Leviticus 19
1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
The Lord told 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].
“Tell all the Israelites: You must be holy because I am holy; I am the Lord your God.
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].
Show respect for your mother and 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].
Don't turn to idols for help or make for metal images of gods. 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 sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, make sure you do it correctly so God will accept you.
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 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 For any of it to be eaten on the third day is very displeasing to me, and I will not accept that offering.
If you do eat some of it on the third day, the sacrifice becomes repulsive and won't 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.
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 ‘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 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 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].
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 ‘Do not steal anything. ‘Do not tell lies. ‘Do not deceive each other.
Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't deceive each other.
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.
Don't swear oaths in my name that are not true, otherwise you defame the character 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.
Don't cheat others or rob them. Don't refuse to pay wages due to workers 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.
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 ‘Always [LIT] judge people fairly [DOU]. Do not do special favors for either poor people or rich people.
Don't be a corrupt judge. Don't show favoritism to the poor or to the rich. Judge others fairly.
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].
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 ‘Do not hate anyone. Instead, honestly rebuke those who ought to be rebuked, in order that you also will not be guilty.
Don't hold onto hateful feelings towards others. Talk honestly with your neighbors, so that you don't sin because of them.
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].
Don't look for revenge or hold a grudge against anybody, but 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
The fourth year all the fruit must be dedicated to the Lord as a praise offering.
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].
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 ‘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.
Don't eat meat with blood in it. Don't use fortune-telling or witchcraft.
27 ‘Do not shave the hair at the sides of your heads [like pagan people do].
Don't cut your hair on the sides of your head or trim the sides 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].
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 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.
Don't bring shame on your daughter by making her a prostitute, otherwise the land will become morally and spiritually depraved.
30 ‘Honor my Sabbath days and revere my Sacred Tent, because I, Yahweh, [live there].
Keep my Sabbaths and show respect for 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].
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 ‘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].
Stand up and be respectful of older people. Show reverence for your God. I am the Lord.
33 ‘When foreigners live among you [in your land], do not mistreat them.
Don't mistreat foreigners who live in your country.
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].
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 ‘When you are measuring things, to see how long they are or how much they weigh or how many there are,
Don't use dishonest 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].
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 ‘Obey carefully [DOU] all my laws and decrees, because I, Yahweh, [am the one who am commanding them].’”
Keep all my rules and regulations, and make sure you follow them. I am the Lord.”
