Beginning
Other Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell all the ·people [L congregation/community of the sons/T children] of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy.
3 “‘You must ·respect [fear; revere] your mother and father [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16], and you must keep my Sabbaths [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15]. I am the Lord your God.
4 “‘Do not ·worship [L turn to] idols or make ·statues of gods [cast images] for yourselves [Ex. 20:4–6; Deut. 5:8–10]. I am the Lord your God.
5 “‘When you sacrifice a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1] to the Lord, offer it in such a way that will be accepted. 6 You may eat it the same day you offer it or on the next day. But if any is left on the third day, you must burn it ·up [L with fire]. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is unclean, and it will not be accepted. 8 Anyone who eats it then will ·be guilty of sin [bear iniquity], because he ·did not respect [profaned] the holy things that belong to the Lord. He must be cut off from the people.
9 “‘When you harvest your crops on your land, do not harvest all the way to the corners of your fields. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. 10 Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards, and don’t pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for poor people and for ·people traveling through your country [resident aliens; Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2]. I am the Lord your God.
11 “‘You must not steal [Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19]. You must not cheat people, and you must not lie to each other [Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20]. 12 You must not make a false promise by my name, or you will ·show that you don’t respect [L profane the name of] your God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘You must not ·cheat [L oppress] your neighbor or rob him. You must not keep a hired worker’s salary all night until morning [Deut. 24:14–15; Jer. 22:13]. 14 You must not ·curse [or belittle] a deaf person or put ·something [a stumbling block] in front of a blind person to make him fall [Deut. 27:18]. But you must ·respect [fear; Prov. 1:7] your God. I am the Lord.
15 “‘·Be fair in your judging [L Do not render perverted judgment]. You must not show ·special favor [partiality] to poor people or great people, but ·be fair when you [L with righteousness] judge your ·neighbor [countryman; James 2:1, 9]. 16 You must not spread ·false stories [slander] against other people, and you must not do anything that would ·put your neighbor’s life in danger [L stand against the blood of your neighbor]. I am the Lord.
17 “‘You must not hate your ·fellow citizen [brother] in your heart. ·If your ·neighbor [countryman] does something wrong, tell him about it [L You must reprove your brother], or you will be partly to blame. 18 ·Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even [You should not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people]. Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Matt. 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27]. I am the Lord.
19 “‘·Obey [Keep; Guard] my ·laws [L statutes; ordinances; requirements]. You must not ·mate [breed] two different kinds of ·cattle [animals] or sow your field with two different kinds of seed. You must not wear clothing made from two different kinds of material mixed together.
20 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with a slave girl ·of [L betrothed to] another man, but this slave girl has not been ·bought [ransomed] or given her freedom, there must be ·punishment [L an inquiry]. But they are not to be put to death, because the woman was not free. 21 The man must bring a ·male sheep [ram] as his ·penalty [guilt; reparation; 5:14–6:7] offering to the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 22 The priest will offer the ·sheep [ram] as a ·penalty [guilt; reparation; 5:14–6:7] offering before the Lord for the man’s sin, ·to remove the sins of the man so he will belong to the Lord [L …and make atonement for him]. Then he will be forgiven for his sin.
23 “‘In the future, when you enter your country, you will plant many kinds of trees for food. ·After planting a tree, wait three years before using its fruit [L You should regard its fruit as uncircumcised for three years; do not eat it]. 24 In the fourth year the fruit from the tree will be the Lord’s, a holy offering of praise to him. 25 Then in the fifth year, you may eat the fruit from the tree. The tree will then produce more fruit for you. I am the Lord your God.
26 “‘You must not eat anything with the blood in it [3:17].
“‘You must not try to tell the future by signs or ·black magic [divination; Deut. 18:9–12].
27 “‘You must not cut the hair on ·the sides of your heads [your temples] or cut the edges of your beard. 28 You must not cut your body for the dead [C a pagan sign of mourning; Deut. 14:1; Jer. 16:6; 41:5] or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
29 “‘Do not ·dishonor [profane] your daughter by making her become a prostitute. If you do this, the country will be ·filled [L prostituted] with all kinds of sin.
