Leviticus 19:1-19

Common English Bible

Living as holy people

19 The Lord said to Moses, ² Say to the whole community of the Israelites: You must be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. ³ Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must keep my sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves; I am the Lord your God. ⁵ When you sacrifice a communal sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it so that it will be accepted on your account. ⁶ It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice or the following day; whatever is left over on the third day must be burned with fire. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is foul; it will not be accepted. ⁸ Anyone who eats it will be liable to punishment, because they defiled what is holy to the Lord. That person will be cut off from their people. ⁹ When you harvest your land’s produce, you must not harvest all the way to the edge of your field; and don’t gather up every remaining bit of your harvest. ¹⁰ Also do not pick your vineyard clean or gather up all the grapes that have fallen there. Leave these items for the poor and the immigrant; I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ You must not steal nor deceive nor lie to each other. ¹² You must not swear falsely by my name, desecrating your God’s name in doing so; I am the Lord. ¹³ You must not oppress your neighbors or rob them. Do not withhold a hired laborer’s pay overnight. ¹⁴ You must not insult a deaf person or put some obstacle in front of a blind person that would cause them to trip. Instead, fear your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁵ You must not act unjustly in a legal case. Do not show favoritism to the poor or deference to the great; you must judge your fellow Israelites fairly. ¹⁶ Do not go around slandering your people.^[a] Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed;^[b] I am the Lord. ¹⁷ You must not hate your fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your fellow Israelite strongly, so you don’t become responsible for his sin.^{[c] 18} You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

¹⁹ You must keep my rules. Do not crossbreed your livestock, do not plant your field with two kinds of seed, and do not wear clothes made from two kinds of material.