Leviticus 17–26

Do Not Eat Meat That Has Blood in It

17The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to Aaron and his sons. Speak to all of the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ³“Suppose someone sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat. He sacrifices it in the camp or outside of it. ⁴He does it instead of bringing the animal to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He sacrifices it instead of giving it as an offering to me in front of my holy tent. Then he will be thought of as guilty of spilling blood. Because he has done that, he must be cut off from his people.

⁵“ ‘ “The people of Israel are now making sacrifices in the open fields. But they must bring their sacrifices to the priest. They must bring them to me at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There they must sacrifice them as friendship offerings. ⁶The priest must sprinkle the blood against my altar. It is the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He must burn the fat. It will give a pleasant smell to me.

⁷“ ‘ “Israel must stop offering any of their sacrifices to statues of gods that look like goats. When they offer sacrifices to those statues, they are not faithful to me. That is a law for them that will last for all time to come.” ’

⁸“Tell them, ‘Suppose someone offers a burnt offering or sacrifice. It does not matter whether he is an Israelite or an outsider. ⁹And suppose he does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to me. Then he must be cut off from his people.

¹⁰“ ‘Suppose someone eats meat that still has blood in it. It does not matter whether he is an Israelite or an outsider. I will turn against him if he eats it. I will cut him off from his people.

¹¹“ ‘The life of each creature is in its blood. So I have given you the blood of animals to pay for your sin on the altar. Blood is life. That is why blood pays for your sin.

¹²“ ‘So I say to the people of Israel, “You must not eat meat that still has blood in it. And an outsider who lives among you must not eat it either.”

¹³“ ‘Suppose any of you hunts any animal or bird that can be eaten. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider. You must let the blood flow out of the animal or bird. You must cover the blood with dirt.

¹⁴“ ‘That is because every creature’s life is its blood. And that is why I have said to the people of Israel, “You must not eat any creature’s meat that still has blood in it. Every creature’s life is its blood. Anyone who eats that kind of meat must be cut off.”

¹⁵“ ‘Suppose someone eats anything that is found dead or is torn apart by wild animals. It does not matter whether he is an Israelite or an outsider. He must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. He will be “unclean” until evening. After that, he will be “clean.”

¹⁶“ ‘But suppose he does not wash his clothes. And suppose he does not take a bath. Then he will be held accountable for what he has done.’ ”

Do Not Commit Sexual Sins

18The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God. ³You must not do what the people of Egypt do. You used to live there. And you must not do what the people of Canaan do. I am bringing you into their land. Do not follow their practices.

⁴“ ‘You must obey my laws. You must be careful to follow my rules. I am the Lord your God. ⁵Keep my rules and laws. The one who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

⁶“ ‘Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. I am the Lord.

⁷“ ‘Do not bring shame on your father by having sex with your mother. Do not have sex with her. She is your mother.

⁸“ ‘Do not have sex with any other wife of your father. That would bring shame on your father.

⁹“ ‘Do not have sex with your sister. It does not matter whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter. It does not matter whether she was born in the same home as you were or somewhere else.

¹⁰“ ‘Do not have sex with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. That would bring shame on you.

¹¹“ ‘Do not have sex with the daughter of your father’s wife. She was born to your father. She is your sister.

¹²“ ‘Do not have sex with your father’s sister. She is a close relative on your father’s side.

¹³“ ‘Do not have sex with your mother’s sister. She is a close relative on your mother’s side.

¹⁴“ ‘Do not bring shame on your father’s brother by having sex with his wife. She is your aunt.

¹⁵“ ‘Do not have sex with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Do not have sex with her.

¹⁶“ ‘Do not have sex with your brother’s wife. That would bring shame on your brother.

¹⁷“ ‘Do not have sex with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sex with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. They are close relatives on her side. Having sex with them is an evil thing.

¹⁸“ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as another wife and have sex with her. Do not do it while your wife is still living.

¹⁹“ ‘Do not make love to a woman during her monthly period. She is not “clean” at that time.

²⁰“ ‘Do not have sex with your neighbor’s wife. That would make you “unclean.”

²¹“ ‘Do not hand over any of your children to be sacrificed to the god Molech. That would be treating my name as if it were not holy. I am the Lord your God.

²²“ ‘Do not have sex with a man as you would have sex with a woman. I hate that.

²³“ ‘Do not have sex with an animal. Do not make yourself “unclean” by doing that. A woman must not offer herself to an animal to have sex with it. That is a twisted use of sex.

²⁴“ ‘Do not make yourselves “unclean” in any of those ways. That is how other nations became “unclean.” So I am going to drive those nations out of the land to make room for you. ²⁵Even their land was not “clean.” So I punished it because of its sin. The land itself threw out the people who lived there.

²⁶“ ‘But you must keep my rules and my laws. You must not do any of the things I hate. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders.

²⁷“ ‘All of those things were done by the people who lived in the land before you. That is how the land became “unclean.” ²⁸If you make the land “unclean,” it will throw you out. It will get rid of you just as it got rid of the nations that were there before you.

²⁹“ ‘Suppose you do any of the things I hate. Then you must be cut off from your people.

³⁰“ ‘Do exactly what I require. When you arrive in Canaan, do not follow any of the practices of its people. I hate the things they do. Do not make yourselves “unclean” by doing them. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Other Laws

19The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to the whole community of Israel. Tell them, ‘Be holy, because I am holy. I am the Lord your God.

³“ ‘All of you must have respect for your mother and father. You must always keep my Sabbath days. I am the Lord your God.

⁴“ ‘Do not turn away from me to worship statues of gods. Do not make gods out of metal for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

⁵“ ‘Suppose you sacrifice a friendship offering to me. Then do it in the right way. And I will accept it from you. ⁶You must eat it on the same day you sacrifice it or on the next day. Anything that is left over until the third day must be burned up.

⁷“ ‘If you eat any of it on the third day, it is not pure. I will not accept it. ⁸If you eat it, you will be held accountable. You have misused what is holy to me. You will be cut off from your people.

⁹“ ‘Suppose you are harvesting your crops. Then do not harvest all the way to the edges of your field. And do not pick up the grain you missed. ¹⁰Do not go over your vineyard a second time. Do not pick up the grapes that have fallen to the ground. Leave them for poor people and outsiders. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹“ ‘Do not steal.

“ ‘Do not tell lies.

“ ‘Do not cheat one another.

¹²“ ‘Do not take an oath and give false witness in my name. That would be treating it as if it were not holy. I am the Lord your God.

¹³“ ‘Do not cheat your neighbor. Do not rob him.

“ ‘Do not hold back the pay of a hired worker until morning.

¹⁴“ ‘Do not call a curse down on deaf people. Do not put anything in front of blind people that will make them trip. Instead, have respect for me. I am the Lord your God.

¹⁵“ ‘Do not make something that is wrong appear to be right. Treat poor people and rich people in the same way. Do not favor one person over another. Instead, judge everyone fairly.

¹⁶“ ‘Do not go around spreading lies among your people.

“ ‘Do not do anything that puts your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.

¹⁷“ ‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Correct your neighbor boldly when he does something wrong. Then you will not share his guilt.

¹⁸“ ‘Do not try to get even. Do not hold anything against one of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

¹⁹“ ‘Obey my rules.

“ ‘Do not let different kinds of animals mate with each other.

“ ‘Do not mix two kinds of seeds and then plant them in your field.

“ ‘Do not wear clothes that are made out of two kinds of cloth.

²⁰“ ‘Suppose a man has sex with a female slave. But she and another man have promised to get married to each other. And her freedom has not yet been paid for or given to her. Then she and the man who had sex with her must be punished. But they must not be put to death, because she had not been set free.

²¹“ ‘The man must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. It is for a guilt offering to me. ²²The priest must take the ram for the guilt offering. He must sacrifice it to pay for the man’s sin in my sight. Then his sin will be forgiven.

²³“ ‘When you enter the land, suppose you plant a fruit tree. Then do not eat its fruit for the first three years. The fruit is not “clean.” ²⁴In the fourth year all of the fruit will be holy. Offer it as a way of showing praise to me. ²⁵But in the fifth year you can eat the fruit. Then you will gather more and more fruit. I am the Lord your God.

²⁶“ ‘Do not eat any meat that still has blood in it.

“ ‘Do not practice any kind of evil magic at…