The Bible — World English Bible

Leviticus 19

In brief

Leviticus 19 is the heart of the holiness code. God tells his people to be holy because he is holy, then turns that call into very concrete actions: honoring parents, leaving the corners of the field for the poor, not stealing or lying, judging without partiality, not taking revenge, loving your neighbor as yourself, loving the foreigner, using honest scales. Holiness here is a way of living every day. Jesus will quote verse 18 as the second commandment.

The chapter in 4 parts

  1. v. 1-8Be holy: God, family, worship
  2. v. 9-18Holiness in daily life: the poor, justice, the neighbor
  3. v. 19-31Laws of separation, offenses and practices to avoid
  4. v. 32-37Honor the elderly, love the foreigner, use honest measures

1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.

3“ ‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.

4“ ‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.

5“ ‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

6It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.

7If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;

8but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

9“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

10You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.

11“ ‘You shall not steal. “ ‘You shall not lie. “ ‘You shall not deceive one another.

12“ ‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.

13“ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. “ ‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

14“ ‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.

15“ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

16“ ‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. “ ‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.

17“ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18“ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.

19“ ‘You shall keep my statutes. “ ‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “ ‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “ ‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.

20“ ‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

21He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.

22The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before Yahweh for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

23“ ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten.

24But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Yahweh.

25In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Yahweh your God.

26“ ‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.

27“ ‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.

28“ ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.

29“ ‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

30“ ‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.

31“ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.

32“ ‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.

33“ ‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

34The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

35“ ‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

36You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37“ ‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am Yahweh.’ ”

Key verses

Verse 2
“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.

The chapter opens with the call to holiness, based on who God is: the people's holiness answers the holiness of their God and is then translated into specific actions.

Verse 9-10
“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.

The landowner must leave a corner of the field and the fallen grapes for the poor and the foreigners. God writes generosity into the very organization of work, which sheds light on the book of Ruth.

Verse 18
“ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is quoted by Jesus as the second greatest commandment. It follows the ban on revenge and grudges.

Verse 33-34
“ ‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

The foreigner must be treated like a native and loved as yourself, because Israel was a foreigner in Egypt. Love for your neighbor extends to the one who comes from elsewhere.

Verse 36
You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Honest scales and weights: holiness touches business too, and honesty with money.

Bible verses to meditate on

What the sermons say

Frequently asked questions about Leviticus 19

What does the call to be holy mean in Leviticus 19?

God calls his people to be like him, and the chapter shows what that looks like: honoring parents, sharing with the poor, telling the truth, judging fairly, loving your neighbor. To be holy is first of all to belong to God, then to live in a way that reflects his character in every area of life.

What does “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” mean?

Verse 18 comes after the ban on hatred, revenge and grudges. It asks us to seek the good of the other with the same seriousness as our own. Jesus quotes it as the second commandment, and verses 33 and 34 show that your neighbor also includes the foreigner.

Why is Leviticus 19 important for Christians?

The New Testament draws the command to love your neighbor from it. Christians do not take up every rule of the chapter in the same way: some ritual laws were fulfilled in Christ, while the call to justice, generosity and love remains. Christian traditions differ on the details.

Articles quoting Leviticus 19

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World English Bible translation — public domain.