10 "Laypeople must never eat any holy offering, even if they are visiting a priest or are working for him. 11 But if a priest buys a slave, the slave and anyone born in his household may eat the priest's food. 12 However, if a priest's daughter marries a layman, she must never eat the food taken from the holy contributions. 13 If a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced, doesn't have any children, and comes back to live in her father's home, she may eat her father's food. But a layperson must never eat it.

14 "Those who eat a holy offering by mistake must give another holy offering to the priest and add onefifth more to it. 15 Priests must not dishonor the holy offerings that the Israelites contribute to Yahweh. 16 They must make those people pay the penalty for their guilt because they have eaten the priests' holy offerings. I am Yahweh, who sets them apart as holy."

Animals Accepted for Sacrifice 17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 18 "Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to Yahweh for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings. 19 The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted. 20 Never bring any animal with a physical defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 A person may bring Yahweh a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects. 22 Never bring Yahweh an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give Yahweh any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar. 23 You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow. 24 Never bring Yahweh an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land. 25 Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your Elohim. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect."

26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 27 "When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh. 28 Never slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young the same day.

29 "When you sacrifice a thank offering to Yahweh, do it in the proper way. 30 Eat it the same day. Never leave any of it until morning. I am Yahweh.

31 "Carefully obey my commands. I am Yahweh. 32 Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am Yahweh, who sets you apart as holy. 33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your Elohim. I am Yahweh ."

The Day of Worship 23 1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites: These are the appointed festivals with Yahweh, which you must announce as holy assemblies. 3 You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don't work, a holy assembly. Don't do any work. It is Yahweh's day of worship wherever you live.

4 "The following are Yahweh's appointed festivals with holy assemblies, which you must announce at their appointed times.

The Spring Festivals 5 "The fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, is Yahweh's Passover. 6 The fifteenth day of this same month is Yahweh's Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don't do any regular work. 8 Bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a holy assembly. Don't do any regular work."

9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 10 "Tell the Israelites: When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring the priest a bundle of the first grain you harvest. 11 He will present it to Yahweh so that you will be accepted. He will present it on the day after Passover. 12 On the day you present the bundle, you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13 Bring a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to Yahweh, a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering. 14 Don't eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day, when you bring the offering to your Elohim. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.

15 "Count seven full weeks from the day after Passover (the day you bring the bundle of grain as an offering presented to the LORD) 16 until the day after the seventh week. This is a total of fifty days. Then bring a new grain offering to Yahweh. 17 Bring two loaves of bread from your homes to present to the LORD. Bake them with four quarts of flour. They are the first harvested grain for Yahweh. 18 With the bread bring seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects, one bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to Yahweh. With these offerings also bring grain and wine offerings. They will be a sacrifice by fire, a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 19 Also sacrifice one male goat as an offering for sin and two one-yearold lambs as a fellowship offering. 20 The priest must present them along with the bread of the first harvested grain as an offering to Yahweh. All this, along with the two lambs, will be holy and will belong to Yahweh's priests. 21 Make an announcement that there will be a holy assembly on that same day. Don't do any regular work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.

22 "When you harvest the grain in your land, don't harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you're finished. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. I am Yahweh your Elohim."

The Fall Festivals 23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 24 "Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams' horns. 25 Don't do any regular work. Bring a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh."

26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 27 "In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire. 28 Don't do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you make peace with Yahweh your Elohim. 29 Those who do not humble themselves on that day will be excluded from the people. 30 I will kill those who do any work on that day. 31 Don't do any work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live. 32 It is a day of worship, a day when you don't work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship."

33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 34 "Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to Yahweh. It will last seven days. 35 On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don't do any regular work. 36 For seven consecutive days bring a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Don't do any regular work.

37 "These are Yahweh's appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to Yahweh. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings-each one on its special day. 38 This is in addition to Yahweh's days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to Yahweh.

39 "However, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered what the land produces, celebrate Yahweh's festival for seven days. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals. 40 On the first day take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars, and celebrate in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim for seven days. 41 It is Yahweh's festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a permanent law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month. 42 Live in booths for seven days. Everyone born in Israel must live in booths 43 so that generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim ."

