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Leviticus 19

1  AND THE Lord said to Moses,2  Say to all the assembly of the Israelites, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3  Each of you shall give due respect to his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths holy. I the Lord am your God.4  Do not turn to idols and things of nought or make for yourselves molten gods. I the Lord am your God.5  And when you offer a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.6  It shall be eaten the same day you offer it and on the day following; and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire.7  If it is eaten at all the third day, it is loathsome; it will not be accepted.8  But everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, for he has profaned a holy thing of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from his people [and not be included in the atonement made for them].9  And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very corners, neither shall you gather the fallen ears or gleanings of your harvest.10  And you shall not glean your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.11  You shall not steal, or deal falsely, or lie one to another. 12  And you shall not swear by My name falsely, neither shall you profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.13  You shall not defraud or oppress your neighbor or rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until morning.14  You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.15  You shall do no injustice in judging a case; you shall not be partial to the poor or show a preference for the mighty, but in righteousness and according to the merits of the case judge your neighbor.16  You shall not go up and down as a dispenser of gossip and scandal among your people, nor shall you [secure yourself by false testimony or by silence and] endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.17  You shall not hate your brother in your heart; but you shall surely rebuke your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18  You shall not take revenge or bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 19  You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your domestic animals breed with a different kind [of animal]; you shall not sow your field with mixed seed, neither wear a garment of linen mixed with wool.20  And if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave betrothed to a husband and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, they shall be punished [after investigation]; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free;21  But he shall bring his guilt or trespass offering to the Lord to the door of the Tent of Meeting, a ram for a guilt or trespass offering.22  The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt or trespass offering before the Lord for his sin, and he shall be forgiven for committing the sin.23  And when you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count the fruit of them as inedible and forbidden to you for three years; it shall not be eaten.24  In the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy for giving praise to the Lord.25  But in the fifth year you may eat of the fruit [of the trees], that their produce may enrich you; I am the Lord your God.26  You shall not eat anything with the blood; neither shall you use magic, omens, or witchcraft [or predict events by horoscope or signs and lucky days].27  You shall not round the corners of the hair of your heads nor trim the corners of your beard [as some idolaters do].28  You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.29  Do not profane your daughter by causing her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and become full of wickedness.30  You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord.31  Turn not to those [mediums] who have familiar spirits or to wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.32  You shall rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man and [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.33  And if a stranger dwells temporarily with you in your land, you shall not suppress and mistreat him.34  But the stranger who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you; and 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 unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.36  You shall have accurate and just balances, just weights, just ephah and hin measures. I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.37  You shall observe all My statutes and ordinances and do them. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19

Chapter 19

Holiness in Personal Conduct

1 The LORD also said to Moses,

2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

3 “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the LORD your God.

4 “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
5 “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so yout will be accepted by God.6 The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up.7 If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it.

8 Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the LORD and will be cut off from the community.
9 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop.

10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.

11 “Do not steal.
“Do not deceive or cheat one another.

12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD.

13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the LORD.

15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.t
“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD.

17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.t Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

19 “You must obey all my decrees.
“Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread.
20 “If a man has sex with a slave girl whose freedom has never been purchased but who is committed to become another man’s wife, he must pay full compensation to her master. But since she is not a free woman, neither the man nor the woman will be put to death.21 The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle.t

22 The priest will then purify himt before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering, and the man’s sin will be forgiven.
23 “When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden.t Do not eat it.24 In the fourth year the entire crop must be consecrated to the LORD as a celebration of praise.

25 Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you follow this pattern, your harvest will increase. I am the LORD your God.

26 “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood.
“Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.

27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.

28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD.

29 “Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with prostitution and wickedness.

30 “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

31 “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God.

32 “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the LORD.
33 “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land.

34 Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
35 “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume.

36 Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate.t I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the LORD.”