Leviticus 17:1–27:34

The Sanctity of Blood

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who akills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be bimputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be 1cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices cwhich they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest dshall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eburn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices fto 2demons, after whom they ghave played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, hwho offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not ibring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be 3cut off from among his people.

10 j‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, kI will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the llife of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar mto make atonement for your souls; for nit is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ohunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall ppour out its blood and qcover it with dust; 14 rfor it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 s“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, the shall both wash his clothes and ubathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then vhe shall bear his 4guilt.”

Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘I am the Lord your God. 3 bAccording to 1the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and caccording to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their 2ordinances. 4 dYou shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your efather’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 fThe nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 gYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 hYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her idaughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman jas a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as klong as she is in her lcustomary impurity. 20 mMoreover you shall not lie carnally with your nneighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not let any of your descendants opass through pthe fire to qMolech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with ra male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any sanimal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 t‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ufor by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For vthe land is defiled; therefore I wvisit 3the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land xvomits out its inhabitants. 26 yYou shall therefore 4keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest zthe land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be 5cut off from among their people.

30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My 6ordinance, so athat you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: bI am the Lord your God.’ ”

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

3 b‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and ckeep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

4 d‘Do not turn to idols, enor make for yourselves 1molded gods: I am the Lord your God.

5 ‘And fif you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

9 g‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

11 h‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, inor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not jswear by My name falsely, knor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 l‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. mThe wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nnor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in ojudgment. You shall not pbe partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a qtalebearer among your people; nor shall you rtake a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

17 s‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. tYou shall surely 2rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 uYou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, vbut you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is wbetrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be 3scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make 4atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as 5uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.

26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave …