21 You shall not give any of your children to (A)offer them[a] to (B)Molech, and so (C)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 (D)You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 (E)And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is (F)perversion.

24 (G)“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, (H)for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the (I)land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land (J)vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But (K)you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the (L)native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 (M)So keep my charge never to practice (N)any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: (O)I am the Lord your God.”

The Lord Is Holy

19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, (P)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. (Q)Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and (R)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. (S)Do not turn to idols (T)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.

(U)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so (V)that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is (W)tainted; it will not be accepted, and everyone who eats it shall (X)bear his iniquity, because (Y)he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

(Z)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

11 (AA)“You shall not steal; (AB)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 (AC)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so (AD)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 (AE)“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. (AF)The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 (AG)You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall (AH)fear your God: I am the Lord.

15 (AI)“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 (AJ)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not (AK)stand up against the life[b] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

17 (AL)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but (AM)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you (AN)incur sin because of him. 18 (AO)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but (AP)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

You Shall Keep My Statutes

19 (AQ)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. (AR)You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but (AS)he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.

23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[c] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must 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 may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.

26 (AT)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. (AU)You shall not interpret omens or (AV)tell fortunes. 27 (AW)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any (AX)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 18:21 Hebrew to make them pass through [the fire]
  2. Leviticus 19:16 Hebrew blood
  3. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision

21 “‘Do not give any of your children(A) to be sacrificed to Molek,(B) for you must not profane the name of your God.(C) I am the Lord.(D)

22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;(E) that is detestable.(F)

23 “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.(G)

24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you(H) became defiled.(I) 25 Even the land was defiled;(J) so I punished it for its sin,(K) and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(L) 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.(M) The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,(N) it will vomit you out(O) as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

29 “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements(P) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(Q)’”

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(R) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(S) am holy.(T)

“‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(U) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(V) I am the Lord your God.(W)

“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(X) I am the Lord your God.(Y)

“‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.(Z) If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(AA) Whoever eats it will be held responsible(AB) because they have desecrated what is holy(AC) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.(AD)

“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges(AE) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(AF) 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time(AG) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.(AH) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.(AI) I am the Lord your God.

11 “‘Do not steal.(AJ)

“‘Do not lie.(AK)

“‘Do not deceive one another.(AL)

12 “‘Do not swear falsely(AM) by my name(AN) and so profane(AO) the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob(AP) your neighbor.(AQ)

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker(AR) overnight.(AS)

14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(AT) but fear your God.(AU) I am the Lord.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice;(AV) do not show partiality(AW) to the poor or favoritism to the great,(AX) but judge your neighbor fairly.(AY)

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander(AZ) among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.(BA) I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.(BB) Rebuke your neighbor frankly(BC) so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge(BD) or bear a grudge(BE) against anyone among your people,(BF) but love your neighbor(BG) as yourself.(BH) I am the Lord.

19 “‘Keep my decrees.(BI)

“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.(BJ)

“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(BK)

20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man(BL) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.(BM) 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.(BN)

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,(BO) an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(BP)

“‘Do not practice divination(BQ) or seek omens.(BR)

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(BS)

28 “‘Do not cut(BT) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
  2. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
  3. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised