A man: this is made more explicit in Good News Translation with “the man who made the vow.” As elsewhere in the book of Leviticus, allowance is made for the person who is financially unable to fulfill the ordinary requirements.

He shall bring the person before the priest: literally “he shall present him before the priest.” This has led some to interpret this as meaning “someone shall bring the person making the vow….” While this is grammatically possible, it is very unlikely and is followed by none of the English versions consulted. The context shows that the priest is to set a price on the person dedicated and not on the one who made the vow.

And the priest shall value him: the context of this statement clearly shows that what is involved is the setting of a value lower than the fixed price stated in verses 3-7. This implicit information is made explicit in Good News Translation‘s “will set a lower price,” and this should probably also be made clear in most 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 .