“‘ But nothing a person owns and sets apart to the Lord can be sold or bought back. It does not matter whether it is a human being or an animal or a family’s land. Everything set apart to the Lord is very holy to him.

“但一切永献的，就是人从他所有永献给耶和华的，无论是人，是牲畜，是他承受为业的地，都不可卖，也不可赎。凡永献的是归给耶和华为至圣。

“但一切永献作当灭的，就是人从他所有永献给耶和华作当灭的，无论是人，是牲畜，是他继承的田地，都不可卖，也不可赎。凡永献作当灭的都归耶和华为至圣。

“但一切永献作当灭的，就是人从他所有永献给耶和华作当灭的，无论是人，是牲畜，是他继承的田地，都不可卖，也不可赎。凡永献作当灭的都归耶和华为至圣。

凡永远献上的，不论是人、牲畜或是田产，都不可卖掉，也不可赎回，因为这一切都属于耶和华，是至圣的。

“一切永属耶和华的圣物，就是人永献给耶和华的物，无论是人或是牲畜，或是他承受作产业的田地，都不可以变卖，也不可以赎回；一切永献之物都是归耶和华为至圣的。

「但一切永獻的，就是人從他所有永獻給耶和華的，無論是人，是牲畜，是他承受為業的地，都不可賣，也不可贖。凡永獻的是歸給耶和華為至聖。

「但一切永獻作當滅的，就是人從他所有永獻給耶和華作當滅的，無論是人，是牲畜，是他繼承的田地，都不可賣，也不可贖。凡永獻作當滅的都歸耶和華為至聖。

「但一切永獻作當滅的，就是人從他所有永獻給耶和華作當滅的，無論是人，是牲畜，是他繼承的田地，都不可賣，也不可贖。凡永獻作當滅的都歸耶和華為至聖。

凡永遠獻上的，不論是人、牲畜或是田產，都不可賣掉，也不可贖回，因為這一切都屬於耶和華，是至聖的。

“一切永屬耶和華的聖物，就是人永獻給耶和華的物，無論是人或是牲畜，或是他承受作產業的田地，都不可以變賣，也不可以贖回；一切永獻之物都是歸耶和華為至聖的。

『惟獨各樣的永獻物、就是人從他所有的永獻與永恆主、無論是人、是牲口、或是承受為產業的田地、都不可賣，也不可贖回；各樣的永獻物都是至聖、屬於永恆主的。

凡獻於耶和華之物、無論人畜田畝、俱不得鬻、亦不得贖、凡所獻者、乃為至聖、屬於耶和華、

凡獻我之物、無論人畜田畝、俱不得鬻、亦不得贖、

惟人所永獻於主者、無論人畜田業、悉不得鬻、亦不得贖、凡永獻者、乃至聖歸於主、

“‘ But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the Lord— whether a human being or an animal or family land— may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.

“ But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.

“ However, anything specially set apart for the Lord— whether a person, an animal, or family property— must never be sold or bought back. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart as holy, and it belongs to the Lord.

“ Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the LORD from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the LORD.

‘ Nevertheless, anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord.

‘ Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord.

Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Jehovah.

“ Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the Lord from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the Lord.

Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath,[ both] of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing[ is] most holy unto the LORD.

“‘ Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the LORD 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.

“‘ Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man devotes to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Everything that is permanently devoted is most holy to Yahweh.

The city and everything in it must be set apart to the Lord to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those with her in her house must be spared. That’s because she hid the spies we sent.But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed.All the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all the things made out of bronze and iron. All those things must be added to the treasures kept in the Lord’ s house.”

But what about the cities the Lord your God is giving you as your own? Kill everything that breathes in those cities.Completely destroy them. Wipe out the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. That’s what the Lord your God commanded you to do.

“ Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.

When the field is set free in the Year of Jubilee, it will become holy. It will be like a field set apart to the Lord. It will become the property of the priests.

The Lord your God will give you peace and rest from all the enemies around you. He’ll do this in the land he’s giving you to take over as your very own. No one on earth will mention the Amalekites ever again because you will destroy them. Do not forget!

“ Then he will say to those on his left,‘ You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. You must destroy it completely. You must wipe out its people and livestock.You must gather all the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. You must burn the town completely. You must burn up everything in it. It’s a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a pile of stones forever. It must never be built again.

All who depend on obeying the law are under a curse. It is written,“ May everyone who doesn’t continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law be under God’s curse.”( Deuteronomy 27:26)

But the Israelites weren’t faithful to the Lord. They didn’t destroy what had been set apart to him. So they did not do what they had been told to do. Achan had taken some of those things. So the Lord became very angry with Israel. Achan was the son of Karmi. Karmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Achan and all his relatives were from the tribe of Judah.

But we can’t give them our daughters to be their wives. We Israelites have made a promise. We’ve said,‘ May anyone who gives a wife to a man from Benjamin be under the Lord’ s curse.’

