Leviticus 19
English Standard Version
The Lord Is Holy
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people 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)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 (D)Do not turn to idols (E)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 (F)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so (G)that you may be accepted. 6 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. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is (H)tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall (I)bear his iniquity, because (J)he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 (K)“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 (L)“You shall not steal; (M)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 (N)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so (O)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 (P)“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. (Q)The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 (R)You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall (S)fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 (T)“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 (U)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not (V)stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 (W)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but (X)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you (Y)incur sin because of him. 18 (Z)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but (AA)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 (AB)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. (AC)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 (AD)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.[b] 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 (AE)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. (AF)You shall not interpret omens or (AG)tell fortunes. 27 (AH)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any (AI)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 (AJ)“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 (AK)You shall keep my Sabbaths and (AL)reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 (AM)“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 (AN)“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall (AO)fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 (AP)“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 (AQ)You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and (AR)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 (AS)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 (AT)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And (AU)you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:16 Hebrew blood
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Leviticus 19
New Living Translation
Holiness in Personal Conduct
19 The Lord also said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.
4 “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, offer it properly so you[a] will be accepted by God. 6 The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up. 7 If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. 8 Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the Lord and will be cut off from the community.
9 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.
11 “Do not steal.
“Do not deceive or cheat one another.
12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.
13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.
14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.
15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.[b]
“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.
17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.[c] Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.
18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
19 “You must obey all my decrees.
“Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread.
20 “If a man has sex with a slave girl whose freedom has never been purchased but who is committed to become another man’s wife, he must pay full compensation to her master. But since she is not a free woman, neither the man nor the woman will be put to death. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[d] 22 The priest will then purify him[e] before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering, and the man’s sin will be forgiven.
23 “When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden.[f] Do not eat it. 24 In the fourth year the entire crop must be consecrated to the Lord as a celebration of praise. 25 Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you follow this pattern, your harvest will increase. I am the Lord your God.
26 “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood.
“Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.
27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.
28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.
29 “Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with prostitution and wickedness.
30 “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31 “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.
32 “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. 34 Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36 Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate.[g] I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
