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Leviticus 19-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Leviticus 19-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ritual and Moral Holiness
19 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.(A) 3 You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.(B) 4 Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God.(C)
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day, and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. 8 All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the Lord, and any such person shall be cut off from the people.
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(D) 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.(E) 12 And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.(F)
13 “You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.(G) 14 You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.(H)
15 “You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.(I) 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood[a] of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.(J)
17 “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.(K) 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.(L)
19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.(M)
20 “If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave, designated for another man but not ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, since she has not been freed, 21 but he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as guilt offering.(N) 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he committed, and the sin he committed shall be forgiven him.
23 “When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall regard their fruit as forbidden;[b] three years it shall be forbidden[c] to you; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all their fruit shall be set apart for rejoicing in the Lord.(O) 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that their yield may be increased for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 “You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice augury or witchcraft.(P) 27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.(Q) 28 You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.(R)
29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, that the land not become prostituted and full of depravity.(S) 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary: I am the Lord.(T)
31 “Do not turn to mediums and spiritualists; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.(U)
32 “You shall rise before the aged and defer to the old, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.(V) 34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.(W)
35 “You shall not cheat in measuring length, weight, or quantity. 36 You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and observe them: I am the Lord.”
Penalties for Violations of Holiness
20 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say further to the Israelites:
“Any of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside in Israel who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death.(X) 3 I myself will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people, because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.(Y) 4 And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes to them, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death,(Z) 5 I myself will set my face against them and against their family and will cut them off from among their people, them and all who follow them in prostituting themselves to Molech.
6 “If any turn to mediums or spiritualists, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people.(AA) 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.(AB) 8 Keep my statutes and observe them: I am the Lord; I sanctify you.(AC) 9 All who curse father or mother shall be put to death; having cursed father or mother, their bloodguilt is upon them.(AD)
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of[d] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.(AE) 11 The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.(AF) 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion; their bloodguilt is upon them.(AG) 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.(AH) 14 If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you.(AI) 15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.(AJ) 16 If a woman approaches any animal and has sexual relations with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.
17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall be subject to punishment.(AK) 18 If a man lies with a woman during her period and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has laid bare her flow of blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people.(AL) 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to lay bare one’s own flesh; they shall be subject to punishment.(AM) 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall be subject to punishment; they shall die childless.(AN) 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.(AO)
22 “You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out.(AP) 23 You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(AQ) 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.’(AR) 25 You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.(AS) 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.(AT)
27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritualist shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.”(AU)
Leviticus 19-20
New International Version
Leviticus 19-20
New International Version
Various Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(A) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(B) am holy.(C)
3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(D) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(E) I am the Lord your God.(F)
4 “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(G) I am the Lord your God.(H)
5 “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 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) 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(J) 8 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)
9 “‘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.’”
Punishments for Sin
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.(BY) The members of the community are to stone him.(BZ) 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(CA) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(CB) my sanctuary(CC) and profaned my holy name.(CD) 4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,(CE) 5 I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.
6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.(CF)
7 “‘Consecrate yourselves(CG) and be holy,(CH) because I am the Lord your God.(CI) 8 Keep my decrees(CJ) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(CK)
9 “‘Anyone who curses their father(CL) or mother(CM) is to be put to death.(CN) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.(CO)
10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife(CP)—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.(CQ)
11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.(CR) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(CS)
12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,(CT) both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.(CU) They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
14 “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother,(CV) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,(CW) so that no wickedness will be among you.(CX)
15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,(CY) he is to be put to death,(CZ) and you must kill the animal.
16 “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
17 “‘If a man marries his sister(DA), the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed(DB) from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.(DC)
18 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,(DD) he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.(DE)
19 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,(DF) for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,(DG) he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.(DH)
21 “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,(DI) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.(DJ)
22 “‘Keep all my decrees and laws(DK) and follow them, so that the land(DL) where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations(DM) I am going to drive out before you.(DN) Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(DO) 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.”(DP) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.(DQ)
25 “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.(DR) Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to me(DS) because I, the Lord, am holy,(DT) and I have set you apart from the nations(DU) to be my own.
27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium(DV) or spiritist among you must be put to death.(DW) You are to stone them;(DX) their blood will be on their own heads.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 of a bushel or about 22 liters.
- Leviticus 19:36 A hin was a liquid measure having the capacity of about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.