Leviticus 19
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 19
Behavior Pleasing to the Lord.1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the assembly of the children of Israel and say: Be holy, for I am holy. I am the Lord, your God. 3 Every man shall honor his father and his mother, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord, your God.
4 “Do not worship idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the Lord, your God. 5 When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, you shall do it so that it will be acceptable. 6 You shall eat it either on the same day or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day should be burned in fire. 7 If you were to eat it on the third day, it would be an abomination. It would not be accepted. 8 Therefore, everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he shall have profaned something holy to the Lord. That person shall be cut off from among his people.
9 [a]“When you gather the harvest of your land, do not reap the corners of your field nor gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather all the grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord, your God.
11 “You are not to steal, nor should you deceive nor lie to one another. 12 Nor shall you swear a false oath by my name, nor shall you profane my name. I am your God, the Lord.
13 “You shall not defraud your neighbor, nor shall you rob him. You shall not keep the wages of the person you have hired all night, until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor shall you put a stumbling block before the blind, for you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 “You shall not commit any injustice in judging the poor, nor shall you show partiality to the mighty. You shall judge your neighbor with righteousness. 16 You are not to spread slander among your people, nor shall you act against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, nor shall you rebuke your brother in any way, lest you bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[b] I am the Lord.
19 “Obey my ordinances. Do not keep one type of cattle with another. Do not sow a field with seed that is mixed. Do not wear clothes made both of wool and linen.
20 “If a man has sex with a slave girl who is betrothed and belongs to another man, and she has not been redeemed nor has she been given her freedom, she shall be scourged, but they shall not be put to death for she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, for the sin he has committed, with the ram of the guilt offering. He shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees, you shall leave its fruit unharvested[c] for three years. It is not to be eaten. 24 But the fourth year all of its fruit will be holy, a praise offering to the Lord. 25 In the fifth year you can eat its fruit. Thus, it will yield more richly for you. I am the Lord, your God.
26 “You must not eat anything with blood in it. You must not practice magic or cast spells. 27 [d]You must not trim the hair on the side of your head, nor must you clip the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not slash your skin to mourn the dead, nor shall you have any tattoos. I am the Lord.
29 “Do not prostitute your daughter, forcing her to commit fornication, lest the land become adulterous and the land be full of lewdness. 30 You will observe my Sabbaths and respect my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31 “Do not consult mediums or seek after wizards, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord, your God.
32 “You will stand up in the presence of those with gray hair, and honor the presence of those who are old, and you will fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 “If an alien dwells in your land, you will not harass him. 34 You will treat the alien who dwells among you just as you would the person who was born among you. You shall love him as yourself, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.
35 “You shall not cheat in measuring lengths or weights or volumes. 36 You will use honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.[e] I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Therefore, you will observe all of my statutes and my decrees, and follow them. I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:9 Gleaning was an Israelite custom that provided for the poor and the strangers (see Ru 2).
- Leviticus 19:18 Love your neighbor as yourself: a neighbor was not only those who lived close by but all those who one came in contact with. It is a central tenet of both Judaism and Christianity firmly espoused by Christ himself (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27). The Old Testament teaching on loving your neighbor was extended to “love your enemies” in Mt 5:43-48; Lk 6:27-36.
- Leviticus 19:23 Unharvested is “uncircumcised” in Hebrew. The reference is certainly to an ancient agricultural practice that was given a religious meaning through a comparison with circumcision.
- Leviticus 19:27 Pagan rites, prohibited for Hebrews (see 1 Ki 18:28; Zec 13:6).
- Leviticus 19:36 Hin: a liquid measure.
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
King James Version
19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will.
6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the Lord: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.
15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.
22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.
24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the Lord withal.
25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the Lord your God.
26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
