Leviticus 17–26

The Sacrifices of Blood

17The Lord commanded Moses ²to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. ^3–4An Israelite who kills a cow or a sheep or a goat as an offering to the Lord anywhere except at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence has broken the Law. He has shed blood and shall no longer be considered one of God’s people. ⁵The meaning of this command is that the people of Israel shall now bring to the Lord the animals which they used to kill in the open country. They shall now bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent and kill them as fellowship offerings. ⁶The priest shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar at the entrance of the Tent and burn the fat to produce a smell that is pleasing to the Lord. ⁷The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat-demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.

⁸Any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community who offers a burnt offering or any other sacrifice ⁹as an offering to the Lord anywhere except at the entrance of the Tent shall no longer be considered one of God’s people.

^10*If any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community eats meat with blood still in it, the Lord will turn against him and no longer consider him one of his people. ^11*The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people’s sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins. ¹²That is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that neither they nor any foreigner living among them shall eat any meat with blood still in it.

¹³If any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community hunts an animal or a bird which is ritually clean, he must pour out its blood on the ground and cover it with earth. ¹⁴The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that they shall not eat any meat with blood still in it and that anyone who does so will no longer be considered one of his people.

¹⁵Any person, Israelite or foreigner, who eats meat from an animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals must wash his clothes, have a bath, and wait until evening before he is ritually clean. ¹⁶If he does not, he must suffer the consequences.

Forbidden Sexual Practices

18The Lord told Moses ²to say to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord your God. ³Do not follow the practices of the people of Egypt, where you once lived, or of the people in the land of Canaan, where I am now taking you. ⁴Obey my laws and do what I command. I am the Lord your God. ^5*Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. I am the Lord.”

⁶The Lord gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives. ⁷Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother. ^8*Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives. ^9*Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you. ¹⁰Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you. ¹¹Do not have intercourse with a half-sister; she, too, is your sister. ^12–13*Do not have intercourse with an aunt, whether she is your father’s sister or your mother’s sister. ^14*Do not have intercourse with your uncle’s wife; she, too, is your aunt. ^15*Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law ^16*or with your brother’s wife. ^17*Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest. ¹⁸Do not take your wife’s sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living.

^19*Do not have intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, because she is ritually unclean. ^20*Do not have intercourse with another man’s wife; that would make you ritually unclean. ^21*Do not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord. ^22*No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that. ^23*No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean.

²⁴Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these acts, for that is how the pagans made themselves unclean, those pagans who lived in the land before you and whom the Lord is driving out so that you can go in. ²⁵Their actions made the land unclean, and so the Lord is punishing the land and making it reject the people who lived there. ^26–27They did all these disgusting things and made the land unclean, but you must not do them. All of you, whether Israelites or foreigners living with you, must keep the Lord’s laws and commands, ²⁸and then the land will not reject you, as it rejected the pagans who lived there before you. ²⁹You know that whoever does any of these disgusting things will no longer be considered one of God’s people.

³⁰And the Lord said, “Obey the commands I give and do not follow the practices of the people who lived in the land before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by doing any of these things. I am the Lord your God.”

Laws of Holiness and Justice

19The Lord told Moses ^2*to say to the community of Israel, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. ^3*Each of you must respect his mother and his father, and must keep the Sabbath, as I have commanded. I am the Lord your God.

^4*“Do not abandon me and worship idols; do not make gods of metal and worship them. I am the Lord your God.

⁵“When you kill an animal for a fellowship offering, keep the regulations that I have given you, and I will accept the offering. ⁶The meat must be eaten on the day the animal is killed or on the next day. Any meat left on the third day must be burnt, ⁷because it is ritually unclean, and if anyone eats it, I will not accept the offering. ⁸Anyone who eats it will be guilty of treating as ordinary what is dedicated to me, and he will no longer be considered one of my people.

^9*“When you harvest your fields, do not cut the corn at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the ears of corn that were left. ^10*Do not go back through your vineyard to gather the grapes that were missed or to pick up the grapes that have fallen; leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.

^11*“Do not steal or cheat or lie. ^12*Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the Lord your God.

^13*“Do not take advantage of anyone or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night. ^14*Do not curse a deaf man or put something in front of a blind man so as to make him stumble over it. Obey me; I am the Lord your God.

^15*“Be honest and just when you make decisions in legal cases; do not show favouritism to the poor or fear the rich. ¹⁶Do not spread lies about anyone, and when someone is on trial for his life, speak out if your testimony can help him. I am the Lord.

^17*“Do not bear a grudge against anyone, but settle your differences with him, so that you will not commit a sin because of him.^{i 18*}Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbour as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

^19*“Obey my commands. Do not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field. Do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material.

²⁰“If a slave woman is the recognized concubine of a man and she has not been paid for and freed, then if another man has sexual relations with her, they will be punished but not^j put to death, since she is a slave. ²¹The man shall bring a ram to the entrance of the Tent of my presence as his repayment offering, ²²and with it the priest shall perform the ritual of purification to remove the man’s sin, and God will forgive him.

²³“When you come into the land of Canaan and plant any kind of fruit tree, consider the fruit ritually unclean for the first three years. During that time you must not eat it. ²⁴In the fourth year all the fruit shall be dedicated as an offering to show your gratitude to me,^k the Lord. ²⁵But in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you do all this, your trees will bear more fruit. I am the Lord your God.

^26*“Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic. ^27*Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard ^28*or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord.

^29*“Do not disgrace your daughters by making them temple prostitutes;^l if you do, you will turn to other gods and the land will be full of immorality. ^30*Keep the Sabbath, and honour the place where I am worshipped. I am the Lord.

^31*“Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead. If you do, you will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord your God.

³²“Show respect for old people and honour them. Reverently obey me; I am the Lord.

^33*“Do not ill-treat foreigners who are living in your land. ^34*Treat them as you would a fellow-Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

^35*“Do not cheat anyone by using false measures of length, weight, or quantity. ^36*Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God, and I brought you out of Egypt. ³⁷Obey all my laws and commands. I am the Lord.”

Penalties for Disobedience

20The Lord told Moses ²to say to the people of Israel, “Any of you or any foreigner living among you who gives any of his or her children to be used in the worship of the god Molech shall be stoned to death by the whole community. ³If anyone gives one of his children to Molech…