Leviticus 17-19

New King James Version

The Sanctity of Blood

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: ³ “Whatever man of the house of Israel who ^(A)kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, ⁴ and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be ^(B)imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be ^[a]cut off from among his people, ⁵ to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices ^(C)which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ And the priest ^(D)shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and ^(E)burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁷ They shall no more offer their sacrifices ^(F)to ^[b]demons, after whom they ^(G)have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

⁸ “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, ^(H)who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ and does not ^(I)bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be ^[c]cut off from among his people.

^10 (J)‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, ^(K)I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the ^(L)life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar ^(M)to make atonement for your souls; for ^(N)it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

¹³ “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ^(O)hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall ^(P)pour out its blood and ^(Q)cover it with dust; ^14 (R)for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

^15 (S)“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, ^(T)he shall both wash his clothes and ^(U)bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then ^(V)he shall bear his ^[d]guilt.”

Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(W)‘I am the Lord your God. ^3 (X)According to ^[e]the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and ^(Y)according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ^[f]ordinances. ^4 (Z)You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. ⁵ You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. ⁷ The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸ The nakedness of your ^(AA)father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. ^9 (AB)The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (AC)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. ^14 (AD)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her ^(AE)daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. ¹⁸ Nor shall you take a woman ^(AF)as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

¹⁹ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as ^(AG)long as she is in her ^(AH)customary impurity. ^20 (AI)Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your ^(AJ)neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. ²¹ And you shall not let any of your descendants ^(AK)pass through ^(AL)the fire to ^(AM)Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ²² You shall not lie with ^(AN)a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. ²³ Nor shall you mate with any ^(AO)animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

^24 (AP)‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ^(AQ)for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. ²⁵ For ^(AR)the land is defiled; therefore I ^(AS)visit^[g] the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land ^(AT)vomits out its inhabitants. ^26 (AU)You shall therefore ^[h]keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ²⁷ (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), ²⁸ lest ^(AV)the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹ For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be ^[i]cut off from among their people.

³⁰ ‘Therefore you shall keep My ^[j]ordinance, so ^(AW)that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: ^(AX)I am the Lord your God.’ ”

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: ^(AY)‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

^3 (AZ)‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and ^(BA)keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

^4 (BB)‘Do not turn to idols, ^(BC)nor make for yourselves ^[k]molded gods: I am the Lord your God.

⁵ ‘And ^(BD)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 (BE)‘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 (BF)‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, ^(BG)nor lie to one another. ¹² And you shall not ^(BH)swear by My name falsely, ^(BI)nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

^13 (BJ)‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. ^(BK)The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse the deaf, ^(BL)nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

¹⁵ ‘You shall do no injustice in ^(BM)judgment. You shall not ^(BN)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 ^(BO)talebearer among your people; nor shall you ^(BP)take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

^17 (BQ)‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. ^(BR)You shall surely ^[l]rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. ^18 (BS)You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, ^(BT)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 ^(BU)betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be ^[m]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 ^[n]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 ^[o]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 ^(BV)make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.

^29 (BW)‘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 ^[p]keep My Sabbaths and ^(BX)reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.

³¹ ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after ^(BY)them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

^32 (BZ)‘You shall ^[q]rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and ^(CA)fear your God: I am the Lord.

³³ ‘And ^(CB)if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. ^34 (CC)The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as ^[r]one born among you, and ^(CD)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 ^(CE)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 (CF)‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord.’ ”