged it more convenient to sell his tithes, and with the money purchase more for a feast in Jerusalem, (which the Rabbins call Zudui, Charisterion, grace or thanksgiving) he had to pay something additional, 12, for example, instead of 10. (Scaliger)
Leviticus 27:32 Of all the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and goats, that pass under the shepherd's rod, every tenth that cometh shall be sanctified to the Lord.

Rod; on which was some red colouring, to mark the tenth animal as it passed through a narrow gate. If it was proper for sacrifice, its blood was poured out around the altar, and its flesh was returned to the giver. If it could not be offered in sacrifice, it was slain. The priest received none of the victim, no more than the paschal lamb. (Outram, sac. 1:11.) But a feast was made of flesh for the person's friends, and he gave a portion to the poor and to the Levites. --- The Lord, as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, in which the greatest part of the victim is consumed by the person who offers it. The priests have but a small share, Leviticus 3:(Calmet)
Leviticus 27:33 It shall not be chosen neither good nor bad, neither shall it be changed for another. If any man change it: both that which was changed, and that for which it was changed, shall be sanctified to the Lord, and shall not be redeemed.
Leviticus 27:34 These are the precepts which the Lord commanded Moses, for the children of Israel, in Mount Sinai.

Sinai. The laws specified in the ten first chapters of the following book, were given here also. (Haydock)