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19 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak unto all the assembly of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Holy shall ye be, for I Jehovah your God am holy.

Ye shall reverence every man his mother, and his father, and my sabbaths shall ye keep: I am Jehovah your God.

Ye shall not turn unto idols, and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.

And if ye sacrifice a sacrifice of peace-offering to Jehovah, ye shall sacrifice it for your acceptance.

On the day when ye sacrifice it shall it be eaten, and on the morrow; and that which remaineth until the third day shall be burned with fire.

And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an unclean thing: it shall not be accepted.

And he that eateth it shall bear his iniquity; for he hath profaned the hallowed thing of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt not gather.

10 And thy vineyard shalt thou not glean, neither shalt thou gather what hath been left of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am Jehovah your God.

11 Ye shall not steal, and ye shall not deal falsely, and ye shall not lie one to another.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

13 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, neither rob him. The wages of the hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the lowly, nor honour the person of the great; in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

16 Thou shalt not go about as a talebearer among thy people; thou shalt not stand up against the life of thy neighbour: I am Jehovah.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt earnestly rebuke thy neighbour, lest thou bear sin on account of him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge thyself, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Jehovah.

19 My statutes shall ye observe. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with another sort; thou shalt not sow thy field with seed of two sorts; and a garment woven of two materials shall not come upon thee.

20 And if a man lie with a woman for copulation, and she is a bondwoman betrothed to a husband, but not at all ransomed, nor hath freedom been given to her, there shall be a chastisement: they shall not be put to death, for she was not free.

21 And he shall bring his trespass-offering to Jehovah, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a trespass-offering.

22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath done; and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.

23 And when ye come into the land and plant all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count its fruit as uncircumcised, three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of;

24 and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy for praise to Jehovah;

25 and in the fifth year shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may increase unto you the produce thereof: I am Jehovah your God.

26 Ye shall eat nothing with the blood.—Ye shall not practise enchantment, nor use auguries.

27 —Ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.

28 And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.

29 —Do not profane thy daughter, to give her up to whoredom; lest the land practise whoredom, and the land become full of infamy.

30 —My sabbaths shall ye keep, and my sanctuary shall ye reverence: I am Jehovah.

31 —Turn not unto necromancers and unto soothsayers; seek not after them to make yourselves unclean: I am Jehovah your God.

32 Before the hoary head thou shalt rise up, and shalt honour the face of an old man; and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not molest him.

34 As one born among you shall the stranger who sojourneth with you be unto you; and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measure of length, in weight, and in measure of capacity:

36 just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.

20 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Thou shalt say also to the children of Israel, Every one of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech, shall certainly be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, so as to make my sanctuary unclean, and to profane my holy name.

And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, that they kill him not,

then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.

—And the soul that turneth unto necromancers and unto soothsayers, to go a whoring after them, I will set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Hallow yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Jehovah your God.

And ye shall observe my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah who hallow you.

Whatever man revileth his father and his mother shall certainly be put to death: he hath reviled his father and his mother; his blood is upon him.

10 And a man that committeth adultery with a man's wife, who committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife,—the adulterer and the adulteress shall certainly be put to death.

11 And a man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.

12 And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall certainly be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood is upon them.

13 And if a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.

14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is infamy: they shall burn him and them with fire, that there be no infamy among you.

15 And if a man lie with a beast for copulation, he shall certainly be put to death; and ye shall kill the beast.

16 And if a woman approach unto any beast to gender therewith, thou shalt kill the woman and the beast: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.

17 And if a man take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, that is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off before the eyes of the children of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

18 And if a man shall lie with a woman in her infirmity, and uncover her nakedness, her flux doth he lay bare, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood; and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

19 And the nakedness of thy mother's sister, and of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover; for he hath laid naked his near relation: they shall bear their iniquity.

20 And if a man lie with his aunt, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: their sin shall they bear: they shall die childless.

21 And if a man take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness: they shall be childless.

22 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them, that the land whither I bring you to dwell therein vomit you not out.

23 And ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for all these things have they done, and they became an abomination to me.

24 And I have said unto you, Ye shall possess their land, and I will give it unto you for a possession; a land flowing with milk and honey: I am Jehovah your God, who have separated you from the peoples.

25 And ye shall make a separation between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean, and ye shall not make yourselves an abomination by beast, or by fowl, or by anything that creepeth on the ground which I have separated for you, declaring [it] as unclean.

26 And ye shall be holy unto me; for I Jehovah am holy, and have separated you from the peoples to be mine.

27 And if there be a man or a woman in whom is a spirit of Python or of divination, they shall certainly be put to death: they shall stone them with stones; their blood is upon them.

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.’”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, “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) 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) 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) 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.

“‘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)

“‘Consecrate yourselves(CG) and be holy,(CH) because I am the Lord your God.(CI) Keep my decrees(CJ) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(CK)

“‘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

  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.