Leviticus 19

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

2 "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, 'You 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 "'Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You 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 "'Do not turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. 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 "'When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you 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 you offer it, and on the next day: and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned 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 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will 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 everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has 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 "'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.

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 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. 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 "'You shall not steal; neither shall you deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

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

12 "'You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your 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 "'You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you 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 "'You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your 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 "'You shall do no injustice in judgment: you shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

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

16 "'You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people; neither shall you stand against the life of your neighbor. 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 "'You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, 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 "'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 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 "'You shall keep my statutes. "'You shall not crossbreed different kinds of animals. "'you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; "'neither shall there come upon you a garment made of two kinds of material.

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 "'If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed, or given her freedom; they shall be punished. 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 He shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.

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

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

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 "'When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years shall they be forbidden to 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 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to the LORD.

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

25 In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. 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 "'You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither shall you practice divination, nor practice sorcery.

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

27 "'You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your heads, neither shall you clip off the edge of your beard.

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

28 "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on 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 "'Do not profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

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

30 "'You 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 "'Do not turn to spirits of the dead, and do not inquire of familiar spirits, 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 "'You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

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

33 "'If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

Don't mistreat foreigners who live in your country.

34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners 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 "'You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

Don't use dishonest weights and measures.

36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. 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 You shall observe all my statutes, and all my ordinances, and do them. I am the LORD.'"

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