Deuteronomy 15:19

¹⁷ then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.

¹⁸ Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.

²⁰ Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.

²¹ But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.
KJV: All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
WEB: You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
ASV: All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto Jehovah thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy herd, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
DARBY: Every firstling that is born among thy kine and among thy sheep that is a male, thou shalt hallow to Jehovah thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy kine, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
BLB: All the firstborn that come from your herd and your flock—the male—you shall sanctify to YHWH your God. You shall not do work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

ÅB: Alt førstefødt av hankjønn som fødes blant ditt storfe og ditt småfe, skal du hellige Herren din Gud; du skal ikke bruke det førstefødte av ditt storfe til arbeid, og du skal ikke klippe det førstefødte av ditt småfe.
OTB: Vigs til Herren din Gud alle førstefødte hanner av dine flokker og buskap. Ikke arbeid med den førstefødte av ditt storfe, og ikke klipp den førstefødte av dine sauer.
B1930: Alt førstefødt av hankjønn som fødes blandt ditt storfe og ditt småfe, skal du hellige Herren din Gud; du skal ikke bruke det førstefødte av ditt storfe til arbeid, og du skal ikke klippe det førstefødte av ditt småfe.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 13:2
“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”
Read in context
Exodus 13:12
you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 12:17
Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
Read in context
Numbers 18:15
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.
Read in context
Leviticus 27:26
But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 16:14
And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
Read in context
Numbers 18:17
But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 12:5–7
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
Read in context