Leviticus 19

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And the Lord said to Moses,

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].

Say to all the people of Israel, You are to 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].

Let every man give honour to his mother and to his father and 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 go after false gods, and do not make metal images of 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.

And when you give a peace offering to the Lord, do it in the way which is pleasing to the Lord.

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.

Let it be used for food on the same day on which it is offered, or on the day after; and whatever is over on the third day is to 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 any of it is used for food on the third day, it is a disgusting thing and will not be pleasing to the Lord.

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.

And as for anyone who takes it for food, his sin will be on him, for he has put shame on the holy thing of the Lord: he will 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.

And when you get in the grain from your land, do not let all the grain be cut from the edges of the field, or take up what has been dropped on the earth after the getting in of the grain.

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].

And do not take all the grapes from your vine-garden, or the fruit dropped on the earth; let the poor man, and the man from another country, have these: I am the Lord your God.

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

Do not take anyone's property or be false in act or word to 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.

And do not take an oath in my name falsely, putting shame on 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.

Do not be cruel to your neighbour or take what is his; do not keep back a servant's payment from him all night till the morning.

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

Do not put a curse on those who have no hearing, or put a cause of falling in the way of the blind, but keep the fear of your God before you: I am the Lord.

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

Do no wrong in your judging: do not give thought to the position of the poor, or honour to the position of the great; but be a judge to your neighbour 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].

Do not go about saying untrue things among your people, or take away the life of your neighbour by false witness: 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.

Let there be no hate in your heart for your brother; but you may make a protest to your neighbour, so that he may be stopped from doing evil.

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].

Do not make attempts to get equal with one who has done you wrong, or keep hard feelings against the children of your people, but have love for your neighbour as for 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.

Keep my laws. Do not let your cattle have offspring by those of a different sort; do not put mixed seed into your field; do not put on a robe made of two sorts of cloth.

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 any man has sex relations with a servant-woman who has given her word to be married to a man, and has not been made free for a price or in any other way, the thing will be looked into; but they will not be put to death because she was not a free woman.

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.

Let him take his offering for wrongdoing to the Lord, to the door of the Tent of meeting; let him give a male sheep as an offering for wrongdoing.

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.

And the priest will take away his sin before the Lord with the sheep which is offered for his wrongdoing, and he will have forgiveness for the sin which he has done.

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].

And when you have come into the land, and have put in all sorts of fruit-trees, their fruit will be as if they had not had circumcision, and for three years their fruit may not be used for food.

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.

And in the fourth year all the fruit will be holy as a praise-offering 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].

But in the fifth year you may take the fruit and the increase of it for your food: 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.

Nothing may be used for food with its blood in it; you may not make use of strange arts, or go in search of signs and wonders.

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

The ends of the hair round your face and on your chin may not be cut off.

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 may not make cuts in your flesh in respect for the dead, or have marks printed on your bodies: 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 make your daughter common by letting her become a loose woman, for fear that the land may become full of shame.

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

Keep my Sabbaths and have respect for my holy place: 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 go after those who make use of spirits, or wonder-workers; do not go in their ways or become unclean through 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].

Get up from your seats before the white-haired, and give honour to the old, and let the fear of your God be before you: I am the Lord.

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

And if a man from another country is living in your land with you, do not make life hard for him;

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].

Let him be to you as one of your countrymen and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange land, 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,

Do not make false decisions in questions of yard-sticks and weights and measures.

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].

Have true scales, true weights and measures for all things: I am the Lord your God, who took 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 are to keep all my rules and my decisions and do them: I am the Lord.