Leviticus 15-26

New American Standard Bible

Cleansing Unhealthiness

15 The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘^(A)When any man has a discharge from his ^[a]body, ^[b]his discharge is unclean. ³ This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge. ⁴ Every bed on which the man with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. ⁵ Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; ⁶ and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁷ Also whoever touches the ^[c]man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁸ Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ¹¹ Likewise, whomever the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ¹² However, an ^(B)earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.

¹³ ‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he ^(C)shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in ^[d]running water and will become clean. ¹⁴ Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself ^(D)two turtledoves or two young doves, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest; ¹⁵ and the priest shall offer them, ^(E)one as a ^[e]sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So ^(F)the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord because of his discharge.

¹⁶ ‘^(G)Now if a ^[f]man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ As for any garment or any leather on which there is a seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a man sleeps with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be ^(H)unclean until evening.

¹⁹ ‘^(I)When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹ Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches any object on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²³ Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. ^24 (J)If a man actually sleeps with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵ ‘^(K)Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond ^[g]that period, for all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though ^[h]in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ²⁶ Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like ^[i]her bed at menstruation; and every object on which she sits shall be unclean, like ^[j]her uncleanness at that time. ²⁷ Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²⁸ When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. ²⁹ Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young doves, and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. ³⁰ And the priest shall offer the ^(L)one as a ^[k]sin offering, and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord because of her impure discharge.’

³¹ “And so you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their ^(M)defiling My ^[l]tabernacle that is among them.” ³² This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man ^[m]who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, ³³ and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after ^(N)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter ^(O)at ^[n]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the ^[o]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for ^(P)I will appear in the cloud over the ^[p]atoning cover. ³ Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a ^[q]bull as a ^[r](Q)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the ^(R)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his ^[s]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall ^(S)bathe his ^[t]body in water and put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(T)two male goats as a ^[u]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. ⁶ Then ^(U)Aaron shall offer the bull as the ^[v]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. ⁷ He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁸ Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for ^[w]the ^[x]scapegoat. ⁹ Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a ^[y]sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot for ^[z]the ^[aa]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make ^(V)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness ^[ab]as the ^[ac]scapegoat.

¹¹ “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the ^[ad]sin offering ^(W)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and ^(X)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the ^[ae]sin offering which is for himself. ¹² He shall take a ^(Y)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and ^[af]two handfuls of finely ground ^(Z)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³ He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the ^(AA)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, ^(AB)otherwise he will die. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(AC)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it ^(AD)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, ^(AE)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. ^16 (AF)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. ¹⁷ When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and ^(AG)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ^19 (AH)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

²⁰ “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. ²¹ Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and ^(AI)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. ²² Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an ^[ag]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off ^(AJ)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And ^(AK)he shall bathe his ^[ah]body with water in a holy place and put on ^(AL)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ The one who released the goat ^[ai]as the ^[aj]scapegoat ^(AM)shall wash his clothes and bathe his ^[ak]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ But the bull of the ^[al]sin offering and the goat of the ^[am]sin offering, ^(AN)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. ²⁸ Then the ^(AO)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

²⁹ “This shall be a permanent statute for you: ^(AP)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble ^[an]yourselves and not ^(AQ)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; ³⁰ for it is on this day that ^[ao]atonement shall be made for you to ^(AR)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may ^(AS)humble ^[ap]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. ³² So the priest who is anointed and ^[aq]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on ^(AT)the linen garments, the holy garments, ³³ and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for ^(AU)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴ Now you shall have this as a ^(AV)permanent statute, to ^(AW)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Blood for Atonement

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, ³ “Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴ and ^(AX)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the ^[ar]tabernacle of the Lord, bloodshed is to be counted against that person. He has shed blood, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ⁵ This shall be done so that the sons of Israel will bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing ^[as]in the open field—so that they will bring them to the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and ^(AY)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ And ^(AZ)they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the ^[at]goat demons with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’

⁸ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ and ^(BA)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to ^[au]offer it to the Lord, that person also shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ ‘^(BB)And anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who eats any blood, ^(BC)I will set My face against that person who eats the blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For ^(BD)the ^[av]life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for ^(BE)it is the blood by reason of the ^[aw]life that makes atonement.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who resides among you eat blood.’ ¹³ So when anyone from the sons of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, ^[ax]while hunting catches an animal or a bird which may be eaten, ^(BF)he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dirt.

¹⁴ “^(BG)For as for the ^[ay]life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its ^[az]life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the ^[ba]life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ ¹⁵ And ^(BH)any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, then ^(BI)he shall bear the responsibility for his ^[bb]guilt.”

Laws on Immoral Relations

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(BJ)I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do ^[bc]what is ^(BK)done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do ^[bd]what is ^(BL)done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, ^[be]to live in accord with them; ^(BM)I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, ^(BN)which, if ^[bf]a person ^[bg]follows them, then he will live by them; I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative ^[bh]of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ^7 (BO)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ^8 (BP)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ As for ^(BQ)the nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born in the household or born outside the household, you shall not uncover their nakedness. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for ^[bi]their nakedness is yours. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (BR)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ^14 (BS)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ^15 (BT)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^16 (BU)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ^17 (BV)You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is an outrageous sin. ¹⁸ And you shall not ^[bj]marry a woman in addition to her sister ^[bk]as a second wife while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹ ‘^(BW)Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her ^(BX)menstrual impurity. ²⁰ And ^(BY)you shall not have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your children ^(BZ)to ^[bl]offer them to Molech, nor shall you ^(CA)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ^22 (CB)You shall not sleep with a male as ^[bm]one sleeps with a female; it is an abomination. ^23 (CC)Also you shall not have sexual intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to ^[bn]mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴ ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these things ^(CD)the nations which I am driving out from you have become defiled. ²⁵ For the land has become defiled, ^(CE)therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land ^(CF)has vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the stranger who resides among you ²⁷ (for the people of the land who were there before you did all these abominations, and the land has become defiled), ²⁸ so that the land will not vomit you out should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which was there before you. ²⁹ For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ So you are to keep ^(CG)your ^[bo]commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; ^(CH)I am the Lord your God.’”

Idolatry Forbidden

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

² “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(CI)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ³ Every one of you ^(CJ)shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep ^(CK)My Sabbaths; ^(CL)I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to ^(CM)idols or make for yourselves cast metal ^(CN)gods; I am the Lord your God.

⁵ ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, and on the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. ⁷ So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is unclean; it will not be accepted. ⁸ And everyone who eats it will bear the consequences for his guilt, because he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Various Laws

⁹ ‘^(CO)Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ ‘^(CP)You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, ^(CQ)nor lie to one another. ¹² And ^(CR)you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to ^(CS)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

¹³ ‘^(CT)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. ^(CU)The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse a person who is deaf, nor ^(CV)put a stumbling block before a person who is blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁵ ‘^(CW)You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as ^(CX)a slanderer among your people; and you are not to ^[bp]jeopardize the ^[bq](CY)life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ ‘You ^(CZ)shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you ^(DA)may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. ^18 (DB)You shall not take vengeance, ^(DC)nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but ^(DD)you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

¹⁹ ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not cross-breed two kinds of your cattle; ^(DE)you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together.

²⁰ ‘^(DF)Now if a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹ He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting, ^(DG)a ram as a guilt offering. ²² The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.

²³ ‘Now when you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as ^[br]forbidden. For three years it shall be ^[bs]forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. ²⁴ And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, so that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ ‘You shall not eat any meat ^(DH)with the blood. You shall not practice ^(DI)divination nor soothsaying. ^27 (DJ)You shall not round off the ^[bt]hairline of your heads, nor trim the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You shall not make any cuts in your ^[bu]body for the ^[bv]dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.

²⁹ ‘^(DK)Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not fall into prostitution, and the land does not become full of outrageous sin. ³⁰ You shall ^(DL)keep My Sabbaths and ^(DM)revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.

³¹ ‘Do not turn to ^[bw](DN)mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

³² ‘^(DO)You shall stand up in the presence of the grayheaded and honor ^[bx]elders, and you shall ^[by]fear your God; I am the Lord.

³³ ‘^(DP)When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not ^[bz]do him wrong. ³⁴ The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and ^(DQ)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ ‘^(DR)You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or volume. ³⁶ You shall have ^(DS)accurate balances, accurate weights, an accurate ^[ca]ephah, and an accurate ^[cb]hin; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. ³⁷ So you shall keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them; I am the Lord.’”

