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Regulations for Israel’s Appointed Times

23 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times.[a]

The Weekly Sabbath

“‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest,[b] a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.

The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread

“‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight,[c] is a Passover offering to the Lord. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month[d] will be the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work.[e] You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

The Presentation of Firstfruits

The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest,[f] then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest[g] to the priest, 11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit[h]—on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it.[i] 12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer[j] a flawless yearling lamb[k] for a burnt offering to the Lord, 13 along with its grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of[l] choice wheat flour[m] mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma,[n] and its drink offering, one-fourth of a hin of wine.[o] 14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day,[p] until you bring the offering to your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations[q] in all the places where you live.

The Feast of Weeks

15 “‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks.[r] 16 You must count fifty days—until the day after the seventh Sabbath—and then[s] you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of[t] bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast,[u] as firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the loaves of bread,[v] you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs,[w] one young bull,[x] and two rams.[y] They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering[z] and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.[aa] 19 You must also offer[ab] one male goat[ac] for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace-offering sacrifice, 20 and the priest is to wave them—the two lambs[ad]—along with the bread of the firstfruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.

21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you.[ae] You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations.[af] 22 When you gather in the harvest[ag] of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field,[ah] and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner.[ai] I am the Lord your God.’”[aj]

The Feast of Horn Blasts

23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts,[ak] a holy assembly. 25 You must not do any regular work, but[al] you must present a gift to the Lord.’”

The Day of Atonement

26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “The[am] tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.[an] It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves[ao] and present a gift to the Lord. 28 You must not do any work on this particular day,[ap] because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves[aq] before the Lord your God. 29 Indeed,[ar] any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people.[as] 30 As for any person[at] who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate[au] that person from the midst of his people[av] 31 you must not do any work! This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations[aw] in all the places where you live. 32 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.”[ax]

The Feast of Temporary Shelters

33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 34 “Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Shelters[ay] for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work.[az] 36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day;[ba] you must not do any regular work.

37 “‘These are the appointed times of the Lord that you must proclaim as holy assemblies to present a gift to the Lord—burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice, and drink offerings,[bb] each day according to its regulation,[bc] 38 besides[bd] the Sabbaths of the Lord and all your gifts, votive offerings, and freewill offerings which you must give to the Lord.

39 “‘On[be] the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you must celebrate a pilgrim festival of the Lord for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest and on the eighth day is complete rest. 40 On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees[bf]—palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations;[bg] you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You must live in temporary shelters[bh] for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in shelters, 43 so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

44 So Moses spoke to the Israelites about the appointed times of the Lord.[bi]

Regulations for the Lampstand and the Table of Bread

24 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Command the Israelites to bring[bj] to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.[bk] Outside the special curtain[bl] of the congregation in the Meeting Tent, Aaron[bm] must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations.[bn] On the ceremonially pure lampstand[bo] he must arrange the lamps before the Lord continually.

“You must take choice wheat flour[bp] and bake twelve loaves;[bq] there must be two-tenths of an ephah of flour in[br] each loaf, and you must set them in two rows, six in a row,[bs] on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. You must put pure frankincense[bt] on each row,[bu] and it will become a memorial portion[bv] for the bread, a gift[bw] to the Lord. Each Sabbath day[bx] Aaron[by] must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion[bz] is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant. It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetually-allotted portion[ca] from the gifts of the Lord.”

A Case of Blaspheming the Name

10 Now[cb] an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man[cc] had a fight in the camp. 11 The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed,[cd] so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 So they placed him in custody until they were able[ce] to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord.[cf]

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.[cg] 15 Moreover,[ch] you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God[ci] he will bear responsibility for his sin, 16 and one who misuses[cj] the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a resident foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.