30 “‘·Obey [Keep; Guard] ·the laws about Sabbaths [L my Sabbaths], and ·respect [reverence] my ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary]. I am the Lord.
31 “‘Do not ·go [L turn] to mediums or ·fortune-tellers [wizards] ·for advice [L and do not seek them], or you will become unclean [C in a ritual sense]. I am the Lord your God.
32 “‘Show respect to old people; stand up in their presence [Prov. 16:31; 20:29]. ·Show respect also to [Fear] your God. I am the Lord.
33 “‘Do not mistreat ·foreigners living [resident aliens] in your country, 34 but treat them just as you treat your own ·citizens [natives]. Love ·foreigners [resident aliens] as you love yourselves, because you were ·foreigners [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens; Ex. 22:21; Jer. 22:3] one time in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 “‘Do not ·cheat [do injustice] when you measure the length or weight or ·amount of something [quantity; capacity; Deut. 25:13–16; Prov. 11:1; Ezek. 45:10–12]. 36 Your weights and balances should weigh ·correctly [honestly], with your weighing baskets the right size and your jars holding the right amount of liquid. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “‘·Remember [Keep; Guard] all my ·laws [statutes; regulations; requirements] and ·rules [regulations], and obey them. I am the Lord.’”
Warnings About Various Sins
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “You must also tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel these things: ‘If a person in your country gives one of his children to Molech [18:21], that person must be ·killed [put to death]. It doesn’t matter if he is a ·citizen [L son of Israel] or a ·foreigner living [L resident alien sojourning] in Israel; you must ·throw stones at [stone] him and ·kill him [put him to death]. 3 I will be against him and cut him off from his people, because he gave his children to Molech. He showed that he ·did not respect [profaned] my holy name, and he made my ·Holy Place [sanctuary] unclean. 4 The people of the ·community [L land] might ·ignore [close their eyes to; or connive with] that person and not kill the one who gave his children to Molech. 5 But I will ·be [L set my face] against him and his family, and I will cut him off from his people. I will do this to anyone who follows him in ·being unfaithful to me [L prostituting himself] by worshiping Molech.
6 “‘I will ·be [L set my face] against anyone who ·goes [turns] to mediums and ·fortune-tellers [wizards] for advice, because that person is ·being unfaithful to [L prostituting himself against] me. So I will cut him off from his people.
7 “‘Be my holy people. Be holy because I am the Lord your God. 8 ·Remember [Keep; Guard] and obey my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements]. I am the Lord, and I have ·made you holy [consecrated you].
9 “‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother, so he has brought his own ·death [L blood] on himself [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16].
Punishments for Sexual Sins
10 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [commits adultery] with his neighbor’s wife, both the ·man and the woman are guilty of adultery and [L adulterer and the adulteress] must be put to death [18:20; Deut. 22:22]. 11 If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his father’s wife, ·he has shamed [L exposing/revealing the nakedness of] his father, and both the man and his father’s wife must be put to death. They have brought ·it [L blood] on themselves [18:8; Deut. 22:30].
12 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is ·not natural [perverted]. They have brought ·their own deaths [L blood] on themselves.
13 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with another man as a man does with a woman, these two men have ·done a hateful sin [committed an abomination]. They must be put to death. They have brought ·it [blood] on themselves [18:22].
14 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations with [or marries; L takes] both a woman and her mother, this is ·evil [lewd; depraved]. The people must burn that man and the two women in fire so that your people will not be ·evil [lewd; depraved].
15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death. You must also kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They have brought ·it [blood] on themselves [18:23; Ex. 22:19; Deut. 27:21].
17 “‘It is shameful for a brother to ·marry [L take] his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and ·to have sexual relations with her [L he sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness]. In front of everyone they must both be cut off from their people. The man has ·shamed [L exposed/revealed the nakedness of] his sister, and he is guilty of sin [18:9].
18 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with a woman during her monthly period, both the woman and the man must be cut off from their people. They sinned because ·they showed the source of her blood [L he uncovered her fountain and she has revealed the fountain of her blood; 18:19].
