Exodus 34:20

JPS Old Testament

And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb: and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty.

King James Version
But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

Lexham English Bible
But the first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem it, you will break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you will redeem, and you will not appear before me empty-handed.

New Century Version
You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb, but if you don't want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons. "No one is to come before me without a gift.

New English Translation
Now the firstling of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. "No one will appear before me empty-handed.

Amplified Bible
"You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None of you are to appear before Me empty-handed.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None are to appear before Me empty-handed.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But ye first of ye asse thou shalt bie out with a lambe: and if thou redeeme him not, then thou shalt breake his necke: all the first borne of thy sonnes shalt thou redeeme, and none shal appeare before me emptie.

Legacy Standard Bible
And you shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear before Me empty-handed.

Contemporary English Version
You can save the life of a first-born donkey by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son. Bring an offering every time you come to worship.

Complete Jewish Bible
The firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb; if you won't redeem it, break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you are to redeem, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.

Darby Translation
But the firstling of an ass thou shalt ransom with a lamb; and if thou ransom [it] not, then shalt thou break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt ransom; and none shall appear before me empty.

Easy-to-Read Version
If you want to keep a donkey that is the first born, then you can buy it with a lamb. But if you don't buy that donkey with a lamb, you must break the donkey's neck. You must buy back all of your firstborn sons from me. No one should come before me without a gift.

English Standard Version
The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.

George Lamsa Translation
And all the firstlings of the cattle you shall redeem with a lamb; but if you shall not redeem it, then you shall kill it. All the first-born of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.

Good News Translation
but you are to buy back every first-born donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not buy it back, break its neck. Buy back every first-born son. "No one is to appear before me without an offering.

Christian Standard Bible®
You may redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

Literal Translation
and a firstling of an ass, you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you do not redeem, you shall break its neck. You shall redeem every first-born of your sons, and they shall not be seen before My face empty.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But the first of thyne Asse shalt thou bye out wt a shepe: yf thou redeme it not, then breake his necke. All the first borne of thy children shalt thou redeme. And se that no man appeare before me emptye.

American Standard Version
And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

Bible in Basic English
A lamb may be given in payment for the young of an ass, but if you will not make payment for it, its neck will have to be broken. For all the first of your sons you are to make payment. No one is to come before me without an offering.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But the firstling of the asse thou shalt bye out with a lambe: and if thou redeeme hym not, thou shalt breake his necke. All the first borne of thy sonnes thou shalt redeeme: & see that no man appeare before me emptie.

King James Version (1611)
But the firstling of an Asse thou shalt redeeme with a lambe: and if thou redeeme him not, then shalt thou breake his necke. All the first borne of thy sonnes thou shalt redeeme: and none shall appeare before me empty.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the first-born of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep, and if thou wilt not redeem it thou shalt pay a price: every first-born of thy sons shalt thou redeem: thou shalt not appear before me empty.

English Revised Version
And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

Berean Standard Bible
You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou schalt ayenbie with a scheep the firste gendrid of an asse, ellis if thou yyuest not prijs therfor, it schal be slayn. Thou schalt ayenbie the firste gendrid of thi sones; nether thou schalt appere voide in my siyt.

Young's Literal Translation
and the firstling of an ass thou dost ransom with a lamb; and if thou dost not ransom, then thou hast beheaded it; every first-born of thy sons thou dost ransom, and they do not appear before Me empty.

Update Bible Version
And the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb: and if you will not redeem, then you shall break its neck. All the first-born of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou shalt not redeem him, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

World English Bible
The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb: and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty.

New King James Version
But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. "And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

New Living Translation
A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son. "No one may appear before me without an offering.

New Life Bible
But the life of a first-born donkey should be paid for with the blood of a lamb. If you do not pay for its life, you should break its neck. Pay for the life of all your first-born sons with the blood of a lamb. No one is to come before Me without a gift.

New Revised Standard
The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But the firstling of an ass, thou mayst redeem with a lamb, and if thou wilt not redeem it, then shalt thou break its neck. Every firstborn of thy sons, shalt thou redeem, and he must not see my face, with empty hand.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep: but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem: neither shalt thou appear before me empty.

Revised Standard Version
The firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the first-born of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

THE MESSAGE
"Redeem your firstborn donkey with a lamb. If you don't redeem it you must break its neck. "Redeem each of your firstborn sons. "No one is to show up in my presence empty-handed.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear before Me empty-handed.

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. ¹⁹ All that openeth the womb is Mine; and of all thy cattle thou shalt sanctify the males, the firstlings of ox and sheep. ²⁰ And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty. ²¹ Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. ²² And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year. ²³ Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man covet thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the LORD thy God three times in the year. ²⁵ Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. ²⁶ The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.' ²⁷ And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

firstling: Exodus 13:10, Numbers 18:15

lamb: or, kid

All the: Exodus 13:15, Numbers 3:45-51

none: Exodus 23:15, Deuteronomy 16:16, 1 Samuel 9:7, 1 Samuel 9:8, 2 Samuel 24:24

Reciprocal: Exodus 13:2 - Sanctify Exodus 13:13 - of an ass 1 Samuel 6:3 - empty

Cross-References

Genesis 22:17
that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Genesis 23:10
Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying:

Deuteronomy 17:5
then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with stones, that they die.

Ruth 4:1
Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said: 'Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here.' And he turned aside, and sat down.

2 Samuel 15:2
And Absalom used to rise up early, and stand beside the way of the gate; and it was so, that when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said: 'Of what city art thou?' And he said: 'Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.'

Job 29:7
When I went forth to the gate unto the city, when I prepared my seat in the broad place,

Proverbs 31:23
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

Amos 5:10
They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Amos 5:12
For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom, and that turn aside the needy in the gate.

Amos 5:15
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem,.... This goes along with the former, :-:

and none shall appear before me empty; at the grand festivals, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, :-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The precepts contained in these verses are, for the most part, identical in substance with some of those which follow the Ten Commandments and are recorded in “the Book of the covenant” (Exo. 20–23; see Exodus 24:7).

Exodus 34:13

Cut down their groves - This is the first reference to what is commonly known as grove-worship. The original word for “grove” in this connection אשׁרה 'ăshêrāh is different from that so rendered in Genesis 21:33. Our translators supposed that what the law commands is the destruction of groves dedicated to the worship of false deities Judges 6:25; 2 Kings 18:4; but inasmuch as the worship of asherah is found associated with that of Astarte, or Ashtoreth Judges 2:13; Jdg 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, it seems probable that while Astarte was the personal name of the goddess, the asherah was a symbol of her, probably in some one of her characters, made in wood in some conventional form.

Exodus 34:15-16

An expansion of Exodus 34:12. The unfaithfulness of the nation to its covenant with Yahweh is here for the first time spoken of as a breach of the marriage bond. The metaphor is, in any case, a natural one, but it seems to gain point, if we suppose it to convey an allusion to the abominations connected with pagan worship, such as are spoken of in Numbers 25:1-3.

Exodus 34:21

See Exodus 20:9; Exodus 23:12. There is here added to the commandment a particular caution respecting those times of year when the land calls for most labor. The old verb “to ear” (i. e. to plow) is genuine English.

Exodus 34:24

Neither shall any man desire etc. - Intended to encourage such as might fear the consequences of obeying the divine law in attending to their religious duties. Compare Proverbs 16:7.