Leviticus 17:1–19:37

Eating Blood Forbidden

17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sonsn and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,a a lambo or a goatp in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meetingq to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lordr—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.s 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.t 6 The priest is to splash the blood against the altaru of the Lordv at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.w 7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idolsb x to whom they prostitute themselves.y This is to be a lasting ordinancez for them and for the generations to come.’a

8 “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the tentb of meetingc to sacrifice it to the Lordd must be cut off from the people of Israel.

10 “ ‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,e and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood,f and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.c g 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

13 “ ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,h 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”i

15 “ ‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anythingj found dead or torn by wild animalsk must wash their clothes and bathe with water,l and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening;m then they will be clean. 16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.n’ ”

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.o 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.p 4 You must obey my lawsq and be careful to follow my decrees.r I am the Lord your God.s 5 Keep my decrees and laws,t for the person who obeys them will live by them.u I am the Lord.

6 “ ‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.

7 “ ‘Do not dishonor your fatherv by having sexual relations with your mother.w She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

8 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;x that would dishonor your father.y

9 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister,z either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.a

10 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

11 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister;b she is your father’s close relative.

13 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister,c because she is your mother’s close relative.

14 “ ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.d

15 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.e She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.f

16 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife;g that would dishonor your brother.

17 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.h Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

18 “ ‘Do not take your wife’s sisteri as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

19 “ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleannessj of her monthly period.k

20 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wifel and defile yourself with her.

21 “ ‘Do not give any of your childrenm to be sacrificed to Molek,n for you must not profane the name of your God.o I am the Lord.p

22 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;q that is detestable.r

23 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.s

24 “ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before yout became defiled.u 25 Even the land was defiled;v so I punished it for its sin,w and the land vomited out its inhabitants.x 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.y The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,z it will vomit you outa as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

29 “ ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirementsb and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.c’ ”

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 …