Said to Moses: see 4.1.

Say to the people of Israel …: the problem of direct versus indirect discourse is the same here as in the previous passages (see 4.2). The solution should therefore probably be the same.

Makes … vow: the Hebrew may be understood in the sense of making a promise to God or fulfilling such a promise. New Jerusalem Bible has “discharge,” but most versions take it in the sense of promising to God or making a vow rather than fulfilling the vow.

A special vow of persons: according to Judges 11.29-40 and 1 Samuel 1.11, it was possible for a person to dedicate another human being to God. At one time this apparently involved the actual sacrifice of the person involved (as in the case of the daughter of Jephthah in Judges 11). Later it was expected that the person so dedicated would serve in the sanctuary. But this passage shows that such a person could be set free by the payment of money. The following verses indicate the relative value of different types of persons for purposes of redemption.

Your valuation: this expression is used nineteen times in this chapter alone. Originally it referred to the estimate of the priest, but its usage in this chapter as well as the context show that the “estimate” became a more-or-less fixed amount, depending on the age and sex of the person so dedicated. Good News Translation states directly “by the payment of the following sums of money.” This expression also occurs five times in verses 3-7 below, but in some languages it may be better to leave it implicit in the verses that follow, as Good News Translation has done.

Good News Translation also makes explicit the fact that this whole passage concerns the setting free of persons dedicated. The words “that person may be set free…” provide a good model for many other languages.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .