Numbers 18:15

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to the LORD, both of man and animal shall be your: nevertheless the firstborn of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals shall you redeem.

King James Version
Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord , whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

Lexham English Bible
All the first offspring of a womb of any creature that they offer to Yahweh, whether human or animal, will be yours; you will surely redeem the firstborn of the human and the unclean firstborn of the animal.

New Century Version
The first one born to any family, whether people or animals, will be offered to the Lord . And that will be yours. But you must make a payment for every firstborn child and every firstborn animal that is unclean.

New English Translation
The firstborn of every womb which they present to the Lord , whether human or animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn sons you must redeem, and the firstborn males of unclean animals you must redeem.

Amplified Bible
"Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether it is man or animal, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall most certainly redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

New American Standard Bible
"Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether human or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; however you must redeem the human firstborn, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

Geneva Bible (1587)
All that first openeth the matrice of any flesh, which they shal offer vnto the Lord, of man or beast, shalbe thine: but the first borne of man shalt thou redeeme, and the first borne of the vncleane beast shalt thou redeeme.

Legacy Standard Bible
Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they bring near to Yahweh, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

Contemporary English Version
The first-born son in every Israelite family, as well as the first-born males of their flocks and herds, belong to me. But a first-born son and every first-born donkey must be bought back from me.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Everything that comes first out of the womb, of all living things which they offer to Adonai , whether human or animal, will be yours. However, the firstborn of a human being you must redeem, and the firstborn of an unclean beast you are to redeem.

Darby Translation
Everything that breaketh open the womb of all flesh, which they present to Jehovah, of men or of beasts, shall be thine; nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou in any case ransom, and the firstborn of unclean beasts shalt thou ransom.

Easy-to-Read Version
"A woman's first baby and an animal's first baby must be given to the Lord . That baby will belong to you. If the firstborn animal is unclean, then it must be bought back. If the baby is a child, that child must be bought back.

English Standard Version
Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord , shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

George Lamsa Translation
Everything that opens the womb of all flesh which they offer to the LORD, whether it be of man or beasts, shall be yours; nevertheless the first-born of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shall you redeem.

Good News Translation
"Every first-born child or animal that the Israelites present to me belongs to you. But you must accept payment to buy back every first-born child, and must also accept payment for every first-born animal that is ritually unclean.

Christian Standard Bible®
The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the Lord belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal.

Literal Translation
every one opening a womb of all flesh which they offer to Jehovah, among man and among animal, shall be yours. Only, you shall certainly redeem the first-born of man, and you shall redeem the firstling of the unclean beasts.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
All that breaketh the Matrix amonge all flesh, which they brynge vnto the LORDE, whether it be man or beest, shalbe thine. But so, that thou cause the firstborne of ma to be redemed, and that thou cause the first borne of vncleane beestes to be redemed also

American Standard Version
Everything that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto Jehovah, both of man and beast shall be thine: nevertheless the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

Bible in Basic English
The first birth of every living thing which is offered to the Lord, of man or beast, is to be yours; but for the first sons of man payment is to be made, and for the first young of unclean beasts.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
All that breaketh the matrice in all fleshe that men bryng vnto the Lorde, whether it be of men or beastes, shalbe thyne: Neuerthelater, the first borne of man shalt thou redeeme, & the first borne of vncleane beastes shalt thou redeeme.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Every thing that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the LORD, both of man and beast, shall be thine; howbeit the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

King James Version (1611)
Euery thing that openeth the matrice in all flesh, which they bring vnto the Lord, whether it bee of men or beasts, shall be thine: Neuertheles the first borne of man shalt thou surely redeeme, and the firstling of vncleane beasts shalt thou redeeme.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And every thing that opens the womb of all flesh, whatsoever they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be thine: only the first-born of men shall be surely redeemed, and thou shalt redeem the first-born of unclean cattle.

English Revised Version
Every thing that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the LORD, both of man and beast, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

Berean Standard Bible
The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What euer thing `schal breke out first of the wombe of al fleisch, which fleisch thei offren to the Lord, whether it is of men, ethir of beestis, it schal be of thi riyt; so oneli that thou take prijs for the firste gendrid child of man, and that thou make ech beeste which is vncleene to be bouyt ayen;

Young's Literal Translation
every one opening a womb of all flesh which they bring near to Jehovah, among man and among beast, is thine; only, thou dost certainly ransom the first-born of man, and the firstling of the unclean beast thou dost ransom.

Update Bible Version
Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and beast shall be yours: nevertheless the first-born of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean beasts you shall redeem.

Webster's Bible Translation
Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, [whether] of men or beast, shall be thine: nevertheless, the first born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

World English Bible
Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal shall be your: nevertheless the firstborn of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals shall you redeem.

New King James Version
"Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

New Living Translation
"The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals.

New Life Bible
Every first-born of all flesh, man or animal, which they give to the Lord, will be yours. But you must pay the price and make free the first-born of man and the first-born of animals that are unclean.

New Revised Standard
The first issue of the womb of all creatures, human and animal, which is offered to the Lord , shall be yours; but the firstborn of human beings you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
every thing that is born first of all flesh that may be offered unto Yahweh among men and among beasts, shall be thine, - only thou shalt, redeem, the firstborn of men, and the firstborn of unclean beasts, shalt thou redeem.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Whatsoever is firstborn of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the firstborn of man thou shalt take a price, and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed,

Revised Standard Version
Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the first-born of man you shall redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

Contextual Overview

⁸ God spoke to Aaron, "I am personally putting you in charge of my contributions, all the holy gifts I get from the People of Israel. I am turning them over to you and your children for your personal use. This is the standing rule. You and your sons get what's left from the offerings, whatever hasn't been totally burned up on the Altar—the leftovers from Grain-Offerings, Absolution-Offerings, and Compensation-Offerings. Eat it reverently; it is most holy; every male may eat it. Treat it as holy. ¹¹"You also get the Wave-Offerings from the People of Israel. I present them to you and your sons and daughters as a gift. This is the standing rule. Anyone in your household who is ritually clean may eat it. I also give you all the best olive oil, the best new wine, and the grain that is offered to God as the firstfruits of their harvest—all the firstfruits they offer to God are yours. Anyone in your household who is ritually clean may eat it. ¹⁴"You get every Totally-Devoted gift. Every firstborn that is offered to God , whether animal or person, is yours. Except you don't get the firstborn itself, but its redemption price; firstborn humans and ritually clean animals are bought back and you get the redemption price. When the firstborn is a month old it must be redeemed at the redemption price of five shekels of silver, using the standard of the Sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. ¹⁷"On the other hand, you don't redeem a firstborn ox, sheep, or goat—they are holy. Instead splash their blood on the Altar and burn their fat as a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God . But you get the meat, just as you get the breast from the Wave-Offering and the right thigh. All the holy offerings that the People of Israel set aside for God , I'm turning over to you and your children. That's the standard rule and includes both you and your children—a Covenant-of-Salt, eternal and unchangeable before God ."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

openeth: Numbers 3:13, Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 22:29, Exodus 34:20, Leviticus 27:26

the firstborn: Exodus 13:13, Exodus 34:20, Leviticus 27:27

Reciprocal: Exodus 34:19 - openeth Numbers 3:15 - General Numbers 3:41 - General Numbers 3:46 - redeemed Deuteronomy 12:6 - tithes Deuteronomy 15:19 - thou shalt do Nehemiah 10:36 - the firstborn Luke 2:23 - Every

Cross-References

Genesis 4:9
God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

Genesis 18:27
Abraham came back, "Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?" He said, "I won't destroy it if there are forty-five."

Job 2:10
He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?" Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

Proverbs 12:19
Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow.

Proverbs 28:13
You can't whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

Mark 2:8
Jesus knew right away what they were thinking, and said, "Why are you so skeptical? Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, ‘I forgive your sins,' or say, ‘Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both..." (he looked now at the paraplegic), "Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home." And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then praised God, saying, "We've never seen anything like this!"

John 18:17
The young woman who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, "Aren't you one of this man's disciples?" He said, "No, I'm not."

Colossians 3:9
Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

1 John 1:8
If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh,.... The firstborn of every creature:

which they bring unto the Lord; as they were obliged, he claiming it as his own, Exodus 13:2;

[whether it be] of men or beasts, shall be thine; every firstborn of either, being the Lord's, became the priest's by his gift:

nevertheless, the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem; that is, take the redemption price for it, which was five shekels, as in

Numbers 18:16; for the original proprietor was, strictly speaking, the redeemer, and paid the money, and the priest was the receiver, to whom it was paid; see Exodus 13:13;

and the firstlings of unclean beasts shall thou redeem; with lambs, as an ass, which is put for unclean beasts, is ordered to be redeemed with a lamb, or its neck to be broken, Exodus 13:13; the Africans, the shepherds among them, as Herodotus relates k, of their firstlings they cut off the ear of the beast and throw it over a house, and then turn its neck back, for they worship only the sun and moon; which seems to be an imitation of this law.

k Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 188.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Surely redeem ... redeem - A stronger expression is intentionally used in reference to the redemption of the first-born of man than in reference to that of unclean beasts. For the rule as to the former admitted of no exception: the owner of the latter, if unwilling to redeem, might destroy the beasts. Compare the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 18:15. The first-born of man - and the firstling of unclean beasts — Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with the worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean.