Leviticus 19
19
Various Rules of Conduct. 1The Lord said to Moses: 2Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.#Be holy, for I…am holy: in the writings commonly attributed to the Priestly collection, Israel is called to be holy through obeying God’s precepts (11:44–45; 20:7–8, 24–26; Nm 15:40–41). Cf. Dt 14:2, 21; 26:19; and Ex 19:6. #Lv 11:44. 3#Cf. the Decalogue laws on revering parents (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16), keeping sabbaths (Ex 20:8–11; Dt 5:12–15), and not making or worshiping idols (Ex 20:2–6; Dt 5:7–10). Each of you revere your mother and father,#Lv 20:9; Ex 20:12. and keep my sabbaths.#Lv 23:3. I, the Lord, am your God.
4Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves.#Lv 26:1; Ex 20:3–5; 34:17; Dt 5:8; 27:15. I, the Lord, am your God.
5When you sacrifice your communion sacrifice to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it is acceptable on your behalf. 6It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned in fire. 7If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will be a desecrated offering and not be accepted;#Lv 7:15–18. 8whoever eats of it then shall bear the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the Lord. Such a one shall be cut off#Lv 7:20. from the people.
9#The Israelites maintain the poor in part by letting them gather unharvested portions of fields and vineyards. Cf. 23:22; Ru 2:1–10. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.#Lv 23:22; Dt 24:19–22. 10Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the Lord, am your God.
11#Cf. the Decalogue commandments against stealing (Ex 20:15; Dt 5:19), wrongly using God’s name (Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11), and swearing falsely against another (Ex 20:16; Dt 5:20). You shall not steal. You shall not deceive or speak falsely to one another.#Ex 20:15–16. 12You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God.#Ex 20:7; Mt 5:33–37. I am the Lord.
13You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your laborer.#Dt 24:14–15. 14#In Dt 27:18 a curse falls on the head of the one who misleads the blind. You shall not insult the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
15You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly.#Ex 23:2–3; Dt 1:17; 16:19; Ps 82:2; Prv 24:23. 16You shall not go about spreading slander among your people; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.
17#These verses form a unit and describe different attitudes and actions towards one’s fellow Israelites. A separate passage is necessary to advise a similar attitude toward aliens (vv. 33–34). Cf. 25:39–46. The admonition at the end of v. 18 came to be viewed in Judaism and Christianity as one of the central commandments. (See Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28; cf. Mt 19:19; Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14). The New Testament urges love for enemies as well as neighbors (Mt 5:43–48; Lk 6:27–36; cf. Prv 25:21–22). You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person.#Mt 18:15; Lk 17:3; Gal 6:1. 18Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.#Mt 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mk 12:31; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8; 1 Jn 3:14.
19#One reason why mixtures are prohibited seems to be that they are holy (see Dt 22:9, 10–11). Israelites are allowed mixtures in the wearing of fringes on the edges or corners of their clothing (Nm 15:37–41; Dt 22:12). Some mixtures are considered abominations (cf. Lv 18:23; Dt 22:5). Keep my statutes: do not breed any of your domestic animals with others of a different species; do not sow a field of yours with two different kinds of seed; and do not put on a garment woven with two different kinds of thread.#Dt 22:9–12.
20#On adultery, see note on 18:20. Here it is not adultery in the technical sense since the woman is not free. A reparation offering is required as a penalty (see 5:14–26). #Dt 22:22–29. If a man has sexual relations with a female slave who has been acquired by another man but has not yet been redeemed or given her freedom, an investigation shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she has not been freed. 21The man shall bring to the entrance of the tent of meeting as his reparation to the Lord a ram as a reparation offering.#Lv 5:14–26. 22With the ram of the reparation offering the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the wrong the man has committed, so that he will be forgiven for the wrong he has committed.
23When you come into the land and plant any fruit tree there,#Dt 20:19–20. first look upon its fruit as if it were uncircumcised. For three years, it shall be uncircumcised for you; it may not be eaten. 24In the fourth year, however, all of its fruit shall be dedicated to the Lord in joyous celebration. 25Not until the fifth year may you eat its fruit, to increase the yield for you. I, the Lord, am your God.
26Do not eat anything with the blood still in it.#Lv 17:10. Do not recite charms or practice soothsaying.#Recite charms…soothsaying: methods of divination (cf. Gn 44:5, 15; Is 2:6; Ez 21:26–28). Legitimate means of learning the future or God’s will were through the Urim and Thummim stones (see Lv 8:8), lots (see Lv 16:8) and prophets (cf. Dt 18:9–22; 1 Sm 28:6–7). #Dt 18:10; 2 Kgs 17:17; 21:6; 2 Chr 33:6. 27Do not clip your hair at the temples, nor spoil the edges of your beard. 28Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves.#Do not tattoo yourselves: see note on Gn 4:15. This prohibition probably refers only to the common ancient Near Eastern practice of branding a slave with its owner’s name as well as branding the devotees of a god with its name. #Lv 21:5. I am the Lord.
