Laws of Holiness

19 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy(A) because I, the Lord your God, am holy.(B)

“Each of you is to respect his mother and father.(C) You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to worthless idols(D) or make cast images(E) of gods for yourselves;(F) I am the Lord your God.

“When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.(G) If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted.(H) Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.(I)

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings(J) of your harvest. 10 Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor(K) and the resident alien;(L) I am the Lord your God.

11 “Do not steal.(M) Do not act deceptively(N) or lie(O) to one another. 12 Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God;(P) I am the Lord.

13 “Do not oppress(Q) your neighbor or rob(R) him. The wages due a hired worker(S) must not remain with you until morning. 14 Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(T) but you are to fear your God;(U) I am the Lord.(V)

15 “Do not act unjustly(W) when deciding a case. Do not be partial(X) to the poor or give preference to the rich;(Y) judge your neighbor fairly. 16 Do not go about spreading slander(Z) among your people; do not jeopardize[a] your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

17 “Do not harbor hatred against your brother.[b](AA) Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him.(AB) 18 Do not take revenge(AC) or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself;(AD) I am the Lord.

19 “You are to keep my statutes. Do not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material.(AE)

20 “If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed(AF) or given her freedom, there must be punishment.[c] They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 However, he must bring a ram as his guilt[d] offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(AG) 22 The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden.[e] It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit is to be consecrated as a praise offering(AH) to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you;(AI) I am the Lord your God.

26 “You are not to eat anything with blood in it.[f](AJ) You are not to practice divination(AK) or witchcraft.(AL) 27 You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.(AM) 28 You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead(AN) or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.

29 “Do not debase[g](AO) your daughter by making her a prostitute,(AP) or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. 30 Keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary;(AQ) I am the Lord.

31 “Do not turn to mediums[h](AR) or consult spiritists,[i](AS) or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.

32 “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old.(AT) Fear your God; I am the Lord.

33 “When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress(AU) him. 34 You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself,(AV) for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;(AW) I am the Lord your God.

35 “Do not be unfair(AX) in measurements of length, weight, or volume. 36 You are to have honest balances,(AY) honest weights, an honest dry measure,[j] and an honest liquid measure;[k](AZ) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 19:16 Lit not stand against
  2. 19:17 Or your fellow Israelite
  3. 19:20 Or compensation
  4. 19:21 Or restitution
  5. 19:23 Lit uncircumcised
  6. 19:26 Or anything over its blood
  7. 19:29 Lit profane
  8. 19:31 Or spirits of the dead
  9. 19:31 Or familiar spirits
  10. 19:36 Lit honest ephah
  11. 19:36 Lit honest hin

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(A) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(B) am holy.(C)

“‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(D) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(E) I am the Lord your God.(F)

“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(G) I am the Lord your God.(H)

“‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.(I) If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(J) Whoever eats it will be held responsible(K) because they have desecrated what is holy(L) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.(M)

“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges(N) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(O) 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time(P) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.(Q) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.(R) I am the Lord your God.

11 “‘Do not steal.(S)

“‘Do not lie.(T)

“‘Do not deceive one another.(U)

12 “‘Do not swear falsely(V) by my name(W) and so profane(X) the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob(Y) your neighbor.(Z)

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker(AA) overnight.(AB)

14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(AC) but fear your God.(AD) I am the Lord.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice;(AE) do not show partiality(AF) to the poor or favoritism to the great,(AG) but judge your neighbor fairly.(AH)

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander(AI) among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.(AJ) I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.(AK) Rebuke your neighbor frankly(AL) so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge(AM) or bear a grudge(AN) against anyone among your people,(AO) but love your neighbor(AP) as yourself.(AQ) I am the Lord.

19 “‘Keep my decrees.(AR)

“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.(AS)

“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(AT)

20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man(AU) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.(AV) 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.(AW)

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,(AX) an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(AY)

“‘Do not practice divination(AZ) or seek omens.(BA)

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(BB)

28 “‘Do not cut(BC) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,(BD) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.(BE)

30 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(BF) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.(BG)

31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(BH) or seek out spiritists,(BI) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect(BJ) for the elderly(BK) and revere your God.(BL) I am the Lord.(BM)

33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.(BN) Love them as yourself,(BO) for you were foreigners(BP) in Egypt.(BQ) I am the Lord your God.

35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.(BR) 36 Use honest scales(BS) and honest weights, an honest ephah[d](BT) and an honest hin.[e](BU) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.(BV)

37 “‘Keep all my decrees(BW) and all my laws(BX) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
  2. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
  3. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
  4. Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 of a bushel or about 22 liters.
  5. Leviticus 19:36 A hin was a liquid measure having the capacity of about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters.