Leviticus 19
Good News Translation
Laws of Holiness and Justice
19 The Lord told Moses 2 (A)to say to the community of Israel, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 3 (B)Each of you must respect your mother and your father, and must keep the Sabbath, as I have commanded. I am the Lord your God.
4 (C)“Do not abandon me and worship idols; do not make gods of metal and worship them. I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you kill an animal for a fellowship offering, keep the regulations that I have given you, and I will accept the offering. 6 The meat must be eaten on the day the animal is killed or on the next day. Any meat left on the third day must be burned, 7 because it is ritually unclean, and if anyone eats it, I will not accept the offering. 8 Any who eat it will be guilty of treating as ordinary what is dedicated to me, and they will no longer be considered my people.
9 (D)“When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left. 10 Do not go back through your vineyard to gather the grapes that were missed or to pick up the grapes that have fallen; leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.
11 (E)“Do not steal or cheat or lie. 12 (F)Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the Lord your God.
13 (G)“Do not rob or take advantage of anyone. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night. 14 (H)Do not curse the deaf or put something in front of the blind so as to make them stumble over it. Obey me; I am the Lord your God.
15 (I)“Be honest and just when you make decisions in legal cases; do not show favoritism to the poor or fear the rich. 16 Do not spread lies about anyone, and when someone is on trial for his life, speak out if your testimony can help him. I am the Lord.
17 (J)“Do not bear a grudge against others, but settle your differences with them, so that you will not commit a sin because of them.[a] 18 (K)Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord.
19 (L)“Obey my commands. Do not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field. Do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a slave woman is the recognized concubine of a man and she has not been paid for and freed, then if another man has sexual relations with her, they will be punished, but not[b] put to death, since she is a slave. 21 The man shall bring a ram to the entrance of the Tent of my presence as his repayment offering, 22 and with it the priest shall perform the ritual of purification to remove the man's sin, and God will forgive him.
23 “When you come into the land of Canaan and plant any kind of fruit tree, consider the fruit ritually unclean for the first three years. During that time you must not eat it. 24 In the fourth year all the fruit shall be dedicated as an offering to show your gratitude to me,[c] the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you do all this, your trees will bear more fruit. I am the Lord your God.
26 (M)“Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic. 27 (N)Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard 28 or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord.
29 (O)“Do not disgrace your daughters by making them temple prostitutes;[d] if you do, you will turn to other gods and the land will be full of immorality. 30 (P)Keep the Sabbath, and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord.
31 (Q)“Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead. If you do, you will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord your God.
32 “Show respect for old people and honor them. Reverently obey me; I am the Lord.
33 (R)“Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land. 34 Treat them as you would an Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 (S)“Do not cheat anyone by using false measures of length, weight, or quantity. 36 Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God, and I brought you out of Egypt. 37 Obey all my laws and commands. I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:17 so … them; or so that you do not commit this sin against them.
- Leviticus 19:20 they … not; or an investigation will be made but they will not be.
- Leviticus 19:24 to show your gratitude to me; or in praise of me.
- Leviticus 19:29 These women were found in Canaanite temples, where fertility gods were worshiped. It was believed that intercourse with these prostitutes assured fertile fields and herds.
Leviticus 19
New King James Version
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: (A)‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 (B)‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and (C)keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 (D)‘Do not turn to idols, (E)nor make for yourselves [a]molded gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘And (F)if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.
9 (G)‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 (H)‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, (I)nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not (J)swear by My name falsely, (K)nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 (L)‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. (M)The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, (N)nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in (O)judgment. You shall not (P)be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a (Q)talebearer among your people; nor shall you (R)take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 (S)‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. (T)You shall surely [b]rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 (U)You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, (V)but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is (W)betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be [c]scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make [d]atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.
23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as [e]uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.
26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not (X)make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.
29 (Y)‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 ‘You shall [f]keep My Sabbaths and (Z)reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after (AA)them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 (AB)‘You shall [g]rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and (AC)fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 ‘And (AD)if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 (AE)The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as [h]one born among you, and (AF)you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have (AG)honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 (AH)‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord.’ ”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:4 molten
- Leviticus 19:17 reprove
- Leviticus 19:20 punishment
- Leviticus 19:22 Lit. covering
- Leviticus 19:23 unclean
- Leviticus 19:30 observe
- Leviticus 19:32 rise to give honor
- Leviticus 19:34 native among you
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