Then the Israelites asked,“ Has anyone failed to come here in front of the Lord? Is anyone missing from all the tribes of Israel?” The people had made a promise. They had said that anyone who failed to come to Mizpah in front of the Lord must be put to death.

Then Samuel said,“ Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” Agag was in chains when he came to Samuel. Agag thought,“ The time for me to be put to death must have passed by now.”But Samuel said,“ Your sword has killed the children of other women. So the child of your mother will be killed.” Samuel put Agag to death at Gilgal in front of the Lord.

The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are going to enter it and take it as your own. He’ll drive out many nations to make room for you. He’ll drive out the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Those seven nations are larger and stronger than you are.The Lord your God will hand them over to you. You will win the battle over them. You must completely destroy them. Don’t make a peace treaty with them. Don’t show them any mercy.

If anyone does not love the Lord, let a curse be on that person! Come, Lord!

At that time Joshua made a promise and called down a curse. He said,“ May the person who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho be under the Lord’ s curse.“ If that person lays its foundations, it will cost the life of his oldest son. If he sets up its gates, it will cost the life of his youngest son.”

The Israelites became very hungry that day. That’s because Saul had forced the army to make a promise. He had said,“ None of you must eat any food before evening comes. You must not eat until I’ve paid my enemies back for what they did. If you do, may you be under a curse!” So none of the troops ate any food at all.The whole army entered the woods. There was honey on the ground.When they went into the woods, they saw the honey dripping out of a honeycomb. No one put any of the honey in his mouth. They were afraid of the curse that would come if they broke their promise.But Jonathan hadn’t heard that his father had forced the army to make a promise. Jonathan had a long stick in his hand. He reached out and dipped the end of it into the honeycomb. He put some honey in his mouth. It gave him new life.Then one of the soldiers told him,“ Your father forced the army to make a promise that everyone must obey. He said,‘ None of you must eat any food today. If you do, may you be under a curse!’ That’s why the men are weak and ready to faint.”

Christ set us free from the curse of the law. He did it by becoming a curse for us. It is written,“ Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.”( Deuteronomy 21:23)

“ Everything in Israel that is set apart to me belongs to you.

The next morning some Jews gathered secretly to make plans against Paul. They made a promise to themselves. They promised that they would not eat or drink anything until they killed him.More than 40 men took part in this plan.They went to the chief priests and the elders. They said,“ We have made a special promise to God. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul.

I am so concerned about my people, who are members of my own race. I am ready to be cursed, if that would help them. I am even willing to be separated from Christ.

He sent you to do something for him. He said,‘ Go and completely destroy the Amalekites. Go and destroy those evil people. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

Jephthah made a promise to the Lord. Jephthah said,“ Hand the Ammonites over to me.If you do, here’s what I’ll do when I come back from winning the battle. Anything that comes out the door of my house to meet me will belong to the Lord. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

Then Israel made a promise to the Lord. They said,“ Hand these people over to us. If you do, we will set their cities apart to you in a special way to be destroyed.”The Lord gave Israel what they asked for. He handed the Canaanites over to them. Israel completely destroyed them and their towns. So that place was named Hormah.

Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things.That is why the Israelites can’t stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. That’s because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.“ Go and set the people apart. Tell them,‘ Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says,“ People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me to be destroyed. You can’t stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things.”

“ Here is what you must do,” they said.“ Kill every male. Also kill every woman who is not a virgin.”

Joshua said to Achan,“ Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all the people killed Achan by throwing stones at him. They also killed the rest of his family with stones. They burned all of them up.

Saul said to the leaders of the army,“ Come here. Let’s find out what sin has been committed today.The Lord is the one who rescues Israel. You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that the sinner must die. He must die even if he’s my son Jonathan.” But no one said anything.Then Saul said to all the Israelites,“ You stand over there. I and my son Jonathan will stand over here.”“ Do what you think is best,” they replied.Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel. He said,“ Why haven’t you answered your servant today? If I or my son Jonathan is to blame, answer with Urim. But if the Israelites are to blame, answer with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen by casting lots. The other men were cleared of blame.Saul said,“ Cast the lot to find out whether I or my son Jonathan is to blame.” And Jonathan was chosen.Then Saul said to Jonathan,“ Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him,“ I used the end of my stick to get a little honey and taste it. And now do I have to die?”Saul said,“ Jonathan, I must certainly put you to death. If I don’t, may God punish me greatly.”But the men said to Saul,“ Should Jonathan be put to death? Never! He has saved Israel in a wonderful way. He did it today with God’s help. You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that not even one hair on Jonathan’s head will fall to the ground.” So the men rescued Jonathan. He wasn’t put to death.

Now go. Attack the Amalekites. Completely destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare the Amalekites. Put the men and women to death. Put the children and babies to death. Also kill the cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”