Leviticus 17:1–26:46
17 Thena Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the ⌊Israelites⌋,b and you shall say to them, ‘This is the word that Yahweh has commanded, saying, 3 “⌊Any man⌋c from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slaughters it ⌊outside the camp⌋d 4 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to present an offering to Yahweh ⌊before⌋e Yahweh’s tabernacle, thenf that man shall be accounted bloodguilty—he has poured out blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. 5 This is so that the ⌊Israelites⌋g may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing ⌊in the open field⌋h and bringi them for Yahweh to the tent of assembly’s entrance to the priest, and they shall sacrifice fellowship offerings for Yahweh with them. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the tent of assembly’s entrance, and he shall ⌊burn⌋j the fat as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. 7 And ⌊they may no longer sacrifice⌋k their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is ⌊a lasting statute⌋l for them ⌊throughout⌋m their generations.” ’
Instructions Against Eating Blood
8 “And you shall say to them, ‘if there is ⌊anyone⌋n from the house of Israel oro from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to ⌊sacrifice⌋p it for Yahweh, thenq that man shall be cut off from his people. 10 And if there is ⌊anyone⌋r from the house of Israel ors from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who eats any blood, thent I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people. 11 Indeedu the flesh’s life is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it is the blood with the life that makes atonement. 12 ⌊Therefore⌋v I said to the ⌊Israelites⌋,w ‘⌊None of you⌋x may eat blood, nory may the alien who is dwelling in your midst eat blood.’
13 “And if there is ⌊anyone⌋z from the ⌊Israelites⌋a orb from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who hunts a wild game animal or a bird that may be eaten, thenc he shall pour out its blood, and he shall cover it with the soil. 14 Indeed,d the life of all flesh, its blood, is in its life, soe I said to the ⌊Israelites⌋,f ‘You may not eat the blood of any flesh, because the life of all flesh is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’
15 “And if there is any person who eats a dead body org a mangled carcass, whether among the native orh among the alien, theni he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash himselfj with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall be clean. 16 Butk if he does not wash his garmentsl and he does not wash his body, thenm he shall bear his guilt.”
18 Thena Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the ⌊Israelites⌋,b and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God. 3 You must not ⌊carry out⌋c the practices of the land of Egypt, in which you lived, and you must not ⌊carry out⌋d the practices of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you; and you must not follow their statutes. 4 You must ⌊carry out⌋e my regulations, and you must observef my statutes by following them; I am Yahweh your God. 5 And you shall observeg my statutes and my regulations ⌊by which the person doing them shall live⌋;h I am Yahweh.
6 “ ‘⌊None⌋i of you shall approach anyone who is ⌊his close relative⌋j to expose nakedness; I am Yahweh. 7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness ork your mother’s nakedness—she is your mother; you must not expose her nakedness. 8 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s wife—it is your father’s nakedness. 9 As for your sister’s nakedness, whether your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether ⌊born at home⌋l or ⌊born abroad⌋,m you must not expose their nakedness. 10 As for the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, you must not expose their nakedness, because they are your nakedness. 11 As for the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, she is your sister, a relative of your father; you must not expose her nakedness. 12 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is ⌊your father’s close relative⌋.n 13 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister, because she is ⌊your mother’s close relative⌋.o 14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not ⌊have sex with⌋p his wife—she is your aunt. 15 You must not expose your daughter-in-law’s nakedness; she is your son’s wife; you must not expose her nakedness. 16 You must not expose the nakedness of your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You must not expose the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, or her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter; you must not take her as wifeq to expose her nakedness; they are ⌊close relatives⌋r—that is wickedness. 18 And you must not take as wifes a woman with her sister, to be a rival-wife, to expose her nakedness before her ⌊during⌋t her life.
19 “ ‘And you must not ⌊have sex with⌋u a woman to expose her nakedness ⌊during⌋v her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And ⌊you must not have sex⌋w with your fellow citizen’sx wife, becoming unclean with her.
21 “ ‘And you shall not give ⌊any of⌋y your offspringz in order to sacrifice them to Molech, nora shall you profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh. 22 And you shall not lie with a male as lying ⌊with⌋b a woman; that is a detestable thing. 23 And you shall not ⌊have sexual relations⌋c with any animal, becoming unclean with it; and a woman shall not stand ⌊before⌋d an animal to copulate with it—that is a perversion.
24 “ ‘You must not make yourself unclean in any of these things, because the nations whom I am driving out from your presence were made unclean by all of these. 25 Soe the land became unclean, and ⌊I have brought the punishment of⌋f its guilt upon it, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 26 Butg you (neither the native norh the alien who is dwelling in your midst) shall keep my statutes and my regulations, and you shall not ⌊practice⌋i any of these detestable things 27 (because the people of the land, who were ⌊before you⌋,j did all these detestable things, so the land became unclean), 28 so that the land will not vomit you out when you make it unclean just as it vomited out the nation that was ⌊before you⌋.k 29 Indeed, anyone who does any of these detestable things, evenl those persons who do so shall be cut off from the midst of their people. 30 Thusm you shall keep my obligation to not do any of the statutes ⌊regarding⌋n the detestable things that they did ⌊before you⌋,o so that you will not make yourselves unclean by them; I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
19 Thena Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the community of the ⌊Israelites⌋,b and say to them, ‘Youc must be holy, because I, Yahweh yourd God, am holy. 3 Each of you must revere your mothere and your father,f and youg must keep my Sabbaths; I am Yahweh yourh God. 4 Youi must not turn to idols, and youj must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal; I am Yahweh yourk God.
5 “ ‘And when youl sacrifice a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to Yahweh, youm must sacrifice it for yourn acceptance. 6 It must be eaten on the day of youro sacrifice and the next day; butp the remainder must be burned up in the fire by the third day. 7 And if it is indeed eaten on the third day, it is unclean meat; it shall not be regarded as accepted. 8 And the one who eats it shall bear his guilt, because he has profaned Yahweh’s holiness, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 “ ‘And at yourq reaping the harvest of yourr land yous must not finish reaping the edge of yourt field, and youu must not glean the remnants of yourv harvest. 10 And youw must not glean yourx vineyard, and youy must not gather yourz vineyard’s fallen grapes; youa must leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I am Yahweh yourb God.
11 “ ‘Youc shall not steal, and youd shall not deceive, and youe shall not lie ⌊to one another⌋;f 12 and youg shall not swear ⌊falsely⌋h in my name, and so one of youi profanej the name of yourk God; I am Yahweh.
13 “ ‘Youl shall not exploit yourm neighbor, and youn shall not rob him; a hired worker’s wage youo shall not ⌊withhold⌋p overnight until morning. 14 Youq shall not curse the deaf, and your shall not put a stumbling block ⌊before⌋s a blind person, butt youu shall revere yourv God; I am Yahweh.
15 “ ‘Youw shall not do injustice in judgment; ⌊youx shall not show partiality to the powerless⌋;y youz shall not give preference ⌊to the powerful⌋;a youb shall judge yourc fellow citizen with justice. 16 Youd shall not go about with slander among youre people; ⌊youf shall not endanger yourg neighbor’s life⌋;h I am Yahweh.
17 “ ‘Youi shall not hate yourj brother in yourk heart; youl shall surely rebuke yourm fellow citizen, so that youn do not incur sin ⌊along with⌋o him. 18 Youp shall not seek vengeance, and youq shall not harbor a grudge against ⌊yourr fellow citizens⌋;s and yout shall love youru neighbor like yourself; v I am Yahweh.
19 “ ‘Youw must keep my statutes: as for yourx domestic animals, youy shall not cause two differing kinds to breed; as for yourz field, youa shall not sow two differing kinds of seed; and, a garment of two differing kinds of woven material should not be worn on you.b
20 “ ‘And when a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen and she is a female slave promised to a man, butc she indeed has not been ransomed or freedom has not been given to her, there shall be an obligation to compensate; they shall not be put to death, because she has not been freed. 21 And he shall bring his guilt offering to Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance: a ram for a