Leviticus 19

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy.

“Tell all the Israelites: You must be holy because I am holy; I am the Lord your God.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and ye shall keep My sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Show respect for your mother and father, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

4 Turn ye not unto the idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

Don't turn to idols for help or make for metal images of gods. I am the Lord your God.

5 And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.

When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, make sure you do it correctly so God will accept you.

6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow; and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire.

It needs to be eaten the day you sacrifice it, or the next day. Whatever is left over on the third day must be burned.

7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is a vile thing; it shall not be accepted.

If you do eat some of it on the third day, the sacrifice becomes repulsive and won't be accepted.

8 But every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Anyone who eats it eats it will bear responsibility for their guilt, for they have made unclean what is holy to the Lord. They must be expelled from their people.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.

When you harvest the crops grown on your land, don't harvest right up to the edges of your field, or collect what has been missed.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Don't take every last grape from your vineyard or pick up the ones that have fallen. Leave them for the poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.

11 Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.

Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't deceive each other.

12 And ye shall not swear by My name falsely, so that thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Don't swear oaths in my name that are not true, otherwise you defame the character of your God. I am the Lord.

13 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

Don't cheat others or rob them. Don't refuse to pay wages due to workers until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Don't speak badly about deaf people. Don't put objects in the way of blind people to trip them up. Instead show respect to your God. I am the Lord.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favour the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Don't be a corrupt judge. Don't show favoritism to the poor or to the rich. Judge others fairly.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.

Don't go around spreading false rumors about people. Don't keep quiet when the lives of others are at risk. I am the Lord.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him.

Don't hold onto hateful feelings towards others. Talk honestly with your neighbors, so that you don't sin because of them.

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

Don't look for revenge or hold a grudge against anybody, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

19 Ye shall keep My statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed; neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.

Do what I tell you! Don't make different kinds of livestock breed together. Don't sow your fields with two different kinds of seed. Don't wear clothes made of two different kinds of material.

20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, designated for a man, and not at all redeemed, nor was freedom given her; there shall be inquisition; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

If a man has sex with a servant girl promised to become another man's wife, but who hasn't yet been bought or set free, then compensation has to be paid. However, they are not to be killed, because she hadn't been set free.

21 And he shall bring his forfeit unto the LORD, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a guilt-offering.

But the man must bring a ram as his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

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

The priest will set things right for him before the Lord using the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten.

When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, treat the fruit at first as unclean. For three years you are forbidden to eat it.

24 And in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto the LORD.

The fourth year all the fruit must be dedicated to the Lord as a praise offering.

25 But in the fifth year may ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you more richly the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.

However, the fifth year you may eat the fruit and in this way you will have an even greater harvest. I am the Lord your God.

26 Ye shall not eat with the blood; neither shall ye practise divination nor soothsaying.

Don't eat meat with blood in it. Don't use fortune-telling or witchcraft.

27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

Don't cut your hair on the sides of your head or trim the sides of your beard,

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

don't cut your bodies in some pagan ritual for the dead, and don't get yourselves tattoos. I am the Lord.

29 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of lewdness.

Don't bring shame on your daughter by making her a prostitute, otherwise the land will become morally and spiritually depraved.

30 Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

Keep my Sabbaths and show respect for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

31 Turn ye not unto the ghosts, nor unto familiar spirits; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Don't try and find help from mediums or spiritists—don't even go looking for them, otherwise they will corrupt you. I am the Lord your God.

32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Stand up and be respectful of older people. Show reverence for your God. I am the Lord.

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

Don't mistreat foreigners who live in your country.

34 The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Treat them in the same way as a fellow citizen, and love them as you love yourself, because you were once foreigners living in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

Don't use dishonest weights and measures.

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

Make sure your scales and weights are accurate, that your measures of ephah and hin are correct. I am the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt.

37 And ye shall observe all My statutes, and all Mine ordinances, and do them: I am the LORD.

Keep all my rules and regulations, and make sure you follow them. I am the Lord.”