On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:

‘Anyone from the sons of Israel or from the strangers residing in Israel ^(DT)who gives any of his ^[cc]children to Molech, shall certainly be put to death; ^(DU)the people of the land shall stone him with stones. ³ I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his ^[cd]children to Molech, ^(DV)so as to defile My sanctuary and ^(DW)to profane My holy name. ⁴ If the people of the land, however, ^[ce]should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his ^[cf]children to Molech, so as not to put him to death, ⁵ then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the prostitute with him, by playing the prostitute with Molech.

⁶ ‘As for the person who turns to ^[cg](DX)mediums and to spiritists, to play the prostitute with them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. ⁷ You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and ^(DY)be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ⁸ So ^(DZ)you shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

⁹ ‘^(EA)If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall certainly be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and has brought his ^[ch]own death upon himself.

¹⁰ ‘^(EB)If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. ^11 (EC)If there is a man who sleeps with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death, they have brought their ^[ci]own deaths upon themselves. ^12 (ED)If there is a man who sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed ^[cj]incest, and have brought their ^[ck]own deaths upon themselves. ^13 (EE)If there is a man who sleeps with a male as those who sleep with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they must be put to death. They have brought their ^[cl]own deaths upon themselves. ^14 (EF)If there is a man who ^[cm]marries a woman and her mother, it is an outrageous sin; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no such outrageous sin in your midst. ^15 (EG)If there is a man who has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. ¹⁶ If there is a woman who approaches any animal to ^[cn]mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they must be put to death. They have brought their ^[co]own deaths upon themselves.

¹⁷ ‘^(EH)If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. ^18 (EI)If there is a man who sleeps with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; so both of them shall be cut off from among their people. ^19 (EJ)You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has uncovered his ^[cp]blood relative; they will bear their guilt. ^20 (EK)If there is a man who sleeps with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. ^21 (EL)If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is ^[cq]detestable; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

²² ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to ^[cr]live will not ^(EM)vomit you out. ²³ Furthermore, you shall not ^[cs]follow ^(EN)the customs of the nation which I am going to drive out before you, because they did all these things; ^(EO)therefore I have felt disgust for them. ²⁴ So I have said to you, “^(EP)You are to take possession of their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has ^(EQ)singled you out from the peoples. ^25 (ER)You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make ^[ct]yourselves detestable by animal or by bird, or by anything ^[cu]that crawls on the ground, which I have distinguished for you as unclean. ²⁶ So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I ^(ES)have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine.

²⁷ ‘Now a man or a woman ^(ET)who is a medium or a spiritist ^[cv]must be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; they have brought their ^[cw]own deaths upon themselves.’”

Regulations concerning Priests

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘^(EU)No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, ^2 (EV)except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother, ³ also for his virgin sister who is near to him ^[cx]because she has not had a husband; for her, he may defile himself. ⁴ He shall not defile himself as a ^[cy]relative by marriage among his people, so as to profane himself. ^5 (EW)They shall not shave any area on their heads bald, ^(EX)nor shave off the edges of their beards, ^(EY)nor make any cuts in their flesh. ⁶ They shall be holy to their God and ^(EZ)not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings by fire ^[cz]to the Lord, ^(FA)the food of their God; so they shall be holy. ^7 (FB)They shall not take a woman who is a prostitute and ^[da]profaned, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. ⁸ You shall consecrate him, therefore, because he offers ^(FC)the food of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy. ^9 (FD)Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

¹⁰ ‘The priest who is ^[db]highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and ^[dc]who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ^(FE)shall not ^[dd]uncover his head nor tear his clothes; ^11 (FF)nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; ^12 (FG)nor shall he leave the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for ^(FH)the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord. ¹³ He shall take a wife in her virginity. ^14 (FI)A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by prostitution, these he shall not take; but rather he is to ^[de]marry a virgin of his own people, ¹⁵ so that he will not profane his ^[df]children among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘None of your ^[dg]descendants throughout their generations who has an impairment shall approach to offer the ^(FJ)food of his God. ^18 (FK)For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a ^(FL)slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature, ¹⁹ or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand, ²⁰ or a contorted back, or one who is a dwarf, or has a spot in his eye, or a festering rash or scabs, or ^(FM)crushed testicles. ²¹ No man among the ^[dh]descendants of Aaron the priest who has an impairment is to come forward to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has an impairment, he shall not come forward to offer ^(FN)the food of his God. ²² He may eat ^(FO)the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, ²³ only he shall not come up to the veil or approach the altar, since he has an impairment, so that he does not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” ²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel.

