Leviticus 19

Other Laws

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Tell all the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy.

3 “ ‘You must respect your mother and father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

4 “ ‘Do not worship idols or make statues or gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 “ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering 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.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, because he did not respect 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. I am the Lord your God.
11 “ ‘You must not steal. You must not cheat people, and you must not lie to each other.

12 You must not make a false promise by my name, or you will show that you don’t respect your God. I am the Lord.
13 “ ‘You must not cheat your neighbor or rob him. You must not keep a hired worker’s salary all night until morning.

14 You must not curse a deaf person or put something in front of a blind person to make him fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.
15 “ ‘Be fair in your judging. You must not show special favor to poor people or great people, but be fair when you judge your neighbor.

16 You must not spread false stories against other people, and you must not do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.
17 “ ‘You must not hate your fellow citizen in your heart. If your neighbor does something wrong, tell him about it, or you will be partly to blame.

18 Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

19 “ ‘Obey my laws. You must not mate two different kinds of cattle 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 with a slave girl of another man, but this slave girl has not been bought or given her freedom, there must be punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because the woman was not free.21 The man must bring a male sheep as his penalty offering to the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

22 The priest will offer the sheep as a penalty offering before the Lord for the man’s sin, to remove the sins of the man so he will belong to the Lord. 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.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.
“ ‘You must not try to tell the future by signs or black magic.
27 “ ‘You must not cut the hair on the sides of your heads or cut the edges of your beard.

28 You must not cut your body to show sadness for someone who died or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

29 “ ‘Do not dishonor your daughter by making her become a prostitute. If you do this, the country will be filled with all kinds of sin.

30 “ ‘Obey the laws about Sabbaths, and respect my Most Holy Place. I am the Lord.

31 “ ‘Do not go to mediums or fortune-tellers for advice, or you will become unclean. I am the Lord your God.

32 “ ‘Show respect to old people; stand up in their presence. Show respect also to your God. I am the Lord.
33 “ ‘Do not mistreat foreigners living in your country,

34 but treat them just as you treat your own citizens. Love foreigners as you love yourselves, because you were foreigners one time in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 “ ‘Do not cheat when you measure the length or weight or amount of something.

36 Your weights and balances should weigh correctly, 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 all my laws and rules, and obey them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Leviticus 19

Religious and Social Regulations

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:2 “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father,t and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

4 Do not turn to idols,s and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God.

Eating the Peace Offering

5 “‘When you sacrifice a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is accepted for you.t6 It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice and on the following day,t but what is left over until the third day must be burned up.t7 If, however, it is eatent on the third day, it is spoiled,t it will not be accepted,

8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquityt because he has profaneds what is holy to the Lord.t That person will be cut off from his people.s

Leaving the Gleanings

9 “‘When you gather in the harvestt of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field,t and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest.

10 You must not pick your vineyard bare,t and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

Dealing Honestly

11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen.t12 You must not swear falselyt in my name, so that you do not profanet the name of your God. I am the Lord.13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him.t You must not withholdt the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning.

14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person.t You must feart your God; I am the Lord.

Justice, Love, and Propriety

15 “‘Yous must not deal unjustly in judgment:t you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich.t You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.t16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people.t You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake.t I am the Lord.17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him.t18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudget against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself.s I am the Lord.

19 You must keep my statutes. You must not allow two different kinds of your animals to breed,t you must not sow your field with two different kinds of seed, and you must not weart a garment made of two different kinds of fabric.s

Lying with a Slave Woman

20 “‘When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman,t although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation.s They must not be put to death, because she was not free.21 He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram,s

22 and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed,t and he will be forgivent of his sint that he has committed.

The Produce of Fruit Trees

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any fruit tree,t you must consider its fruit to be forbidden.t Three years it will be forbidden to you;t it must not be eaten.24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, praise offeringst to the Lord.

25 Then in the fifth year you may eat its fruit to add its produce to your harvest.t I am the Lord your God.

Blood, Hair, and Body

26 “‘You must not eat anything with the blood still in it.t You must not practice either divination or soothsaying.t27 You must not round off the corners of the hair on your head or ruin the corners of your beard.s28 You must not slash your body for a dead persont or incise a tattoo on yourself.t I am the Lord.

29 Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute,t so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.t

Purity, Honor, Respect, and Honesty

30 “‘You must keep my Sabbaths and fear my sanctuary. I am the Lord.31 Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spiritss to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God.32 You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord.33 When a foreigner residest with you in your land, you must not oppress him.34 The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; sot you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume.t36 You must have honest balances,t honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.s I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt.

37 You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations.t I am the Lord.’”