Malachi 1:8

1:8 For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, ¹  is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them ²  to your governor! Will he be pleased with you ³  or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 1:13

1:13 You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” ⁴  asks the Lord.

Leviticus 5:15-16

5:15 “When a person commits a trespass ⁵  and sins by straying unintentionally ⁶  from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, ⁷  then he must bring his penalty for guilt ⁸  to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, ⁹  for a guilt offering. ¹⁰  5:16 And whatever holy thing he violated ¹¹  he must restore and must add one fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ¹²  on his behalf with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven.” ¹³ 

Leviticus 27:2-34

27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When a man makes a special votive offering ¹⁴  based on the conversion value of persons to the Lord, ¹⁵  27:3 the conversion value of the male ¹⁶  from twenty years old up to sixty years old ¹⁷  is fifty shekels by the standard of the sanctuary shekel. ¹⁸  27:4 If the person is a female, the conversion value is thirty shekels. 27:5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the conversion value of the male is twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 27:6 If the person is one month old up to five years old, the conversion value of the male is five shekels of silver, ¹⁹  and for the female the conversion value is three shekels of silver. 27:7 If the person is from sixty years old and older, if he is a male the conversion value is fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 27:8 If he is too poor to pay the conversion value, he must stand the person before the priest and the priest will establish his conversion value; ²⁰  according to what the man who made the vow can afford, ²¹  the priest will establish his conversion value.

Redemption of Vowed Animals

27:9 “‘If what is vowed is a kind of animal from which an offering may be presented ²²  to the Lord, anything which he gives to the Lord from this kind of animal ²³  will be holy. 27:10 He must not replace or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good, and if he does indeed exchange one animal for another animal, then both the original animal ²⁴  and its substitute will be holy. 27:11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest, 27:12 and the priest will establish its conversion value, ²⁵  whether good or bad. According to the assessed conversion value of the priest, thus it will be. 27:13 If, however, the person who made the vow redeems the animal, ²⁶  he must add one fifth to ²⁷  its conversion value.

Redemption of Vowed Houses

27:14 “‘If a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will establish its conversion value, whether good or bad. Just as the priest establishes its conversion value, thus it will stand. ²⁸  27:15 If the one who consecrates it redeems his house, he must add to it one fifth of its conversion value in silver, and it will belong to him. ²⁹ 

Redemption of Vowed Fields

27:16 “‘If a man consecrates to the Lord some of his own landed property, the conversion value must be calculated in accordance with the amount of seed needed to sow it, ³⁰  a homer of barley seed being priced at fifty shekels of silver. ³¹  27:17 If he consecrates his field in the jubilee year, ³²  the conversion value will stand, 27:18 but if ³³  he consecrates his field after the jubilee, the priest will calculate the price ³⁴  for him according to the years that are left until the next jubilee year, and it will be deducted from the conversion value. 27:19 If, however, the one who consecrated the field redeems it, ³⁵  he must add to it one fifth of the conversion price ³⁶  and it will belong to him. ³⁷  27:20 If he does not redeem the field, but sells ³⁸  the field to someone else, he may never redeem it. 27:21 When it reverts ³⁹  in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field; ⁴⁰  it will become the priest’s property. ⁴¹ 

27:22 “‘If he consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased, ⁴²  which is not part of his own landed property, 27:23 the priest will calculate for him the amount of its conversion value until the jubilee year, and he must pay ⁴³  the conversion value on that jubilee day as something that is holy to the Lord. 27:24 In the jubilee year the field will return to the one from whom he bought it, the one to whom it belongs as landed property. 27:25 Every conversion value must be calculated by the standard of the sanctuary shekel; ⁴⁴  twenty gerahs to the shekel.

Redemption of the Firstborn

27:26 “‘Surely no man may consecrate a firstborn that already belongs to the Lord as a firstborn among the animals; whether it is an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord. ⁴⁵  27:27 If, however, ⁴⁶  it is among the unclean animals, he may ransom it according to ⁴⁷  its conversion value and must add one fifth to it, but if it is not redeemed it must be sold according to its conversion value.

Things Permanently Dedicated to the Lord

27:28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord ⁴⁸  from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord. 27:29 Any human being who is permanently dedicated ⁴⁹  must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.

Redemption of the Tithe

27:30 “‘Any tithe ⁵⁰  of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 27:31 If a man redeems ⁵¹  part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it. ⁵²  27:32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord. ⁵³  27:33 The owner ⁵⁴  must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it, ⁵⁵  both the original animal ⁵⁶  and its substitute will be holy. ⁵⁷  It must not be redeemed.’”

Final Colophon

27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites ⁵⁸  at Mount Sinai.

Numbers 18:21-32

18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting. 18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin ⁵⁹  and die. 18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ⁶⁰  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ⁶¹  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ⁶²  have no inheritance. ⁶³  18:24 But I have given ⁶⁴  to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered ⁶⁵  to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”

Instructions for the Levites

18:25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:26 “You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up ⁶⁶  from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe. 18:27 And your raised offering will be credited ⁶⁷  to you as though it were grain from the threshing floor or as new wine ⁶⁸  from the winepress. 18:28 Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest. 18:29 From all your gifts you must offer up every raised offering due ⁶⁹  the Lord, from all the best of it, and the holiest part of it.’ ⁷⁰ 

18:30 “Therefore you will say to them, ⁷¹  ‘When you offer up ⁷²  the best of it, then it will be credited to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor and as the product of the winepress. 18:31 And you may ⁷³  eat it in any place, you and your household, because it is your wages for your service in the tent of meeting. 18:32 And you will bear no sin concerning it when you offer up the best of it. And you must not profane the holy things of the Israelites, or else you will die.’” ⁷⁴ 

Joshua 7:11

7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ⁷⁵  They have taken some of the riches; ⁷⁶  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ⁷⁷ 

Nehemiah 13:4-14

13:4 But prior to this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been appointed over the storerooms ⁷⁸  of the temple of our God. 13:5 He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping ⁷⁹  the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers, and the offering for the priests.

13:6 During all this time I was not in Jerusalem, ⁸⁰  for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time ⁸¹  I had requested leave of the king, 13:7 and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God. 13:8 I was very upset, and I threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the storeroom. 13:9 Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment ⁸²  of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense.

13:10 I also discovered that the grain offerings for the Levites had not been provided, and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed this work had all gone off to their fields. 13:11 So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. ⁸³ 

13:12 Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms. 13:13 I gave instructions ⁸⁴  that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of ⁸⁵  the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, ⁸⁶  for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. ⁸⁷ 

13:14 Please remember me for this, O my God, and do not wipe out the kindness that I have done for the temple of my God and for its services!

Romans 2:22

2:22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor ⁸⁸  idols, do you rob temples?

[1:8]  ¹ sn Offerings of animals that were lame or sick were strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law (see Deut 15:21).

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “it” (so NAB, NASB). Contemporary English more naturally uses a plural pronoun to agree with “the lame and sick” in the previous question (cf. NIV, NCV).

[1:8]  ³ tc The LXX and Vulgate read “with it” (which in Hebrew would be הֲיִרְצֵהוּ, hayirtsehu, a reading followed by NAB) rather than “with you” of the MT (הֲיִרְצְךָ, hayirtsÿkha). The MT (followed here by most English versions) is to be preferred because of the parallel with the following phrase פָנֶיךָ (fanekha, “receive you,” which the present translation renders as “show you favor”).

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, ma’al); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see further below). See the note on Lev 10:10.

[5:15]  ⁸ tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”

[5:15]  ⁹ sn Heb “from the holy things of the Lord.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the Lord.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:320-27).

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (’asham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).

[5:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81).

[5:15]  ¹² tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.

[5:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”

[5:16]  ¹¹ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[5:16]  ¹² tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[27:2]  ¹³ tn Cf. the note on Lev 22:21. Some take this as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be remarkable”), cf. Milgrom, Numbers [JPSTC], 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה, palah, “to set aside”). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice is a special gift to God that arose out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.

[27:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in your valuation, persons to the Lord,” but “in your valuation” is a frozen form and, therefore, the person (“your”) does not figure into the translation (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 73). Instead of offering a person to the Lord one could redeem that person with the appropriate amount of money delineated in the following verses (see the note on Lev 5:15 above and the explanation in Hartley, 480-81).

[27:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your conversion value shall be [for] the male.”

[27:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from a son of twenty years and until a son of sixty years.”

[27:3]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on Lev 5:15.

[27:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “five shekels silver.”

[27:8]  ²² tn Heb “and the priest shall cause him to be valued.”

[27:8]  ²³ tn Heb “on the mouth which the hand of the one who vowed reaches.”

[27:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “which they may present from it an offering.” The plural active verb is sometimes best rendered in the passive (GKC 460 §144.f, g). Some medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, a ms of the Targum, and the Vulgate all have the singular verb instead (cf. similarly v. 11).

[27:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from it.” The masculine suffix “it” here is used for the feminine in the MT, but one medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of Smr, the LXX, and the Syriac have the feminine. The referent (this kind of animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the priest shall cause it to be valued.” See the note on v. 8 above.

[27:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. The referent of “he” (the person who made the vow) and “it” (the animal) have both been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “on,” meaning “on top of, in addition to” (likewise in v. 15).

[27:14]  ³⁷ tn The expression “it shall stand” may be a technical term for “it shall be legally valid”; cf. NLT “assessment will be final.”

[27:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and it shall be to him.”

[27:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a conversion value shall be to the mouth of its seed.”

[27:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “seed of a homer of barley in fifty shekels of silver.”

[27:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “from the year of the jubilee.” For the meaning of “jubilee,” see the note on Lev 25:10 above.

[27:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And if.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here.

[27:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the silver.”

[27:19]  ⁵² tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems [finite verb] the field, the one who consecrated it.” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[27:19]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the silver of the conversion value.”

[27:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and it shall rise to him.” See HALOT 1087 s.v. קום 7 for the rendering offered here, but see also the note on the end of v. 14 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 476, 478).

[27:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and if he sells.”

[27:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34).

[27:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “like the field of the permanent dedication.” The Hebrew word חֵרֶם (kherem) is a much discussed term. In this and the following verses it refers in a general way to the fact that something is permanently devoted to the Lord and therefore cannot be redeemed (cf. v. 20b). See J. A. Naudé, NIDOTTE 2:276-77; N. Lohfink, TDOT 5:180-99, esp. pp. 184, 188, and 198-99; and the numerous explanations in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 483-85.

[27:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”

[27:22]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “his field of purchase,” which is to be distinguished from his own ancestral “landed property” (cf. v. 16 above).

[27:23]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “give” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT).

[27:25]  ⁶⁷ tn See the note on Lev 5:15.

[27:26]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “to the Lord it is.”

[27:27]  ⁷³ tn Heb “And if.”

[27:27]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “in” or “by.”

[27:28]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated [thing] which a man shall permanently dedicate to the Lord.” The Hebrew term חֵרֶם (kherem) refers to things that are devoted permanently to the Lord (see the note on v. 21 above).

[27:29]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “permanently dedicated from among men.”

[27:30]  ⁸² tn On the “tithe” system in Israel, see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:1035-55 and esp. pp. 1041-42 on Lev 27:30-33.

[27:31]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] a man redeems [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[27:31]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “its one fifth on it.”

[27:32]  ⁸⁸ sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 485, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 200).

[27:33]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:33]  ⁹² tn Heb “And if exchanging [infinitive absolute] he exchanges it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[27:33]  ⁹³ tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:33]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “it shall be and its substitute shall be holy.”

[27:34]  ⁹⁴ tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus.

[18:22]  ⁹⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.

[18:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ¹⁰¹ sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ¹⁰³ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.

[18:24]  ¹⁰³ tn The classification of the perfect tense here too could be the perfect of resolve, since this law is declaring what will be their portion – “I have decided to give.”

[18:24]  ¹⁰⁴ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject (although the “Israelites” is certainly intended), and so it can be rendered as a passive.

[18:26]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The verb in this clause is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it has the same force as an imperfect of instruction: “when…then you are to offer up.”

[18:27]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The verb is חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon; to count; to think”); it is the same verb used for “crediting” Abram with righteousness. Here the tithe of the priests will be counted as if it were a regular tithe.

[18:27]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “fullness,” meaning the fullness of the harvest, i.e., a full harvest.

[18:29]  ¹¹² tn The construction is “every raised offering of the Lord”; the genitive here is probably to be taken as a genitive of worth – the offering that is due the Lord.

[18:29]  ¹¹³ tn Or “its hallowed thing.”

[18:30]  ¹¹⁵ tn The wording of this verse is confusing; it may be that it is addressed to the priests, telling them how to deal with the offerings of the Levites.

[18:30]  ¹¹⁶ tn The clause begins with the infinitive construct with its preposition and suffixed subject serving to indicate the temporal clause.

[18:31]  ¹¹⁸ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of permission.

[18:32]  ¹²¹ tn The final clause could also be rendered “in order that you do not die.” The larger section can also be interpreted differently; rather than take it as a warning, it could be taken as an assurance that when they do all of this they will not be profaning it and so will not die (R. K. Harrison, Numbers [WEC], 253).

[7:11]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[13:4]  ¹²⁷ tc The translation reads the plural rather than the singular of the MT.

[13:5]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “giving.”

[13:6]  ¹³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:6]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “to the end of days.”

[13:9]  ¹³⁶ tn On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.

[13:11]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “and I stood them on their standing.”

[13:13]  ¹⁴² tc Probably one should read with the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וָאֲצַוֶּה (va’atsavveh, “and I commanded”) rather than the rare denominative verb וָאוֹצְרָה (va’otsÿrah, “and I appointed over the storeroom”) of the MT.

[13:13]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “be over”

[13:13]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “on their hand.”

[13:13]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[2:22]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Or “detest.”