Leviticus 19

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “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].

“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.

3 ‘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].

“‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

4 ‘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].

“‘Do not turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

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

“‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

6 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.

It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.

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

If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;

8 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.

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.

9 ‘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.

“‘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.

10 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].

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.

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

“‘You shall not steal. “‘You shall not lie. “‘You shall not deceive one another.

12 ‘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.

“‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

13 ‘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.

“‘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.

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

“‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

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

“‘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.

16 ‘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].

“‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.

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

“‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18 ‘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].

“‘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.

19 ‘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.

“‘You shall keep my statutes. “‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “‘Do not wear a garment made of two kinds of material.

20 ‘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.

“‘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.

21 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.

He shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.

22 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.

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.

23 ‘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].

“‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten.

24 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.

But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to the LORD.

25 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].

In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am the LORD your God.

26 ‘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.

“‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.

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

“‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.

28 ‘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].

“‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the LORD.

29 ‘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.

“‘Do not profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

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

“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am the LORD.

31 ‘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].

“‘Do not turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Do not seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

32 ‘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].

“‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

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

“‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

34 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].

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.

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

“‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

36 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].

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.

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

“‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am the LORD.’”