44 So Moses told the Israelites about Yahweh's appointed festivals.

Duties in the Tent of Meeting-Exodus 27:20-21 24 1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 2 "Command the Israelites to bring you pure, virgin olive oil for the lamp stand so that the lamps won't go out. 3 In the tent of meeting, outside the canopy where the words of my promise are, Aaron must keep the lamps lit in Yahweh's presence from evening until morning. It is a permanent law for generations to come. 4 Aaron must keep the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand lit in Yahweh's presence.

5 "Also take flour and bake twelve rings of bread. Each ring will contain four quarts of flour. 6 Put them in two stacks of six each on the gold table in Yahweh's presence. 7 Lay pure incense on top of each stack. The incense on the bread will be a reminder, an offering by fire to Yahweh. 8 Every day of worship a priest must arrange the bread in Yahweh's presence. It is a continual reminder of my promisea to the Israelites. 9 The bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place. It is very holy, set apart from Yahweh's offering by fire. This is a permanent law."

The Man Who Cursed the LORD'S Name 10 A man, whose mother was Shelomith (daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan in Israel) and whose father was from Egypt, got into a quarrel with an Israelite in the camp. 11 The Israelite woman's son began cursing Ha-shem and treating it with contempt. So they brought him to Moses.a 12 They kept him in custody until Yahweh told them what to do.

13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 14 "The man who cursed my name must be taken outside the camp. All who heard him curse my name must lay their hands on his head. Then the whole congregation must stone him to death.

15 "Also tell the Israelites: Those who treat their Elohim with contempt will be punished for their sin. 16 But those who curse Yahweh's name must be put to death. The whole congregation must stone them to death. It makes no difference whether they are Israelites or foreigners. Whoever curses Ha-shem must die.

17 "Whoever kills another person must be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal must replace it, life for life. 19 Whoever injures a neighbor must receive the same injury in return- 20 a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whoever injures another person must receive the same injury in return. 21 Whoever kills an animal must replace it. Whoever kills a person must be put to death. 22 The same rule applies to every one of you. It makes no difference whether you are a foreigner or an Israelite, because I am Yahweh your Elohim ."

23 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. So the man who had cursed Yahweh's name was taken outside the camp. There they stoned him to death. The Israelites did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

The Year to Honor the LORD 25 1 Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Tell the Israelites: When you come into the land I'm giving you, the land will celebrate a year to honor Yahweh. 3 Then, for six years you may plant crops in your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather what they produce. 4 However, the seventh year will be a festival year for the land. It will be a year to honor Yahweh. Don't plant crops in your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Don't harvest what grows by itself or harvest grapes from your vines. That year will be a festival for the land. 6 Whatever the land produces during that year is for all of you to eat-for you, your male and female slaves, your hired workers, foreigners among you, 7 your animals and the wild animals in your land. Everything the land produces will be yours to eat.

The Jubilee for the Land 8 "Count seven of these years seven times for a total of 49 years. 9 On the tenth day of the seventh month, the special day for the payment for sin, sound rams' horns throughout the country. 10 Set apart the fiftieth year as holy, and proclaim liberty to everyone living in the land. This is your jubilee year. Every slave will be freed in order to return to his property and to his family. 11 That fiftieth year will be your jubilee year. Don't plant or harvest what grows by itself or pick grapes from the vines in the land. 12 The jubilee year will be holy to you. You will eat what the field itself produces.

13 "In this jubilee year every slave will be freed in order to return to his property. 14 If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, don't take advantage of him. 15 When you buy property from your neighbor, take into account the number of years since the jubilee. Your neighbor must sell it to you taking into account the number of crops until the next jubilee. 16 If there are still many years until the jubilee, you will pay more for it. If there are only a few years until the jubilee, you will pay less for it because he is selling you only the number of crops. 17 Never take advantage of each other. Fear your Elohim, because I am Yahweh your Elohim.

18 "Obey my laws, and carefully follow my rules. Then you will live securely in the land. 19 The land will give you its products, and you will eat all you want and live there securely. 20 You may ask, 'What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or bring in our crops?' 21 I will give you my blessing in the sixth year so that the land will produce enough for three years. 22 You will plant again in the eighth year but live on what the land already produced. You will eat it, even in the ninth year, until the land produces more.

23 "Land must never be sold permanently, because the land is mine. To me you are strangers without permanent homes. 24 People must always have the right to buy their property back. 25 If your brother becomes poor and sells some of his property, then the one who can assume responsibility, his nearest relative, must buy back what he sold. 26 If a man doesn't have anyone to buy it back for him, but if he prospers and earns enough to buy it back himself, 27 he must count the years from its sale. Then he will pay what is left to the man to whom he sold it, and it will be his property again. 28 However, if he cannot earn enough to buy it back, what he sold stays in the hands of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it will be released, and he will own it again.

