Beginning
Other rules
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to Israel's people. They must be holy because I am holy. You must tell them that.
3 Each person must respect his mother and his father. All the people must keep the Sabbath as a day of rest. I am the Lord your God.
4 You must not worship idols. You must not use metal to make gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 When a person sacrifices a friendship offering to the Lord, he must obey the rules. If he does, the Lord will accept the gift. 6 The people must eat the meat on the day that the person offers it. Or they must eat it on the next day. The person must burn any meat that he has not eaten after the second day. 7 On the third day, the meat is not clean. 8 If he eats the meat on the third day he makes unclean a gift that is holy to the Lord. You must send him away from the camp.
9 When a person cuts the plants in his field, he must not cut to the edge of the field. He must not pick up what he drops. 10 If a person grows fruit to make wine, he must not pick all the fruit. He must not pick up the fruit that drops. The fruit that drops is for the poor people. And it is for those who are foreign. I am the Lord your God.
11 You must not take something that belongs to another person. You must not say something that is not true. You must obey my rules.
12 You must not use the name of your God to say a promise. This will make my name unclean. I am the Lord.
13 You must not rob another person. You must not keep a slave's money until the morning.
14 You must not speak bad words against a person who is deaf. You must not put something in front of a blind person, to make them fall down. I am the Lord. Obey me.
15 You must be fair to other people when you judge them. You must not be more kind to a rich person than to a poor person. You must be fair to everyone.
16 You must not speak bad words about other people. If somebody is in danger of death, do not keep quiet if you know the truth. I am the Lord.
17 You must not think bad thoughts about another person. A person may do something that is wrong. You must tell him that he is doing a wrong thing. If you do, you will not be a part of the wrong thing.
18 You must not try to punish a person who has done something wrong against you. You must not continue to hate a person like that. Instead, you must love other people as much you love yourself. I am the Lord.
19 The people must obey God's rules. They must not let two different kinds of animals have sex together. They must not put two different kinds of seeds in one field. They must not make clothes from two different materials.
20 A slave girl belongs to a man. Another man must not have sex with her. If he does, he is doing a wrong thing. But the girl is not free. He has not bought her. You must punish them. But you must not kill them because the girl was not free. 21 The man must bring a male sheep to the door of the Tent of Meeting. It is an offering to the Lord. 22 The priest will sacrifice the gift to the Lord. The sacrifice will atone for the man's sin. Then the Lord will forgive the man.
23 When you go into Canaan, a person may plant a fruit tree there. But he must not eat the fruit for three years. 24 In the fourth year, the fruit is holy. It is an offering to praise the Lord. 25 In the fifth year, the people can eat the fruit. If they do this, the trees will give much fruit to the people. I am the Lord your God.
26 You must not eat any meat that has the blood in it. You must not do magic. You must not use magic to learn about future times.
27 A man must not cut the hair on the sides of his head. He must not cut the edges of his beard.
28 He must not cut his body to remember the dead people. He must not paint his body. I am the Lord your God.
29 He must not sell his daughter for sex. You would make her ashamed. If he does this, all the people might do the same. The whole land would become full of sin.
30 God has said what the people can do on the Sabbath day of rest. On the day of rest, the people must do only those things. They must respect the Lord's house. I am the Lord.
31 They must not ask people who do magic to help them. That would make Israel's people unclean. I am the Lord your God.
32 The people must stand up when they are with old people. They must respect the old people. They must give honour to their God. I am the Lord your God.
33 A foreign person may live in your land. You must be kind to him or to her. 34 People must love the person from a different country as they love themselves. They must remember the time when they lived in Egypt. Egypt was not their country. I am the Lord your God.
35 They must be fair when they measure length or weight or size. 36 They must use correct weights and measures. I am the Lord your God. I led you out of Egypt.
37 They must obey all my rules. I am the Lord.’
What would happen if the people did not obey the rules
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Talk to Israel's people. Say, “If any Israelite or foreign person gives his children to the god called Molech, he must die.” The people must throw stones at him to kill him. 3 I, the Lord, will turn away from that person. I will make him separate from his people. That person did not respect the Lord. He did not respect the Lord's holy name. 4 Israel's people may not think that his sin was important. So they might not kill him. 5 But the Lord himself will become an enemy of the man and of his family. The Lord will send him away with all the people who worship the god called Molech.
6 A person must not ask someone who does magic for help. They are turning away from the Lord. He will send them away from his people.
7 The people must be holy. I am the Lord your God. 8 They must always obey all my rules. I am the Lord who makes them holy.
9 If a person says bad things about his mother or his father, you must kill him. He has destroyed their honour. His sin will cause his death.
10 If a man has sex with another man's wife you must kill him and the woman.
11 A man is sinning if he has sex with his father's wife. You must kill the man and the woman. They have destroyed the father's honour. Their sin causes their death.
12 A man is sinning if he has sex with his son's wife. You must kill them both. They have done a strange thing. Their own sin causes their death.
13 A man is sinning if he has sex with another man. You must kill both of the men. They should be ashamed. Their sin causes their death.
14 A man is sinning if he marries a woman and her mother. You must burn the man and both the women in the fire. Then their sin will not make my people unclean.
15 A man is sinning if he has sex with an animal. You must kill the man and the animal.
16 A woman is sinning if she has sex with an animal. You must kill the woman and the animal. Their sin causes their death.
17 It is a sin if a man marries his sister. She may be the daughter of his father or of his mother. It is a sin if he has sex with her. The people must send them away. He has taken away his sister's honour. He must carry the punishment for his sin.
18 A man must not have sex with a woman when she is bleeding. If he does, it is a sin. They have not obeyed the rules of the Lord. The people must send them away.
19 A man must not have sex with his mother's sister or with his father's sister. They are both doing a wrong thing. They are taking away the family's honour. Their sin causes their punishment.
20 A man is sinning if he has sex with his aunt. He is taking away his father's brother's honour. They will have no children.
21 It makes the people unclean if a man marries his brother's wife. He has taken away his brother's honour. They will not have any children.
22 If the people want to remain in the land that I am giving to them, they must obey my laws and my rules. 23 The people who are living in Canaan now are doing bad things. I, the Lord, hate them because they do these things. I will send them out of Canaan. 24 I, the Lord, will give their land to Israel's people. I will give it to you and to your children to keep for all time. In that land, there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. I am the Lord your God. I want you to be separate from other people.
25 The people must know which animals are clean. And they must know which animals are unclean. They must know which birds are clean. And they must know which birds are unclean. They must not eat any animal or bird that is unclean. 26 I am the Lord and I am holy. So my people must be holy for me. I have made them separate from other people. They belong to me.
27 A man or a woman who uses magic is doing a wrong thing. People must throw stones at that person until they die. Their sin will cause their death.’
Rules for the priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say this to the priests. They must not touch a dead body. That would make them unclean. 2 It may be the body of a person from their own family. The priest can touch the dead person if it is his mother or father. He can touch the dead person if it is his son or his daughter or his brother. 3 He can touch the dead person if it is his sister. But he must not touch her if she has a husband. 4 The priest must not touch a dead person who is married to a person of his family. That would make him unclean.
5 A priest must not cut all the hair from his head. He must not cut the sides of his beard. He must not cut his body. 6 A priest must be holy. He must not speak bad words about the Lord. He is the person who sacrifices the people's burnt offerings.
7 A priest must not marry a woman who has left her husband. He must not marry a woman if men have paid her to have sex with her. He must not marry a woman whose husband has sent her away. A priest must be holy. 8 A priest is holy because he sacrifices the people's offerings to God. A priest is holy because I, the Lord, am holy.
9 A priest's daughter must not have sex with men who pay her. That would make her unclean. She would take away her father's honour. If she does not obey, you must burn her in a fire.
10 They have poured special oil on the leader of the priests' head to show that he is greater than his brothers. He must wear special clothes. He must comb his hair. He must not tear his clothes. 11 He must not go into a room where there is a dead body. Even if it is the body of his parent, he must not go in. It will make him unclean. 12 He must not leave the house of God. He has the holy oil on his head. He must be separate. I am the Lord.
13 The leader of the priests must marry a woman who has not had sex before. 14 The woman must not have had a husband who died. She must not have a husband that she has left. Men must not have paid to have sex with her. She must be a woman from Israel's people, 15 so that their children will be holy. I am the Lord. I make priests holy.’
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 ‘Talk to Aaron. Say, “A priest who does not have a perfect body must not sacrifice the burnt offerings to God.” This rule is for now and for all time. 18 A priest who cannot see must not sacrifice the food to God. A priest who cannot walk must not sacrifice food to God. A priest with a body that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 19 A priest with a hand that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. A priest with a foot that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 20 A priest with a back that is not straight must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest who is very small offer a food gift. A priest who has an eye disease or a skin disease must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest offer food if his testicles are spoiled. 21 If a priest's son has something wrong with his body, he must not come near to the altar. He must not give the food offering to the Lord. 22 He can eat God's holy food and God's most holy food. 23 But none of Aaron's family who is not perfect can go near the holy curtain or the altar. He would make the holy places unclean. I am the Lord. I make them holy.’
24 Moses told all these rules to Aaron, to his sons and to all Israel's people.
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