Leviticus 19

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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

“Speak to all the people of Israel and tell them this: You must be holy, because I, Yahweh your God, am holy, [and I want you to be like me].

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

‘Each of you must respect your father and your mother. And you must (honor/treat respectfully) the Sabbath days. I am Yahweh, your God, [and that is what I am commanding you to do].

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

‘Do not worship idols or make metal statues of gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh, your God, [and I am the only one you must worship].

5 And if you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it at your own will.

‘Then you bring an offering to maintain fellowship with me, offer it in a way that will cause me to accept it.

6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the morrow: and if any remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.

The meat should be eaten on the day that you sacrifice it, but you are permitted to eat some of it on the next day. Anything that remains until the third/next day must be completely burned.

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

For any of it to be eaten on the third day is very displeasing to me, and I will not accept that offering.

8 Therefore every one that eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

I will punish anyone who eats it [after the second day], because he will not have respected that what I say is holy. And that person must no longer be allowed to associate with my people.

9 And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

‘Then you harvest your grain, leave the grain at the very edge of the field, and do not pick up the grain that has fallen on the ground.

10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

And when you harvest your grapes, do not go back a second time to try to harvest some more, and do not pick up the grapes that have fallen on the ground. Leave those things for the poor people and for foreigners who are living among you. I, Yahweh your God, [am commanding those things].

11 You shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

‘Do not steal anything. ‘Do not tell lies. ‘Do not deceive each other.

12 And you shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

‘Do not show that you do not respect me by using/saying my name to falsely promise that you will do something. [Do not forget that] I am Yahweh, your God.

13 You shall not defraud your neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with you all night until the morning.

‘Do not cheat anyone or steal from anyone. [‘If you have agreed to] pay your workers at the end of the day, [do what you have promised]; do not keep those wages until the next day.

14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

‘Do not curse deaf people, and do not put things in the path of blind people to cause them to stumble.

15 You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

‘Always [LIT] judge people fairly [DOU]. Do not do special favors for either poor people or rich people.

16 You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people: neither shall you stand against the blood of your neighbor; I am the LORD.

‘Do not spread false rumors about other people. ‘Do not say anything [in court] that would result in some [innocent] person being executed. I, Yahweh, [am commanding this].

17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart: you shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor, and not suffer sin on him.

‘Do not hate anyone. Instead, honestly rebuke those who ought to be rebuked, in order that you also will not be guilty.

18 You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

‘Do not try to get revenge against someone or be angry with someone for a long time. Instead, love other people like you love yourself. I, Yahweh your God, [am commanding this].

19 You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle engender with a diverse kind: you shall not sow your field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come on you.

‘Obey my laws. ‘Do not allow two different kinds of animals to mate with each other. ‘Do not plant two different kinds of seed in the [same] field. ‘Do not wear clothing made from two different kinds of material.

20 And whoever lies carnally with a woman, that is a female slave, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

‘If a man has sex with a slave woman who has been promised to marry some other man, but she has not been bought by that man and is still a slave, the man who had sex with her must be punished. But because she is still a slave, she and the man who had sex with her must not be killed.

21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.

However, that man must bring a ram to [be slaughtered at] the entrance of the Sacred Tent area, to be an offering in order that he no longer be guilty for his sin.

22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has done: and the sin which he has done shall be forgiven him.

The priest will offer that ram to me in order that the man will be forgiven for the sin that he committed, and I will forgive him.

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

‘When you enter the land [that I have promised to give to you], and when you plant various kinds of fruit trees, you must not eat any of their fruit for three years [DOU].

24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD with.

In the fourth year all of their fruit must be set aside to belong to me; it must be brought to me to be an offering to praise me.

25 And in the fifth year shall you eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield to you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.

But in the fifth/next year, you will be permitted to eat their fruit. If you do that, your trees will produce much fruit. I, Yahweh your God, [am promising that].

26 You shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall you use enchantment, nor observe times.

‘Do not eat any meat that still has [the animal’s] blood in it. ‘Do not consult spirits to find out what will happen in the future, and do not practice sorcery.

27 You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of your beard.

‘Do not shave the hair at the sides of your heads [like pagan people do].

28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you: I am the LORD.

‘Do not cut your bodies [when you are mourning] for people who have died, and do not put tattoos on your bodies. I, Yahweh your God, [am commanding this].

29 Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

‘Do not disgrace your daughters by forcing them to become prostitutes. If you cause them to become prostitutes, soon the land will be filled with prostitutes and all other kinds of people’s wicked behavior.

30 You shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

‘Honor my Sabbath days and revere my Sacred Tent, because I, Yahweh, [live there].

31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

‘Do not seek advice from those who (consult/talk with) the spirits of dead people [DOU], because if you do that, they will defile you. I, Yahweh your God, [am the one you should consult].

32 You shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.

‘Stand up when old people [enter the room], and show that you respect them, and also revere me, your God; [that is what] I, Yahweh, [am commanding].

33 And if a stranger sojourn with you in your land, you shall not vex him.

‘When foreigners live among you [in your land], do not mistreat them.

34 But the stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

You must treat them like you treat your fellow-citizens. Love them like you love yourselves, and do not forget that once, when you were foreigners in Egypt, [you were badly mistreated by the people of Egypt]. I, Yahweh your God, [am commanding you to do this].

35 You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in length, in weight, or in measure.

‘When you are measuring things, to see how long they are or how much they weigh or how many there are,

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

use correct [measuring sticks and] scales and weights [on the scales] and measuring baskets and other measuring containers. I Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of Egypt, [am giving you these laws].

37 Therefore shall you observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

‘Obey carefully [DOU] all my laws and decrees, because I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding them].’”