29 "If anyone sells a home in a walled city, for one year after selling it he has the right to buy it back. He may buy it back only within that time. 30 If he does not buy it back during that year, the house in the city belongs to the buyer for generations to come. It will not be released in the jubilee. 31 However, houses in villages without walls are regarded as belonging to the fields of the land. They can be bought back. They will be released in the jubilee.

32 "The Levites always have the right to buy back their property in the cities they own. 33 If any Levite buys back a house, in the jubilee the purchased house in the city will be released, because the houses in the Levite cities are their property among the Israelites. 34 But a field that belongs to their cities must not be sold, because it is their permanent property.

The Jubilee for the People 35 "If an Israelite becomes poor and cannot support himself, help him. He must live with you as a stranger without a permanent home. 36 Don't collect interest or make any profit from him. Fear your Elohim by respecting other Israelites' lives. 37 Never collect any kind of interest on your money or on the food you give them. 38 I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of Egypt to give you Canaan and to be your Elohim.

39 "If an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to you, don't work him like a slave. 40 He will be like a hired worker or a visitor to you. He may work with you until the year of jubilee. 41 Then you will release him and his children to go back to their family and the property of their ancestors. 42 They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. They must never be sold as slaves. 43 Do not treat them harshly. Fear your Elohim.

44 "You may have male and female slaves, but buy them from the nations around you. 45 You may also buy them from the foreigners living among you and from their families born in your country. They will be your property. 46 You may acquire them for yourselves and for your descendants as permanent property. You may work them as slaves. However, do not treat the Israelites harshly. They are your relatives.

47 "Someone who is a foreigner without a permanent home among you may become rich, and your relative living with him may be poor. The poor Israelite may sell himself to that foreigner or a member of his family. 48 After he has sold himself, he has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers may buy him back. 49 His uncle, his cousin, or some other relative could also buy him back. If he becomes rich, he could buy his own freedom. 50 Then he and his buyer must take into account the number of years from the year he was bought until the year of jubilee. His sale price will be adjusted based on the number of years he was with his buyer, like the wages of a hired worker. 51 If there are many years left, he must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 52 If there are only a few years left until the year of jubilee, he must take them into account. He must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 53 During those years he should serve his buyer as a hired worker. His buyer should not treat him harshly. 54 If he cannot buy his freedom in these ways, he and his children will be released in the year of jubilee.

55 "The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim ."

HA-SHEM.

THE NAME.

Shem is the Hebrew word for "name" (the "Ha" before it is the definite article). The Bible speaks of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem as the place where God's name would dwell-the place where his people could pray and be heard.

God's name is associated with his glory, power, holiness, protection, trust, and love. To call on his name is to call on his presence. To act in his name is to act with his authority. To fight in his name is to fight with his power. To pray to his name is to pray to him. In fact, the very first mention of prayer in the Bible appears in Genesis 4:26: "At that time people began to invoke the name of the LORD" (NRSV). Though we are to exalt God's name and proclaim it to the nations, it is also possible to dishonor it, which is the same as dishonoring him. God's name is his reputation.

Though God's name is holy and powerful, it cannot be invoked as a magic formula. Rather, his name becomes powerful whenever it is uttered by men and women who are exercising their faith in God.

Jesus taught his own disciples to pray by saying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. . ." (Matthew 6:9 ESV, emphasis added). Jesus also promised to do whatever we ask in his name. Philippians 2:9-10 affirms that God has exalted Jesus and given him "the name that is above every name" (NIV).

When we pray to Ha-shem (ha-SHEM), we are praying to the holy God who dwells in our midst, hearing and answering our prayers.

Praying to Ha-shem In the category of "What will they think up next?" comes a new translation service that will check on prospective baby names in a variety of languages. For a little over $1,600, you can protect your children from being embarrassed in the event they ever become world travelers.

