Leviticus 19
World English Bible
19 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
3 “‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.
4 “‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.
5 “‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted; 8 but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.
11 “‘You shall not steal.
“‘You shall not lie.
“‘You shall not deceive one another.
12 “‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13 “‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.
“‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 “‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
15 “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 “‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people.
“‘You shall not endanger the life[a] of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
19 “‘You shall keep my statutes.
“‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals.
“‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed;
“‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
20 “‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before Yahweh 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 forbidden.[b] For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Yahweh. 25 In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Yahweh your God.
26 “‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
27 “‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
28 “‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.
29 “‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 “‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.
31 “‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
32 “‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
35 “‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah,[c] and a just hin.[d] I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am Yahweh.’”
Leviticus 19
International Standard Version
Ritual Purity
19 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Tell the entire assembly of Israel that they are to be holy, since I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 “Each of you is to fear his mother and father.
“Observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4 “You are not to turn to their idols or cast gods out of melted metal for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a peace offering to the Lord, you are to offer it for your acceptance. 6 Your sacrifice is to be eaten on that day and the next day. Anything that remains to the third day is to be incinerated. 7 If it is eaten on the third day, it’s unclean. It won’t be accepted. 8 Anyone who eats it will bear the punishment of his sin, since he will have defiled himself regarding the Lord’s holy things. That person[a] is to be eliminated from contact with his people.”[b]
Harvesting and Gleaning
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to completely finish harvesting the corners of the field—that is, you are not to pick what remains after you have reaped your harvest. 10 You are not to gather your vineyard or pick up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. Leave something for the poor and the resident alien who lives among you. I am the Lord your God.”
Just Dealings
11 “You are not to steal or lie or deal falsely with your neighbor.
12 “You are not to use my name to deceive, thereby defiling the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 “You are not to oppress your neighbor or rob him.[c]
“The wages of a hired laborer are not to remain in your possession until morning.
14 “You are not to curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block before the blind.
“You are to fear God. I am the Lord.
15 “You are not to be unjust in deciding a case. You are not to show partiality to the poor or honor the great. Instead, decide the case of your neighbor with righteousness.”
Social Responsibility
16 “You are not to go around slandering your people.
“You are not to stand idle[d] when your neighbor’s life is at stake.[e] I am the Lord.
17 “You are not to hate your relative in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor if you must, but you are not to incur guilt on account of him.
18 “You are not to seek vengeance or hold a grudge against the descendants of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
On Preserving Distinctiveness
19 “Observe my statutes.
“You are not to let your cattle breed with a different species.[f]
“You are not to sow your fields with two different kinds of seeds.[g]
“You are not to wear clothing made from two different kinds of material.
20 “When a person has sexual relations[h] with a woman servant who is engaged to another man, but she has not been completely redeemed nor has her freedom been granted to her, there is to be an inquiry, but they won’t be put to death, since she has not been freed. 21 The perpetrator[i] is to bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting—that is, a ram as a guilt offering. 22 Then the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering in the Lord’s presence on account of his sin which he has committed, but which will be forgiven him.”
Restrictions on Initial Harvests
23 “When you have entered the land and planted all sorts of trees for food, regard its fruit as uncircumcised for the first three years for you. It is not to be eaten. 24 During the fourth year, all its fruit is to be offered as a holy token of praise to the Lord. 25 But on the fifth year, you may eat its fruits to increase its produce for you.”
Prohibited Practices
26 “You are not to eat anything containing blood, engage in occult practices,[j] or practice fortune telling.[k]
27 “You are not to cut your hair in ritualistic patterns[l] on your head or deface the edges of your beard.
28 “You are not to make incisions in your flesh on account of the dead nor submit to cuts or tattoos. I am the Lord.
29 “You are not to defile your daughter by engaging her in prostitution so the land won’t become filled with wickedness.
30 “Observe my Sabbath and stand in awe of my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31 “You are to consult neither mediums nor familiar spirits. You are never to seek them—you’ll just be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32 “Rise in the presence of the aged[m] and honor the elderly face-to-face.
“Fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 “If a resident alien lives with you in your land, you are not to mistreat him. 34 You are to treat the resident alien the same way you treat the native born among you—love him like yourself, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
35 “You are not to act unjustly in deciding a case[n] or when measuring weight and quantity. 36 You are to maintain just balances and reliable standards for weights, dry volumes, and liquid volumes.[o] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Observe all my statutes and all my ordinances in order to practice them. I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:8 Lit. soul
- Leviticus 19:8 The Heb. lacks from contact with his people
- Leviticus 19:13 The Heb. lacks him
- Leviticus 19:16 The Heb. lacks idle
- Leviticus 19:16 Lit. stand on the blood of your neighbor
- Leviticus 19:19 Lit. breed within two kinds
- Leviticus 19:19 The Heb. lacks of seeds
- Leviticus 19:20 Lit. a lying of seed
- Leviticus 19:21 Lit. He
- Leviticus 19:26 I.e. divination
- Leviticus 19:26 Or practice witchcraft
- Leviticus 19:27 Lit. cut the sides of your hair; i.e. as a sign of affiliation
- Leviticus 19:32 Lit. of the grey head
- Leviticus 19:35 Lit. in judgment
- Leviticus 19:36 Lit. and honest weight, ephah, and hin
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