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
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 30: K’doshim (Holy people) 19:1–20:27
[In regular years read with Parashah 29, in leap years read separately]
19 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You people are to be holy because I, Adonai your God, am holy.
3 “‘Every one of you is to revere his father and mother, and you are to keep my Shabbats; I am Adonai your God.
4 “‘Do not turn to idols, and do not cast metal gods for yourselves; I am Adonai your God.
5 “‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai, offer it in a way that will make you accepted. 6 It is to be eaten the same day you offer it and the following day; but if any of it remains until the third day, it is to be burned up completely. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will have become a disgusting thing and will not be accepted; 8 moreover, everyone who eats it will bear the consequences of profaning something holy meant for Adonai — that person will be cut off from his people.
9 “‘When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters. 10 Likewise, don’t gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.
11 “‘Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other. 12 Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai. 13 Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.
14 “‘Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am Adonai.
(RY: v, LY: ii) 15 “‘Do not be unjust in judging — show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.
16 “‘Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake; I am Adonai.
17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. 18 Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.
19 “‘Observe my regulations.
“‘Don’t let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don’t sow your field with two different kinds of grain, and don’t wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread.
20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave intended for another man, and she has neither been redeemed nor given her freedom, there is to be an investigation. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free. 21 In reparation he is to bring a ram as a guilt offering for himself to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 22 The cohen will make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before Adonai for the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.
(LY: iii) 23 “‘When you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you are to regard its fruit as forbidden — for three years it will be forbidden to you and not eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, for praising Adonai. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce even more for you; I am Adonai your God.
26 “‘Do not eat anything with blood. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling. 27 Don’t round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 Don’t cut gashes in your flesh when someone dies or tattoo yourselves; I am Adonai.
29 “‘Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land will not fall into prostitution and become full of shame.
30 “‘Keep my Shabbats, and revere my sanctuary; I am Adonai.
31 “‘Do not turn to spirit-mediums or sorcerers; don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them; I am Adonai your God.
32 “‘Stand up in the presence of a person with gray hair, show respect for the old; you are to fear your God; I am Adonai.
(RY: vi, LY: iv) 33 “‘If a foreigner stays with you in your land, do not do him wrong. 34 Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you — you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.
35 “‘Don’t be dishonest when measuring length, weight or capacity. 36 Rather, use an honest balance-scale, honest weights, an honest bushel dry-measure and an honest gallon liquid-measure; I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Observe all my regulations and rulings, and do them; I am Adonai.’”
Leviticus 19
The Message
“I Am God, Your God”
19 1-2 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the congregation of Israel. Tell them, Be holy because I, God, your God, am holy.
3 “Every one of you must respect his mother and father.
“Keep my Sabbaths. I am God, your God.
4 “Don’t take up with no-god idols. Don’t make gods of cast metal. I am God, your God.
5-8 “When you sacrifice a Peace-Offering to God, do it as you’ve been taught so it is acceptable. Eat it on the day you sacrifice it and the day following. Whatever is left until the third day is to be burned up. If it is eaten on the third day it is polluted meat and not acceptable. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has violated what is holy to God. That person will be cut off from his people.
9-10 “When you harvest your land, don’t harvest right up to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings from the harvest. Don’t strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am God, your God.
11 “Don’t steal.
“Don’t lie.
“Don’t deceive anyone.
12 “Don’t swear falsely using my name, violating the name of your God. I am God.
13 “Don’t exploit your friend or rob him.
“Don’t hold back the wages of a hired hand overnight.
14 “Don’t curse the deaf; don’t put a stumbling block in front of the blind; fear your God. I am God.
15 “Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
16 “Don’t spread gossip and rumors.
“Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger. I am God.
17 “Don’t secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt.
18 “Don’t seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people.
“Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God.
19 “Keep my decrees.
“Don’t mate two different kinds of animals.
“Don’t plant your fields with two kinds of seed.
“Don’t wear clothes woven of two kinds of material.
20-22 “If a man has sex with a slave girl who is engaged to another man but has not yet been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be an investigation. But they aren’t to be put to death because she wasn’t free. The man must bring a Compensation-Offering to God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, a ram of compensation. The priest will perform the ritual of atonement for him before God with the ram of compensation for the sin he has committed. Then he will stand forgiven of the sin he committed.
23-25 “When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, don’t eat the fruit for three years; consider it inedible. By the fourth year its fruit is holy, an offering of praise to God. Beginning in the fifth year you can eat its fruit; you’ll have richer harvests this way. I am God, your God.
26 “Don’t eat meat with blood in it.
“Don’t practice divination or sorcery.
27 “Don’t cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard.
28 “Don’t gash your bodies on behalf of the dead.
“Don’t tattoo yourselves. I am God.
29 “Don’t violate your daughter by making her a whore—the whole country would soon become a brothel, filled with sordid sex.
30 “Keep my Sabbaths and revere my Sanctuary: I am God.
31 “Don’t dabble in the occult or traffic with mediums; you’ll pollute your souls. I am God, your God.
32 “Show respect to the aged; honor the presence of an elder; fear your God. I am God.
33-34 “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.
35-36 “Don’t cheat when measuring length, weight, or quantity. Use honest scales and weights and measures. I am God, your God. I brought you out of Egypt.
37 “Keep all my decrees and all my laws. Yes, do them. I am God.”
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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.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson