Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israeld and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,e am holy.f

3 “ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,g and you must observe my Sabbaths.h I am the Lord your God.i

4 “ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.j I am the Lord your God.k

5 “ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.l 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.m 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsiblen because they have desecrated what is holyo to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.p

9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edgesq of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.r 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second times or pick up the grapes that have fallen.t Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.u I am the Lord your God.

11 “ ‘Do not steal.v

“ ‘Do not lie.w

“ ‘Do not deceive one another.x

12 “ ‘Do not swear falselyy by my namez and so profanea the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “ ‘Do not defraud or robb your neighbor.c

“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired workerd overnight.e

14 “ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,f but fear your God.g I am the Lord.

15 “ ‘Do not pervert justice;h do not show partialityi to the poor or favoritism to the great,j but judge your neighbor fairly.k

16 “ ‘Do not go about spreading slanderl among your people.

“ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.m I am the Lord.

17 “ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.n Rebuke your neighbor franklyo so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “ ‘Do not seek revengep or bear a grudgeq against anyone among your people,r but love your neighbors as yourself.t I am the Lord.

19 “ ‘Keep my decrees.u

“ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“ ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.v

“ ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.w

20 “ ‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another manx but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.a Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.y 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.z

23 “ ‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.b For three years you are to consider it forbiddenc; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,a an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

26 “ ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.b

“ ‘Do not practice divinationc or seek omens.d

27 “ ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.e

28 “ ‘Do not cutf your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

29 “ ‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,g or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.h

30 “ ‘Observe my Sabbathsi and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.j

31 “ ‘Do not turn to mediumsk or seek out spiritists,l for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

32 “ ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respectm for the elderlyn and revere your God.o I am the Lord.p

33 “ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.q Love them as yourself,r for you were foreignerss in Egypt.t I am the Lord your God.

35 “ ‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.u 36 Use honest scalesv and honest weights, an honest ephahd w and an honest hin.e x I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.y

37 “ ‘Keep all my decreesz and all my lawsa and follow them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.b The members of the community are to stone him.c 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;d for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defilede my sanctuaryf and profaned my holy name.g 4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,h 5 I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.

6 “ ‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.i

7 “ ‘Consecrate yourselvesj and be holy,k because I am the Lord your God.l 8 Keep my decreesm and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.n

9 “ ‘Anyone who curses their fathero or motherp is to be put to death.q Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.r

10 “ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wifes—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.t

11 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.u Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.v

12 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,w both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.

13 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.x They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

14 “ ‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother,y it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,z so that no wickedness will be among you.a

15 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,b he is to be put to death,c and you must kill the animal.

16 “ ‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

17 “ ‘If a man marries his sisterd, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removede from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.f

18 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,g he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.h

19 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,i for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

20 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,j he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.k

21 “ ‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,l it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.m

22 “ ‘Keep all my decrees and lawsn and follow them, so that the lando where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nationsp I am going to drive out before you.q Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.r 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.”s I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.t

25 “ ‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.u Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to mev because I, the Lord, am holy,w and I have set you apart from the nationsx to be my own.

27 “ ‘A man or woman who is a mediumy or spiritist among you must be put to death.z You are to stone them;a their blood will be on their own heads.’ ”