Leviticus 19
1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying:
The Lord told Moses,
2 Speak unto all the assembly of the sons of Israel and thou shalt say unto them—Holy, shall ye be, —For holy, am I—Yahweh—your God
“Tell all the Israelites: You must be holy because I am holy; I am the Lord your God.
3 Ye shall, every one, revere, his father and his mother, And my sabbaths, shall ye observe, —I—Yahweh, am your God.
Show respect for your mother and father, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4 Do not turn unto things of nought, And, molten gods, shall ye not make to yourselves, —I—Yahweh, am 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 would offer a peace-offering unto Yahweh, 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 On the day, ye offer it, shall it be eaten, and on the morrow, —but, that which remaineth until the third day, in fire, shall be consumed.
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, on the third day, unclean, it is 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 he that eateth it, his iniquity, shall bear, because that which had been hallowed unto Yahweh, hath he profaned, —so then that person shall be cut off from among his kinsfolk.
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 clear the border of thy field, in reaping, —nor shalt thou gather up 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, thy vineyard, shalt thou not go over again, nor gather, every single grape: for the poor and for the sojourner, shalt thou leave them, I—Yahweh, am 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, —nor deceive nor lie one man to another;
Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't deceive each other.
12 Nor swear by my name falsely, —And so profane the name of thy God: I, am Yahweh.
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 him that is hired shall not tarry with thee, 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, before the blind, place a stumbling-block, —So shalt thou stand in awe of thy God I, am Yahweh.
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 not act perversely in giving judgment, Thou shalt neither respect the person of the poor, Nor prefer the person of the great, —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 about talebearing, among thy people Thou shalt not stand by, over the blood of thy neighbour: I, am Yahweh.
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, faithfully reprove, thy neighbour, and not countenance him in sin:
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 neither shalt thou cherish anger against the sons of thy people, So shalt thou love thy neighbour as thyself, —I, am Yahweh.
Don't look for revenge or hold a grudge against anybody, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
19 My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, —And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
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, she being a bondmaid, acquired for a husband, and neither, redeemed, nor, freedom, given her, inquisition, shall be made 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 but he shall bring in his guilt-bearer unto Yahweh, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, —even a ram as a guilt-bearer;
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 put a propitiatory-covering over him with the guilt-bearing ram before Yahweh, on account of his sin which he hath committed, —so shall he have forgiveness, from his sin which he hath committed.
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 come into the land, and plant any manner of fruit-tree, then shall ye count as uncircumcised the fruit thereof, three years, shall it be to you as if unclean, 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 the fruit thereof shall be hallowed for a festival of thanksgiving unto Yahweh.
The fourth year all the fruit must be dedicated to the Lord as a praise offering.
25 And in the fifth year, shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may enrich you with its increase, —I—Yahweh, am 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 eat nothing with the blood thereof, —Ye shall not practise divination neither shall ye use magic.
Don't eat meat with blood in it. Don't use fortune-telling or witchcraft.
27 Ye shall not shave in a circle around your head, —nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
Don't cut your hair on the sides of your head or trim the sides of your beard,
28 Cuttings for a dead person, shall ye not make in your flesh. And punctures in your persons, shall ye not print, —I, am Yahweh.
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 thy daughter by causing her to be unchaste, —lest the land fall to unchastity, and so the land be filled with wickedness.
Don't bring shame on your daughter by making her a prostitute, otherwise the land will become morally and spiritually depraved.
30 My sabbaths, shall ye observe, And my sanctuary, shall ye revere, —I, am Yahweh.
Keep my Sabbaths and show respect for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31 Do not turn unto mediums, Nor, for oracles, make search, To render yourselves unclean with them, I—Yahweh, am 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 Before a hoary head, shalt thou rise up, And shalt honour the presence of an elder, —So shalt thou stand in awe of thy God—I, am Yahweh.
Stand up and be respectful of older people. Show reverence for your God. I am the Lord.
33 And, when there sojourneth with thee a sojourner in your land, ye shall not oppress him:
Don't mistreat foreigners who live in your country.
34 As one home born from among yourselves, shall be unto you the sojourner who sojourneth with you, So shalt thou love him as thyself, For, sojourners, became ye, in the land of Egypt, —I—Yahweh, am 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 not act perversely in giving judgment, —in measures of extent, in weights in measures of capacity:
Don't use dishonest weights and measures.
36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah and a just hin, shall ye have, —I—Yahweh, am your God, who brought you forth 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 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes and all my regulations and do them, —I, am Yahweh.
Keep all my rules and regulations, and make sure you follow them. I am the Lord.”