29You shall not degrade your daughter by making a prostitute of her;#Lv 21:7, 14. otherwise the land will prostitute itself and become full of lewdness. 30Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary.#Lv 19:3. I am the Lord.
31Do not turn to ghosts or consult spirits, by which you will be defiled.#Lv 20:6, 27; Dt 18:11; Is 8:19. I, the Lord, am your God.
32Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the old, and fear your God. I am the Lord.
33When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one.#Ex 22:20; 23:9; Jer 22:3; Mal 3:5. 34You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt.#Dt 10:19. I, the Lord, am your God.
35Do not act dishonestly in using measures of length or weight or capacity. 36You shall have a true scale and true weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin.#Ephah: see note on Is 5:10; hin: see note on Ez 45:24. #Dt 25:13–16; Prv 16:11; Am 8:5; Mi 6:10–11. I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37Be careful, then, to observe all my statutes and decrees. I am the Lord.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Leviticus 19
19
The Lord Is Holy
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, #See ch. 11:44, 45You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3#See Ex. 20:12 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and #See Ex. 20:8you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4#ch. 26:1; 1 John 5:21; See Ex. 20:3-5 Do not turn to idols #Ex. 34:17; [Deut. 27:15]or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 # See ch. 7:15-18 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so #ch. 1:3; 22:19that you may be accepted. 6It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is #ch. 7:18tainted; it will not be accepted, 8and everyone who eats it shall #See ch. 5:1 bear his iniquity, because #ch. 22:15he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 # ch. 23:22; Deut. 24:19-21; [Ruth 2:15, 16] “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
11 # See Ex. 20:15 “You shall not steal; #[ch. 6:2, 3; Eph. 4:15, 25; Col. 3:9]you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12#See Ex. 20:7 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so #See ch. 18:21profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 # ch. 6:2, 3 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. #Deut. 24:14, 15; Mal. 3:5; [James 5:4]The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14#Deut. 27:18 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall #ver. 32; ch. 25:17; Eccles. 5:7; 12:13; 1 Pet. 2:17fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 #
Ex. 23:2, 3; Deut. 1:17; 16:19; 27:19; Ps. 82:2; Prov. 24:23; James 2:9; [2 Chr. 19:6, 7] “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16#Prov. 11:13; 20:19 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not #Ex. 23:1, 7; [Matt. 26:60, 61]; See 1 Kgs. 21:10-13; Acts 6:11-13stand up against the life#19:16 Hebrew blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 #
1 John 2:9, 11; 3:15 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but #Prov. 27:5, 6; Matt. 18:15; Luke 17:3; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 5:11 you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you #[ch. 22:16; Rom. 1:32; 1 Tim. 5:22; 2 John 11]incur sin because of him. 18#Prov. 20:22; Rom. 12:17, 19; Heb. 10:30 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but #Matt. 5:43; Cited Matt. 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 # See ch. 18:4, 5 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. #Deut. 22:9-11You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
20“If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21but #ch. 5:15; 6:6, 7he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.#19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 # See ch. 3:17 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. #Deut. 18:10; 2 Kgs. 17:17 You shall not interpret omens or #2 Kgs. 21:6; 2 Chr. 33:6tell fortunes. 27#ch. 21:5; [Isa. 15:2; Jer. 9:26; 48:37]You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28You shall not make any #ch. 21:1, 4, 5; Deut. 14:1; 1 Kgs. 18:28; Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; 48:37cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 # [Deut. 23:17] “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30#ver. 3; ch. 26:2; See Ex. 20:8 You shall keep my Sabbaths and #Eccles. 5:1; [Matt. 21:12, 13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46; John 2:14-16]reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 # ch. 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:11; Isa. 8:19; [Ex. 22:18; 1 Sam. 28:3, 7, 9; 1 Chr. 10:13; Acts 16:16] “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 #
Prov. 20:29; [Lam. 5:12] “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall #See ver. 14fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 #
Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Mal. 3:5 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34#See ch. 16:29 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and #Deut. 10:19; See ver. 18you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 # See ver. 15 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36#Deut. 25:13, 15; Prov. 11:1; 16:11; 20:10; Ezek. 45:10; [Amos 8:5; Mic. 6:11]You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:#19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37And #See ch. 18:4, 5you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
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