Leviticus 19
1 The LORD spoke to Moses:
2 “Speak to the whole community of the Israelites and say to them: ‘Be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
3 Each of you must respect your mother and father, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
4 Do not turn to idols or make cast-metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
5 When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, offer it so that you may be accepted.
6 It is to be eaten on the day you offer it and on the following day; any that remains until the third day must be burned in the fire.
7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is repulsive meat and will not be accepted.
8 Anyone who eats it will bear the guilt for that offense, because they have profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person must be cut off from their people.
9 When you harvest your land, do not reap all the way to the edge of your field, and do not gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10 Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
11 Do not steal; do not deny the truth or lie to one another.
12 Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD.’”
13 “‘Do not oppress your neighbor or rob them. Do not keep a worker’s wages with you overnight.
14 Do not curse the deaf or put an obstacle in front of the blind; fear your God. I am the LORD.
15 Do not act unjustly in judgment: do not favor the poor or show honor to the powerful. Judge your neighbor fairly.
16 Do not go about spreading rumors among your people, and do not endanger your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
17 Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you will not bear sin because of them.
18 Do not take revenge or hold a grudge against your people. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
19 Keep my decrees. Do not breed your livestock with a different kind; do not sow your field with two kinds of seed; do not wear clothing woven from two kinds of thread.
20 If a man lies with a woman who is a slave pledged to another man, and she has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be an inquiry. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free.
21 He must bring his guilt offering to the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting: a ram as a guilt offering.
22 The priest will make atonement for him before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.
23 When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, treat its fruit as uncircumcised. For three years it will be uncircumcised for you and must not be eaten.
24 In the fourth year, all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.
25 In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit, so that its yield may increase for you. I am the LORD your God.’”
26 “‘Do not eat anything with blood in it. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling.
27 Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head in a circle or trim the edges of your beard.
28 Do not make cuts in your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves. I am the LORD.
29 Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not become promiscuous and fill with depravity.
30 Keep my Sabbaths and honor my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
31 Do not turn to those who consult the dead or seek out mediums, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
32 Stand up in the presence of the gray-haired and honor the elderly; fear your God. I am the LORD.
33 When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, do not mistreat them.
34 The resident foreigner who lives with you is to be like a native-born person among you. Love them as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
35 Do not act unjustly in judgment, or in measures of length, weight, or capacity.
36 You must have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Keep all my decrees and all my regulations, and put them into practice. I am the LORD.’”
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app