Leviticus 27:26

26 " 'However, a man shall not consecrate a firstborn among livestock, which belongs as firstborn to Yahweh; whether an ox {or} small livestock, it is for Yahweh.

Leviticus 27:26 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 27:26

Only the firstlings of the beasts
These are excepted from being sanctified, or set apart for sacred uses, for a very good reason, suggested in the next clause:

which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it;
it being what he has a claim upon, and ordered to be sanctified to him by a law previous to this, ( Exodus 13:2 ) ; wherefore to sanctify such a creature, would be to sanctify what was his before; not merely in a general sense, in which all creatures are his, but in a special sense, having in a peculiar manner required it as his; and therefore to sanctify, or vow to him, what was his before, must be trifling with him, and mocking of him:

whether [it be] ox, or sheep;
the firstlings of either of them:

it [is] the Lord's;
which he has claimed as his own special and peculiar property, antecedent to any vow of its owner.

Leviticus 27:26 In-Context

24 In the Year of the Jubilee the field shall return to the one who bought it from him, to the one whose property the land [is].

25 And every proper value of yours shall be in the sanctuary's shekel--the shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

26 " 'However, a man shall not consecrate a firstborn among livestock, which belongs as firstborn to Yahweh; whether an ox {or} small livestock, it is for Yahweh.

27 And if [it is] among the unclean animals, then he shall ransom [it] according to your proper value, and he shall add a fifth of its [value] onto it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your proper value.

28 However, anything devoted that a man has devoted to Yahweh {from all that he has}, from human or animal, or from the field of his property, may not be sold, and it may not be redeemed; anything devoted [is] {a most holy thing} for Yahweh.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "whether" or "if"