17 “‘If a man beats any person to death,[ck] he must be put to death. 18 One who beats an animal to death[cl] must make restitution for it, life for life.[cm] 19 If a man inflicts an injury on[cn] his fellow citizen,[co] just as he has done it must be done to him— 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth—just as he inflicts an injury on another person[cp] that same injury[cq] must be inflicted on him. 21 One who beats an animal to death[cr] must make restitution for it, but[cs] one who beats a person to death must be put to death. 22 There will be one regulation[ct] for you, whether a resident foreigner[cu] or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”

23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:2 tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.” sn The term מוֹעֵד (moʿed, rendered “appointed time” here) can refer to either a time or place of meeting. See the note on “tent of meeting” (אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ʾohel moʿed) in Lev 1:1.
  2. Leviticus 23:3 tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”
  3. Leviticus 23:5 tn Heb “between the two evenings,” either designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night or the time between the descent of the sun from high noon to sunset; the translation “at twilight” accepts the first interpretation. Cf. KJV, ASV “at even”; NAB “at the evening twilight.”sn See B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 156, for a full discussion of the issues raised in this verse. The rabbinic tradition places the slaughter of Passover offerings between approximately 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., not precisely at twilight. Moreover, the term פֶּסַח (pesakh) may mean “protective offering” rather than “Passover offering,” although they amount to about the same thing in the historical context of the exodus from Egypt (see Exod 11-12).
  4. Leviticus 23:6 tn Heb “to this month.”
  5. Leviticus 23:7 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
  6. Leviticus 23:10 tn Heb “and you harvest its harvest.”
  7. Leviticus 23:10 tn Heb “the sheaf of the first of your harvest.”
  8. Leviticus 23:11 tn Heb “for your acceptance.”
  9. Leviticus 23:11 sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”
  10. Leviticus 23:12 tn Heb “And you shall make in the day of your waving the sheaf.”
  11. Leviticus 23:12 tn Heb “a flawless lamb, a son of its year”; KJV “of the first year”; NLT “a year-old male lamb.”
  12. Leviticus 23:13 sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
  13. Leviticus 23:13 sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
  14. Leviticus 23:13 sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
  15. Leviticus 23:13 tn Heb “wine, one-fourth of the hin.” A pre-exilic hin is about 3.6 liters (= ca. 1 gallon), so one-fourth of a hin would be about 1 quart (1 liter).
  16. Leviticus 23:14 tn Heb “until the bone of this day.”
  17. Leviticus 23:14 tn Heb “for your generations.”
  18. Leviticus 23:15 tn Heb “seven Sabbaths, they shall be complete.” The disjunctive accent under “Sabbaths” precludes the translation “seven complete Sabbaths” (as NASB, NIV; cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). The text is somewhat awkward, which may explain why the LXX tradition is confused here, either adding “you shall count” again at the end of the verse, or leaving out “they shall be,” or keeping “they shall be” and adding “to you.”
  19. Leviticus 23:16 tn Heb “and.” In the translation “then” is supplied to clarify the sequence.
  20. Leviticus 23:17 tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, Tg. Onq., and Tg. Ps.-J. insert the word חַלּוֹת (khallot, “loaves”; cf. Lev 2:4 and the note there). Even though “loaves” is not explicit in the MT, the number “two” suggests that these are discrete units, not just a measure of flour, so “loaves” should be assumed even in the MT.
  21. Leviticus 23:17 tn Heb “with leaven.” The noun “leaven” is traditional in English versions (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), but “yeast” is more commonly used today.
  22. Leviticus 23:18 tn Heb “And you shall present on the bread.”
  23. Leviticus 23:18 tn Heb “seven flawless lambs, sons of a year.”
  24. Leviticus 23:18 tn Heb “and one bull, a son of a herd.”
  25. Leviticus 23:18 tc Smr and LXX add “flawless.”
  26. Leviticus 23:18 tn Heb “and their grain offering.”
  27. Leviticus 23:18 sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
  28. Leviticus 23:19 tn Heb “And you shall make.”
  29. Leviticus 23:19 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”
  30. Leviticus 23:20 tn Smr and LXX have the Hebrew article on “lambs.” The syntax of this verse is difficult. The object of the verb (two lambs) is far removed from the verb itself (shall wave) in the MT, and the preposition עַל (ʿal, “upon”), rendered “along with” in this verse, is also added to the far removed subject (literally, “upon [the] two lambs”; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 159). It is clear, however, that the two lambs and the loaves (along with their associated grain and drink offerings) constituted the “wave offering,” which served as the prebend “for the priest.” Burnt and sin offerings (vv. 18-19a) were not included in this (see Lev 7:11-14, 28-36).