Various Rules for Priests

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘^(FP)Any man among all your ^[di]descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord. ^4 (FQ)No man of the ^[dj]descendants of Aaron, who has ^[dk]leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. ^(FR)And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ^(FS)a man who has a seminal emission, ⁵ or ^(FT)a man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; ⁶ a ^[dl]person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his ^[dm]body in water. ⁷ But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for ^(FU)it is his ^[dn]food. ⁸ He shall not eat ^(FV)an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. ⁹ They shall therefore perform their ^(FW)duty to Me, so that ^(FX)they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ ‘^(FY)No ^[do]layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. ^11 (FZ)But if a priest buys a ^[dp]slave as his property with his money, ^[dq]that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his ^[dr]food. ¹² If a priest’s daughter is married to a ^[ds]layman, she shall not eat of the ^[dt]offering of the holy gifts. ¹³ But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s ^[du]food; ^(GA)but no ^[dv]layman shall eat of it. ^14 (GB)If, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest. ¹⁵ And ^(GC)they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, ¹⁶ and thereby ^(GD)bring upon them ^[dw]punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘^(GE)Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their ^[dx]vows or any of their ^[dy]voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering— ^19 (GF)for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect ^[dz]from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. ^20 (GG)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. ²¹ When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord ^(GH)to fulfill a special vow or for a ^[ea]voluntary offering, ^[eb]of the herd or ^[ec]of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. ²² Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. ²³ Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an ^[ed]overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a ^[ee]voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. ²⁴ Also ^(GI)anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor ^[ef]sacrifice in your land, ²⁵ nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a ^[eg]foreigner ^(GJ)as the ^[eh]food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall ^[ei]remain ^(GK)seven days ^[ej]with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. ^28 (GL)But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. ²⁹ When you sacrifice ^(GM)a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. ^31 (GN)So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.

³² “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, ^33 (GO)who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Laws of Holy Days

23 The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(GP)The Lord’s appointed times which you shall ^(GQ)proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

³ ‘^(GR)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

⁴ ‘These are the ^(GS)appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. ^5 (GT)In the ^[ek]first month, on the fourteenth day of the month ^[el]at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. ⁶ Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the ^(GU)Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall ^(GV)not do any laborious work. ⁸ But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you ^(GW)gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Its ^(GX)grain offering shall then be ^[em]two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a ^[en]fourth of a hin of wine. ¹⁴ Until this very day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, ^(GY)you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new produce. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

¹⁵ ‘^(GZ)You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. ¹⁶ You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a ^(HA)new grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of ^[eo]two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked ^(HB)with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. ¹⁸ Along with the bread you shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ You shall also offer ^(HC)one male goat as a ^[ep]sin offering, and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰ The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On this very day you shall ^(HD)make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious ^(HE)work. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

²² ‘^(HF)When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”

²³ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^(HG)In the ^[eq]seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a ^[er]rest, a ^(HH)reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵ You shall ^(HI)not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “On exactly ^(HJ)the tenth day of this seventh month is ^(HK)the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble ^[es]yourselves and present an offering by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ You shall not do any work on this very day, for it is a ^(HL)Day of Atonement, ^(HM)to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. ²⁹ If there is any ^[et]person who does not humble himself on this very day, ^(HN)he shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ As for any person who does any work on this very day, that person I will eliminate from among his people. ³¹ You shall not do any work. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. ³² It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble ^[eu]yourselves; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”

³³ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On ^(HO)the fifteenth of this ^[ev]seventh month is the ^(HP)Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. ³⁵ On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall ^(HQ)not do any laborious work. ^36 (HR)For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On ^(HS)the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall not do any laborious work.

³⁷ ‘These are ^(HT)the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, ^(HU)each day’s matter on its own day— ³⁸ besides those of the Sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your ^[ew]vowed and ^[ex]voluntary offerings, which you give to the Lord.

³⁹ ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, ^(HV)when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a ^[ey]rest on the first day and a ^[ez]rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰ Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the ^[fa]foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ So you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You shall live ^(HW)in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, ⁴³ so that ^(HX)your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” ⁴⁴ So Moses declared to the sons of Israel ^(HY)the appointed times of the Lord.