Not long ago, musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale named their son Zuma, great sounding in Arabic because it means "peace," but not so great in the Aztec language of Nahuatl, because it means "Lord frowns in anger." Speaking of frowning, I should point out that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might not be too happy to learn that their daughter Suri's name means "turned sour" in French, "pickpocket" in Japanese, and "horse mackerels" in Italian.a Though most of us pay little attention to the meaning of names-our own or others'-in the biblical world a person's name often carried great meaning, signifying their essential character or touching on their story. The Bible is full of such names: Nabal, whose name means "fool," certainly acted like one; Isaac, whose name means laughter, was born to a ninety-year-old woman who must certainly have laughed as she thought about God's ability to keep even the most incredible of promises.

This equation of name with character is nowhere more evident than in the names and titles attributed to God in Scripture. To know God's name is to enjoy privileged access to him. When you know his name, you know something very basic-you know who to pray to whenever you need help.

By revealing his name, God was inviting his people into relationship with him. But this was a risky venture, because they could choose to live in ways that either honored his name or dishonored it. The same is true today. Dishonoring God's name is like pasting a Christian bumper sticker on your car and then driving like a maniac or like invoking God's name and then being indicted for bribery. Remember the commandment that forbids us from taking God's name in vain? Cursing is an obvious way of breaking it. But living in a way that contradicts God's character is also taking God's name in vain.

As you think about God's Name, his Hashem, thank him for revealing himself to you, for calling you into relationship, and for inviting you to call upon his Name.

Lord, teach me what it means to honor you as Ha-shem, to call upon, rely upon, and praise your holy Name. Never let me take your Name in vain but help me to remember that I am called to live in a way that glorifies your Name.

Promises Associated with the Name HA-SHEM.

Because you love me, I will rescue you.

I will protect you because you know my name.

When you call to me, I will answer you.

I will be with you when you are in trouble.

I will save you and honor you. (Psalm 91:14-15) Turn toward me, and have pity on me as you have pledged to do for those who love your name. (Psalm 119:132)

God's Promises for Those Who Keep His Laws 26 1 The LORD continued, "Never make worthless idols or set up a carved statue or a sacred stone for yourselves. Never cut figures in stone to worship them in your country, because I am Yahweh your Elohim. 2 Observe my days of worship and respect my holy tent. I am Yahweh.

3 "This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands: 4 "I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit. 5 Threshinga time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.

6 "I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and you will defeat them. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies, 9 and I will be pleased with you. Your families will be large, and I will keep my promiseb to you. 10 You will clear out old food supplies to make room for new ones.

11 "I will put my tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust. 12 So I will live among you and be your Elohim, and you will be my people. 13 I am Yahweh your Elohim. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.

God's Curses for Those Who Break His Laws 14 "If you will not listen to me and obey all these commands, 15 if you reject my laws and look at my rules with disgust, if you reject my promise by disobeying my commands, 16 then this is what I will do to you: I will terrorize you with disease and fever. You will suffer from eye problems and depression. You will plant your crops and get nothing because your enemies will eat them. 17 I will condemn you so that you will go down in defeat in front of your enemies. Those who hate you will be your rulers. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.

18 "If you still will not listen to me, I will discipline you seven times for your sins. 19 I will crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement. 20 You will work hard for nothing because your land will produce no crops and the trees will produce no fruit.

21 "If you resist and don't listen to me, I will increase the punishment for your sins seven times. 22 I will send wild animals among you. They will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you so few that your roads will be deserted.

23 "If this discipline does not help and you still resist, 24 then I, too, will resist you. I will punish you seven times for your sins. 25 I will bring war on you to get revenge for my promise that you rejected. When you gather in your cities, I will send plagues on you and you will fall under the control of your enemy. 26 I will destroy your food supply. Ten women will need only one oven to prepare your food. You will eat and go away hungry.

27 "If in spite of this you do not listen to me and still resist me, 28 I will fiercely resist you. I will discipline you seven times for your sins. 29 You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters. 30 I will destroy your worship sites, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on top of your dead idols. I will look at you with disgust. 31 I will make your cities deserted and ruin your sacred places. I will no longer accept the soothing aroma from your sacrifices. 32 I will make your land so deserted that your enemies will be shocked as they settle in it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations. War will follow you. Your country will be in ruins. Your cities will be deserted.

34 "Then the land will enjoy its time to honor the LORD while it lies deserted and you are in your enemies' land. Then the land will joyfully celebrate its time to honor the LORD. 35 All the days it lies deserted, it will celebrate the time to honor the LORD it never celebrated while you lived there. 36 I will fill with despair those who are left in the land of their enemies. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them. 37 They will stumble over each other, but no one will be after them. They will not be able to stand up to their enemies. 38 They will be destroyed among the nations. The land of their enemies will devour them. 39 Those who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors.