  31. Leviticus 23:21 tn Heb “And you shall proclaim [an assembly] in the bone of this day; a holy assembly it shall be to you” (see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 160, and the remarks on the LXX rendering in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 367).
  32. Leviticus 23:21 tn Heb “for your generations.”
  33. Leviticus 23:22 tn Heb “And when you harvest the harvest.”
  34. Leviticus 23:22 tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field in your harvest.”
  35. Leviticus 23:22 sn On the Hebrew גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11. On the privilege of gleaning see also Lev 19:10; 23:22; Deut 14:29; 24:19-21.
  36. Leviticus 23:22 sn Cf. Lev 19:9-10.
  37. Leviticus 23:24 tn Heb “a memorial of loud blasts.” Although the term for “horn” does not occur here, allowing for the possibility that vocal “shouts” of acclamation are envisioned (see P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 325), the “blast” of the shofar (a trumpet made from a ram’s “horn”) is most likely what is intended. On this occasion, the loud blasts on the horn announced the coming of the new year on the first day of the seventh month (see the explanations in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 387, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 160).
  38. Leviticus 23:25 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).
  39. Leviticus 23:27 tn Heb “Surely the tenth day” or perhaps “Precisely the tenth day.” The Hebrew adverbial particle אַךְ (ʾakh) is left untranslated by most recent English versions; cf. however NASB “On exactly the tenth day.”
  40. Leviticus 23:27 sn See the description of this day and its regulations in Lev 16 and the notes there.
  41. Leviticus 23:27 tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” See the note on Lev 16:29 above.
  42. Leviticus 23:28 tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”
  43. Leviticus 23:28 tn Heb “on you [plural]”; cf. NASB, NRSV “on your behalf.”
  44. Leviticus 23:29 tn The particular כִּי (ki) is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the NJPS translation).
  45. Leviticus 23:29 tn Heb “it [i.e., that person; literally “soul,” feminine] shall be cut off from its peoples [plural]”; NLT “from the community.”
  46. Leviticus 23:30 tn Heb “And any person.”
  47. Leviticus 23:30 tn See HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד hif. Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “destroy”; CEV “wipe out.”
  48. Leviticus 23:30 tn Heb “its people” (“its” is feminine to agree with “person,” literally “soul,” which is feminine in Hebrew; cf. v. 29).
  49. Leviticus 23:31 tn Heb “for your generations.”
  50. Leviticus 23:32 tn Heb “you shall rest your Sabbath.”
  51. Leviticus 23:34 tn The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut, booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast (see the following verses) as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “shelters” is more appropriate.
  52. Leviticus 23:35 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
  53. Leviticus 23:36 tn The Hebrew term עֲצֶרֶת (ʿatseret) “solemn assembly [day]” derives from a root associated with restraint or closure. It could refer either to the last day as “closing assembly” day of the festival (e.g., NIV) or a special day of restraint expressed in a “solemn assembly” (e.g., NRSV); cf. NLT “a solemn closing assembly.”
  54. Leviticus 23:37 tn The LXX has “[their] burnt offerings, and their sacrifices, and their drink offerings.”
  55. Leviticus 23:37 tn Heb “a matter of a day in its day”; NAB “as prescribed for each day”; NRSV, NLT “each on its proper day.”
  56. Leviticus 23:38 tn Heb “from to separation.” See BDB 94 s.v. בַּד 1.e for an explanation of this phrase. This phrase is repeated in front of each of the four items in this verse in the Hebrew text, but these have not been translated into English for stylistic reasons. Cf. KJV, NASB “besides”; NRSV “apart from.”
  57. Leviticus 23:39 tn Heb “Surely on the fifteenth day.” The Hebrew adverbial particle אַךְ (ʾakh) is left untranslated by most recent English versions; however, cf. NASB “On exactly the fifteenth day.”
  58. Leviticus 23:40 tn Heb “fruit of majestic trees,” but the following terms and verses define what is meant by this expression. For extensive remarks on the celebration of this festival in history and tradition see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 163; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 389-90; and P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 328-29.
  59. Leviticus 23:41 tn Heb “for your generations.”
  60. Leviticus 23:42 tn Heb “in the huts” (again at the end of this verse and in v. 43), perhaps referring to temporary shelters (i.e., huts) made of the foliage referred to in v. 40 (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 389).
  61. Leviticus 23:44 sn E. S. Gerstenberger (Leviticus [OTL], 352) takes v. 44 to be an introduction to another set of festival regulations, perhaps something like those found in Exod 23:14-17. For others this verse reemphasizes the Mosaic authority of the preceding festival regulations (e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 390).
  62. Leviticus 24:2 tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav (ו) on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause (“to bring…”).
  63. Leviticus 24:2 tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.”