19 “‘Do not ·have sexual relations with [L uncover the nakedness of] your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, because that would ·shame a close relative [L expose one’s own flesh]. Both of you are guilty of this sin [18:12–13].
20 “‘If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his uncle’s wife, he has ·shamed [L exposed/revealed the nakedness of] his uncle. That man and his uncle’s wife will die without children; they are guilty of sin.
21 “‘It is unclean [C in a ritual sense] for a man to ·marry [L take] his brother’s wife. That man has ·shamed [L exposed/revealed the nakedness of] his brother, and they will have no children [18:16].
22 “‘·Remember [Keep; Guard] all my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·rules [regulations], and obey them. I am leading you to your own land, and if you obey my laws and rules, that land will not ·throw [vomit] you out. 23 I am ·forcing [driving] out ahead of you the people who live there. Because they did all these sins, I have hated them. Do not live ·the way those people lived [L according to the statutes/ordinances/requirements of that nation].
24 “‘I have told you that you will ·get [inherit] their land, which I will give to you as your ·very own [possession]; it is a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8]. I am the Lord your God, and I have set you apart from other people and made you my own. 25 So you must treat clean [C in a ritual sense] animals and birds differently from unclean animals and birds. Do not make yourselves detestable by any of these unclean birds or animals or things that crawl on the ground, which I have made unclean for you [11:1–47]. 26 So you must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from other people to be my own.
27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium or a ·fortune-teller [wizard] must be put to death. You must stone them to death; they have brought ·it [L blood] on themselves [19:31; 20:6].’”
How Priests Must Behave
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense] ·by touching a dead person [L for a death among his people/relatives]. 2 ·But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him [L …except for a close relative]. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3 ·unmarried [L virgin] sister who is close to him because she has no husband. The priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean ·if the dead person was only related to him by marriage [L as a husband among his people].
5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies [C as pagan priests often did]. 6 They must be holy to their God and ·show respect for [L not defile] God’s name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord, which is the food of their God. So they must be holy [19:27–28].
7 “‘A priest must not marry ·a defiled prostitute [or a prostitute or a defiled woman] or a divorced woman, because he is holy to his God. 8 Treat him as holy, because he offers up the food of your God. Think of him as holy; I am the Lord who ·makes you holy [consecrates/sanctifies you], and I am holy.
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she ·shames [defiles] her father. She must be burned with fire.
10 “‘The high priest, who was ·chosen from among his brothers [L exalted among his brothers], had the ·special [L anointing] olive oil poured on his head. He was also ·appointed [consecrated] to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not let his hair go uncombed or tear his clothes [C signs of mourning]. 11 He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense], even if it is for his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not go out of the ·Holy Place [sanctuary], because if he does and becomes ·unclean [defiled], he will make God’s ·Holy Place [sanctuary] unclean. The ·special oil used in appointing priests [L anointing oil] was poured on his head to separate him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or ·a defiled prostitute [or a defiled woman or a prostitute; v. 7]. He must marry a virgin from his own people 15 so ·the people will respect his children as his own [he will not defile his children]. I am the Lord. I have ·set the high priest apart for his special job [sanctified/consecrated him].’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron: ‘If any of your descendants have ·something wrong with them [a blemish], they must never come near to offer the special food of their God. 18 Anyone who has ·something wrong with him [a blemish] must not come near: blind men, crippled men, men with damaged faces, deformed men, 19 men with a crippled foot or hand, 20 hunchbacks, dwarfs, men who have something wrong with their eyes, men who have an itching disease or a skin disease, or men who ·have damaged testicles [are eunuchs; Acts 8:27].
21 “‘If one of Aaron’s descendants has ·something wrong with him [a blemish], he cannot come near to make the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has ·something wrong with him [a blemish]; he cannot offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food and also the holy food. 23 But he may not go through the curtain into the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary], and he may not go near the altar, because he has ·something wrong with him [a blemish]. He must not defile my ·Holy Place [sanctuary]. I am the Lord who makes these places holy.’”
24 So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the people of Israel.
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