God Will Remember His Promise 40 "But if they confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors-the treacherous things they did to oppose me- 41 I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt, 42 I will remember my promise to Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. I will also remember the land. 43 The land, abandoned by them, will enjoy its time to honor the LORD while it lies deserted without them. They must accept their guilt because they rejected my rules and looked at my laws with disgust. 44 Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or look at them with disgust. I will not reject or cancel my promise to them, because I am Yahweh their Elohim. 45 But for their sake, I will remember the promise to their ancestors. I brought them out of Egypt to be their Elohim while nations looked on. I am Yahweh."

46 These are the laws, rules, and instructions that Yahweh gave to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Special Vows 27 1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites: If any of you makes a special vow to give a person to Yahweh, you may give money instead of the person. 3 The amount you must give for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 20 ounces of silver. Use the standard weight of the holy place. 4 If it is a woman, give 12 ounces. 5 For a boy from 5 to 20 years old, give 8 ounces and for a girl give 4 ounces. 6 For a boy from one month to five years old, give 2 ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce. 7 For a man 60 years or over, give 6 ounces and for a woman give 4 ounces. 8 But the person who is too poor to pay the required amount must stand in front of the priest. The priest will determine the amount based on what the person can afford.

9 "If the vow is to give the kind of animal that people offer to Yahweh, it will be considered holy. 10 Don't exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you do exchange one animal for another, then both animals will be holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal that cannot be brought to Yahweh as an offering, bring it in front of the priest. 12 The priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. 13 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus onefifth more.

14 "If you give your house to Yahweh as something holy, the priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. 15 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus onefifth more.

16 "If a person gives part of a field to Yahweh as something holy, its value will be based on the seed planted on it. Ground planted with 2 quarts of barley will be worth 20 ounces of silver. 17 If you give your field in the jubilee year, it will have its full value. 18 But if you give the field after the jubilee year, the priest will estimate its value based on the number of years left until the next jubilee year. 19 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus onefifth more. 20 But if you don't buy it back and it is sold to someone else, you cannot buy it back. 21 When the field is released in the jubilee year, it will be holy like a field claimed by Yahweh. It will become the property of the priest. 22 You may give a field you bought (not one that was a part of your family property) to Yahweh as something holy. 23 The priest must figure out the field's value until the jubilee year. You will pay its value on that day as something holy, belonging to Yahweh. 24 In the jubilee year the field will go back to the person from whom it was bought, to whom it belongs as family property.

25 "All values will be set using the standard weight of the holy place.a 26 "A firstborn animal already belongs to Yahweh because it was born first. Therefore, it cannot be set apart as holy. Whether it is a bull or a sheep, it belongs to Yahweh. 27 But if it is an unclean animal, it must be bought back. The payment will be its full value plus onefifth more. If it is not bought back, it must be sold at the value given it.

28 "However, everything dedicated to Yahweh for destruction-a person, an animal, or a field that belongs to you-must not be sold or bought back. Everything dedicated in that way is very holy. It belongs to Yahweh. 29 People dedicated this way cannot be bought back. They must be put to death.

30 "One-tenth of what comes from the land, whether grain or fruit, is holy and belongs to Yahweh. 31 If you buy back any part of it, you must add onefifth more to it. 32 Every tenth head of cattle or sheep that you counted is holy and belongs to Yahweh. 33 You must not look to see if it is good or bad or exchange it. But if you do exchange it, both the first animal and its substitute will be holy. They cannot be bought back."

34 These are the commands Yahweh gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

a Kylie MacLellan, "What's in a Name? More Than You Might Think," http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091117/india_nm/india440192 (accessed November 17, 2009).

a 2:13 Or "covenant."

a 4:12 "Clean" refers to anything that is presentable to God.

a 5:2 "Unclean" refers to anything that is not presentable to God.

a 6:1 Leviticus 6:1-30 in English Bibles is Leviticus 5:20-6:23 in the Hebrew Bible.

a 8:7 Ephod is a technical term for part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

b 8:8 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God's answer to questions.

a 10:10 "Clean" refers to anything that is presentable to God. "Unclean" refers to anything that is not presentable to God.

a 14:30 Greek, Syriac; Masoretic Text repeats "whichever he can afford."