  64. Leviticus 24:3 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain.” It seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place thus forming a canopy (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
  65. Leviticus 24:3 tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.”
  66. Leviticus 24:3 tn Heb “for your generations.”
  67. Leviticus 24:4 tn Alternatively, “pure [gold] lampstand,” based on Exod 25:31, etc., where the term for “gold” actually appears (see NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395, etc.). However, in Lev 24:4 the adjective “pure” is feminine, corresponding to “lampstand,” not an assumed noun “gold” (contrast Exod 25:31), and the “table” in v. 6 was overlaid with gold, but was not made of pure gold. Therefore, it is probably better to translate “[ceremonially] pure lampstand” (v. 4) and “[ceremonially] pure table” (v. 6); see NEB; cf. KJV, ASV; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 164-65; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 307.
  68. Leviticus 24:5 sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
  69. Leviticus 24:5 tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”
  70. Leviticus 24:5 tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
  71. Leviticus 24:6 tn Heb “six of the row.”
  72. Leviticus 24:7 tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qetoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, levonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).
  73. Leviticus 24:7 tn Heb “on [עַל, ʿal] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.
  74. Leviticus 24:7 sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ʾazkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]).
  75. Leviticus 24:7 sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”
  76. Leviticus 24:8 tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac delete the second occurrence of the expression.
  77. Leviticus 24:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  78. Leviticus 24:8 tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to.
  79. Leviticus 24:9 tn Or “a perpetual regulation”; NRSV “a perpetual due.”
  80. Leviticus 24:10 tn Heb “And.”
  81. Leviticus 24:10 tn Heb “the Israelite man,” but Smr has no article, and the point is that there was a conflict between the man of mixed background and a man of full Israelite descent.
  82. Leviticus 24:11 tn The verb rendered “misused” means literally “to bore through, to pierce” (HALOT 719 s.v. נקב qal); it is from נָקַב (naqav), not קָבַב (qavav; see the participial form in v. 16a). Its exact meaning here is uncertain. The two verbs together may form a hendiadys, “he pronounced by cursing blasphemously” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 166), the idea being one of the following: (1) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” in a way or with words that amounted to “some sort of verbal aggression against Yahweh himself” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 362), (2) he pronounced a curse against the man using the name “Yahweh” (N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 110; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 311), or (3) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” and thereby blasphemed, since the “Name” was never to be pronounced (a standard Jewish explanation). In one way or another, the offense surely violated Exod 20:7, one of the ten commandments, and the same verb for cursing is used explicitly in Exod 22:28 (27 HT) for prohibition against “cursing” God. For a full discussion of these and related options for interpreting this verse see P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 335-36; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 408-9; and Levine, 166.
  83. Leviticus 24:12 tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  84. Leviticus 24:12 tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the Lord.” In any case, they were apparently waiting for a direct word from the Lord regarding this matter (see vv. 13ff).
  85. Leviticus 24:14 tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16.
  86. Leviticus 24:15 tn Heb “And.”
  87. Leviticus 24:15 sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT].
  88. Leviticus 24:16 sn See the note on v. 11 above.
  89. Leviticus 24:17 tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficulty of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11.
  90. Leviticus 24:18 tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.”
  91. Leviticus 24:18 tn Heb “soul under soul.” Cf. KJV “beast for beast”; NCV “must give…another animal to take its place.”
  92. Leviticus 24:19 tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.”
  93. Leviticus 24:19 tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.”
  94. Leviticus 24:20 tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ʾadam].”
  95. Leviticus 24:20 tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  96. Leviticus 24:21 sn See the note on v. 18 above.
  97. Leviticus 24:21 tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death.
  98. Leviticus 24:22 tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.”
  99. Leviticus 24:22 sn On the Hebrew גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11. Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 26, 29; 19:10; 35:15; Deut 1:16) or similar obligations (Exod 20:10; 23:12; Lev 16:29; 17:10, 12, 13; 18:26; 24:16; Num 15:14).