Ransom

A price paid to provide a release from captivity, punishment, suffering, sin, or even an obligation. The price was not always monetary. (Isa 43:3) A ransom was required in a number of different situations. For example, all firstborn boys or male animals in Israel belonged to Jehovah, and a ransom, or redemption price, needed to be paid to release them from exclusive use in Jehovah’s service. (Nu 3:45, 46; 18:15, 16) If an unguarded, dangerous bull killed someone, a ransom was imposed on its owner in order to release him from the prescribed death sentence. (Ex 21:29, 30) However, no ransom was accepted for a willful murderer. (Nu 35:31) Most important, the Bible highlights the ransom that Christ paid by his sacrificial death in order to release obedient humankind from sin and death.​—Ps 49:7, 8; Mt 20:28; Eph 1:7.