Leviticus 19
1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying:
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
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
“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 Ye shall, every one, revere, his father and his mother, And my sabbaths, shall ye observe, —I—Yahweh, am 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 Do not turn unto things of nought, And, molten gods, shall ye not make to yourselves, —I—Yahweh, am 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 when ye would offer a peace-offering unto Yahweh, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.
‘Then you bring an offering to maintain fellowship with me, offer it in a way that will cause me to accept it.
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.
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, on the third day, unclean, it is 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 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.
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 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.
‘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, 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.
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 Ye shall not steal, —nor deceive nor lie one man to another;
‘Do not steal anything. ‘Do not tell lies. ‘Do not deceive each other.
12 Nor swear by my name falsely, —And so profane the name of thy God: I, am Yahweh.
‘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 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour nor rob [him], —The wages of him that is hired shall not tarry with thee, 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 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.
‘Do not curse deaf people, and do not put things in the path of blind people to cause them to stumble.
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.
‘Always [LIT] judge people fairly [DOU]. Do not do special favors for either poor people or rich people.
16 Thou shalt not go about talebearing, among thy people Thou shalt not stand by, over the blood of thy neighbour: I, am Yahweh.
‘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 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, —Thou shalt, faithfully reprove, thy neighbour, and not countenance him in sin:
‘Do not hate anyone. Instead, honestly rebuke those who ought to be rebuked, in order that you also will not be guilty.
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.
‘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 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.
‘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 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 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 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;
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 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 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 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 [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 hallowed for a festival of thanksgiving unto Yahweh.
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 ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may enrich you with its increase, —I—Yahweh, am 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 Ye shall eat nothing with the blood thereof, —Ye shall not practise divination neither shall ye use magic.
‘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 Ye shall not shave in a circle around your head, —nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
‘Do not shave the hair at the sides of your heads [like pagan people do].
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.
‘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 profane thy daughter by causing her to be unchaste, —lest the land fall to unchastity, and so the land be filled with 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 My sabbaths, shall ye observe, And my sanctuary, shall ye revere, —I, am Yahweh.
‘Honor my Sabbath days and revere my Sacred Tent, because I, Yahweh, [live there].
31 Do not turn unto mediums, Nor, for oracles, make search, To render yourselves unclean with them, I—Yahweh, am 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 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 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, when there sojourneth with thee a sojourner in your land, ye shall not oppress him:
‘When foreigners live among you [in your land], do not mistreat them.
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.
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 Ye shall not act perversely in giving judgment, —in measures of extent, in weights in measures of capacity:
‘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 ye have, —I—Yahweh, am your God, who brought you forth 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 ye observe all my statutes and all my regulations and do them, —I, am Yahweh.
‘Obey carefully [DOU] all my laws and decrees, because I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding them].’”