The Lamp and the Bread of the Sanctuary

24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you ^(HZ)clear oil from beaten olives for the ^[fb]light, to make a lamp ^[fc]burn continually. ³ Outside the veil of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations. ⁴ He shall keep the lamps in order on the ^(IA)pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

⁵ “^(IB)Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve ^[fd]cakes with it; ^[fe]two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. ⁶ And you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the ^(IC)pure gold table before the Lord. ⁷ You shall put pure frankincense on each row so that it may be ^(ID)a memorial portion for the bread, an offering by fire to the Lord. ^8 (IE)Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord ^(IF)continually; it is an everlasting covenant ^[ff]for the sons of Israel. ⁹ And ^(IG)it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the Lord’s offerings by fire, his portion forever.”

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite woman—his father was an Egyptian—went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man had a fight within the camp. ¹¹ And the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the ^(IH)Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) ¹² Then they put him in custody, waiting for Moses to give them a clear decision in accordance with ^(II)the command of the Lord.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴ “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and have all who heard him ^(IJ)lay their hands on his head; then ^(IK)have all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵ You shall also speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^(IL)If anyone curses his God, then he will bear the responsibility for his sin. ¹⁶ Moreover, the one who ^(IM)blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The stranger as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

¹⁷ ‘Now ^(IN)if someone ^[fg]takes any human life, he must be put to death. ¹⁸ But ^(IO)the one who ^[fh]takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, life for life. ¹⁹ If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him: ^20 (IP)fracture for fracture, ^(IQ)eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be ^[fi]inflicted on him. ²¹ So the one who ^[fj]kills an animal shall make restitution, but ^(IR)the one who ^[fk]kills a person shall be put to death. ²² There shall be only ^(IS)one ^[fl]standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’” ²³ Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp, and stoned him with stones. So the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Sabbatical Year and Year of Jubilee

25 The Lord then spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am going to give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. ³ For ^(IT)six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, ⁴ but during ^(IU)the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵ You shall not reap your harvest’s ^[fm]aftergrowth, and you shall not gather your grapes of untrimmed vines; the land shall have a sabbatical year. ^6 (IV)All of you shall have the Sabbath produce of the land as food; for yourself, your male and female slaves, and your hired worker and your foreign resident, those who live as strangers among you. ⁷ Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

⁸ ‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years. ⁹ You shall then sound a ram’s horn ^[fn]abroad on ^(IW)the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. ¹⁰ So you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and ^(IX)proclaim ^[fo]a release throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, ^[fp]and ^(IY)each of you shall return to his own property, ^[fq]and each of you shall return to his family. ¹¹ You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor harvest its aftergrowth, nor gather grapes from its untrimmed vines. ¹² For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce from the field.

¹³ ‘^(IZ)On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. ¹⁴ Furthermore, if you make a sale to your friend, or buy from your friend’s hand, ^(JA)you shall not ^[fr]wrong one another. ¹⁵ Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your ^[fs]friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. ^16 (JB)In proportion to ^[ft]a greater number of years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to ^[fu]fewer years you shall decrease its price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. ¹⁷ So ^(JC)you shall not ^[fv]wrong one another, but you shall ^[fw]fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ ‘You shall therefore ^[fx]follow My statutes and keep My judgments so as to carry them out, so that ^(JD)you may live securely on the land. ¹⁹ Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. ²⁰ But if you say, “^(JE)What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow nor gather in our produce?” ²¹ then ^(JF)I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. ²² When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat ^(JG)old things from the produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in.

The Law of Redemption

²³ ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because ^(JH)the land is Mine; for ^(JI)you are only strangers and residents with Me. ²⁴ So for every ^[fy]piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

²⁵ ‘^(JJ)If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor that he sells part of his property, then his closest ^[fz]redeemer is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. ²⁶ Or in case someone has no redeemer, but ^[ga]recovers to find sufficient means for its redemption, ^27 (JK)then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. ²⁸ But if ^[gb]he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall ^[gc]revert, so that ^(JL)he may return to his property.

²⁹ ‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. ³⁰ But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not ^[gd]revert in the jubilee. ³¹ The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall, shall be regarded ^[ge]as open fields; they have redemption rights and ^[gf]revert in the jubilee. ³² As for the ^(JM)cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. ³³ What, therefore, ^[gg]belongs to the Levites may be redeemed, and a house sale ^[gh]in the city of this possession ^[gi]reverts in the jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. ^34 (JN)But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

³⁵ ‘^(JO)Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his ^[gj]means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you. ^36 (JP)Do not take ^[gk]any kind of interest from him, but ^[gl]fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you. ³⁷ You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food ^[gm]for profit. ^38 (JQ)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and ^(JR)to be your God.

³⁹ ‘Now ^(JS)if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. ⁴⁰ He shall be with you as a hired worker, ^(JT)as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. ⁴¹ He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers. ⁴² For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. ^43 (JU)You shall not rule over him with ^[gn]severity, but are to revere your God. ⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. ⁴⁵ You may also acquire them from the sons of the foreign residents who reside among you, and from their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. ⁴⁶ You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. ^(JV)But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with ^[go]severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Person Who Is Poor

⁴⁷ ‘Now if the ^[gp]means of a stranger or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes poor in relation to him and sells himself to a stranger who is residing with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, ⁴⁸ then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹ or his uncle, or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or ^[gq](JW)if he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He then, with his purchaser, shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years calculated. It is like the days of a hired worker that he will be with him. ⁵¹ If there are still many years remaining, ^(JX)he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; ⁵² but if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. ⁵³ He shall be with him like a worker hired year by year; ^(JY)he shall not rule over him with ^[gr]severity in your sight. ⁵⁴ Even if he is not redeemed by ^[gs]these means, ^(JZ)he shall still leave in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. ⁵⁵ For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Blessings of Obedience

26 ‘You shall not make for yourselves ^(KA)idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves ^(KB)a carved image or ^(KC)a memorial stone, nor shall you place a ^(KD)figured stone in your land to bow down ^[gt]to it; for I am the Lord your God. ^2 (KE)You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord. ^3 (KF)If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, ⁴ then ^(KG)I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. ^5 (KH)Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your ^[gu]food to the full and ^(KI)live securely in your land. ^6 (KJ)I shall also grant peace in the land, so that ^(KK)you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. ^(KL)I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and ^(KM)no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; ^8 (KN)five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ So I will turn toward you and ^(KO)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will ^(KP)confirm My covenant with you. ¹⁰ And ^(KQ)you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new. ^11 (KR)Moreover, I will make My ^[gv]dwelling among you, and My soul will not ^[gw]reject you. ^12 (KS)I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. ^13 (KT)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and ^(KU)I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

¹⁴ ‘^(KV)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, ¹⁵ if, instead, you ^(KW)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to ^(KX)break My covenant, ¹⁶ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will ^[gx]summon a ^(KY)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the ^(KZ)soul languish; also, ^(LA)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and ^(LB)those who hate you will rule over you, and ^(LC)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸ If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you ^(LD)seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will also ^(LE)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. ^20 (LF)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹ ‘Yet if you ^[gy](LG)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you ^(LH)seven times according to your sins. ^22 (LI)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that ^(LJ)your roads become deserted.

²³ ‘^(LK)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, ²⁴ then I in turn will ^(LL)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you ^(LM)seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute ^(LN)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a ^(LO)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. ^26 (LP)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread ^[gz]in rationed amounts, so that you will ^(LQ)eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁸ then ^(LR)I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ Further, ^(LS)you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I then ^(LT)will destroy your high places, and cut down your ^(LU)incense altars, and ^[ha]pile your ^[hb]remains on the ^[hc]remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ^(LV)ruins as well and make your ^(LW)sanctuaries desolate, and I will not ^(LX)smell your soothing aromas. ³² And I will make ^(LY)the land desolate ^(LZ)so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. ³³ You, however, I ^(MA)will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

³⁴ ‘^(MB)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. ³⁵ All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. ³⁶ As for those among you who are left, I will also bring ^(MC)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee ^[hd]as though from the sword, and they will fall. ^37 (MD)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ Instead, ^(ME)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. ^39 (MF)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

⁴⁰ ‘But ^(MG)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— ⁴¹ I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—^(MH)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that ^(MI)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, ⁴² then I will remember ^(MJ)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also ^(MK)My covenant with Isaac, and ^(ML)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. ^43 (MM)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, ^[he]because they rejected My ordinances and their ^(MN)soul loathed My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so ^(MO)loathe them as ^(MP)to destroy them, ^(MQ)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But I will remember for them the ^(MR)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that ^(MS)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

^46 (MT)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel ^[hf]through Moses on Mount Sinai.