Lev 19 | HCSB | STEP | The Lord spoke to Moses :

Leviticus 19

Laws of Holiness

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy ^a because I, ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh your God, am holy. ^c

3 “Each of you is to respect his mother and father. ^d You are to keep My Sabbaths; I am Yahweh your God. 4 Do not turn to idols ^e or make cast images ^f of gods for yourselves; ^g I am Yahweh your God.

5 “When you offer a ^{▼▼fellowship sacrifice(s) or offering(s): An animal offering was given to maintain and strengthen a person's relationship with God. It was not required as a remedy for impurity or sin but was an expression of thanksgiving for various blessings. An important function of this sacrifice was to provide meat for the priests and the participants in the sacrifice; it was also called the peace offering or the sacrifice of well-being.}fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 6 It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned up. ⁱ 7 If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted. ^j 8 Anyone who eats it will bear his punishment, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person must be cut off from his people. ^k

9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings ^l of your harvest. 10 You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor ^m and the foreign resident; ⁿ I am Yahweh your God.

11 “You must not steal. ^o You must not act deceptively ^p or lie ^q to one another. 12 You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; ^r I am Yahweh.

13 “You must not oppress ^s your neighbor or rob ^t him. The wages due a hired hand ^u must not remain with you until morning. 14 You must not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, ^v but you are to ^{▼▼fear(s) God or the Lord/ the fear of the Lord: No single English word conveys every aspect of the word fear in this phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.}fear your God; ^x I am Yahweh. ^y

15 “You must not act unjustly ^z when deciding a case. Do not be partial ^aa to the poor or give preference to the rich; ^ab judge your neighbor fairly. 16 You must not go about spreading slander ^ac among your people; you must not jeopardize ^{▼▼Lit not stand against} your neighbor’s life; I am Yahweh.

17 “You must not harbor hatred against your brother. ^{▼▼Or your fellow Israelite
,} ^af Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur ^{▼▼guilt/guilty: The liability to be punished for a fault, a sin, an act, or an omission unless there is forgiveness or atonement; the term normally concerns an objective fact, not a subjective feeling.}guilt because of him. ^ah 18 Do not take revenge ^ai or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; ^aj I am Yahweh.

19 “You are to keep My statutes. You must not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material. ^ak

20 “If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed ^al or given her freedom, there must be punishment. ^{▼▼Or compensation} They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 However, he must bring a ram as his ^{▼▼restitution offering(s): An offering that was a penalty for unintentional sins, primarily in relation to the tabernacle or temple; traditionally trespass or guilt offering}restitution offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ^ao 22 The priest will make ^{▼▼atone/ atonement: A theological term for God's provision to deal with human sin. In the OT, it primarily means purification. In some contexts forgiveness, pardon, expiation, propitiation, or reconciliation is included. The basis of atonement is substitutionary sacrifice offered in faith. The OT sacrifices were types and shadows of the great and final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.}atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the restitution offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. ^{▼▼Lit uncircumcised} It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering ^ar to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; ^as I am Yahweh your God.

26 “You are not to eat anything with blood in it. ^{▼▼Or [anything] over its blood
,} ^au You are not to practice ^{▼▼divination: An attempt to foresee future events or discover hidden knowledge by means of physical objects such as water, arrows, flying birds, or animal livers}divination ^aw or sorcery. ^ax 27 You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard. ^ay 28 You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead ^az or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am Yahweh.

29 “Do not debase ^{▼▼Lit profane
,} ^bb your daughter by making her a prostitute, ^bc or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. 30 You must keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; ^bd I am Yahweh.

31 “Do not turn to mediums ^{▼▼Or spirits of the dead
,} ^bf or consult spiritists, ^{▼▼Or familiar spirits
,} ^bh or you will be defiled by them; I am Yahweh your God.

32 “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. ^bi Fear your God; I am Yahweh.

33 “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress ^bj him. 34 You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, ^bk for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; ^bl I am Yahweh your God.

35 “You must not be unfair ^bm in measurements of length, weight, or volume. 36 You are to have honest balances, ^bn honest weights, an honest dry measure, ^{▼▼Lit honest ephah; an ephah is a dry measure of grain equivalent to about 23 quarts.} and an honest liquid measure; ^{▼▼Lit honest hin; a hin is a liquid measure of about 1 gallon.
,} ^bq I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 You must keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am Yahweh.”