Leviticus 17–26

The Slaughtering of Animals

¹⁷The Lord spoke to Moses:

²“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: This is what the Lord has commanded. ³If anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp or slaughters it outside the camp ⁴and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, he shall be held guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and he shall be cut off from the people.^{* 5}This is in order that the Israelites may bring their sacrifices that they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and offer them as sacrifices of well-being to the Lord. ⁶The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odor to the Lord,^{* 7}so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.^*

⁸“And say to them further: Anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it to the Lord, shall be cut off from the people.^*

Eating Blood Prohibited

¹⁰“If anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut that person off from the people.^{* 11}For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar, for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.^{* 12}Therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood.’

¹³“And anyone of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside among them who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.^{* 14}For the life of every creature—its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’^{* 15}All persons, native-born or alien, who eat what dies of itself or what has been torn by wild animals shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening; then they shall be clean.^{* 16}But if they do not wash themselves or bathe their body, they shall bear their guilt.”

Sexual Relations

¹⁸The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: I am the Lord your God.^{* 3}You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.^{* 4}My ordinances you shall observe, and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God. ⁵You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord.^*

⁶“None of you shall approach anyone near of kin to uncover nakedness: I am the Lord. ⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness.^{* 8}You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is the nakedness of your father. ⁹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born abroad.^{* 10}You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. ¹¹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born in your father’s house, since she is your sister. ¹²You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh.^{* 13}You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s flesh. ¹⁴You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; that is, 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 daughter, and you shall not take^e her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are your^f flesh; it is depravity.^{* 18}And you shall not take^g a woman as a rival to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.

¹⁹“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.^{* 20}You shall not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.^{* 21}You shall not give any of your offspring to sacrifice them^h to Molech and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.^{* 22}You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.^{* 23}You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.^*

²⁴“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves.^{* 25}Thus the land became defiled, and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.^{* 26}But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the native-born or the alien who resides among you ²⁷(for the inhabitants of the land, who were before you, committed all of these abominations, and the land became defiled); ²⁸otherwise the land will vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. ²⁹For whoever commits any of these abominations shall be cut off from their people. ³⁰So keep my charge not to commit any of these abominations that were done before you and not to defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.”^*

Ritual and Moral Holiness

¹⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.^{* 3}You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.^{* 4}Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God.^*

⁵“When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable on your behalf. ⁶It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day, and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. ⁷If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. ⁸All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the Lord, and any such person shall be cut off from the people.

⁹“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^{* 10}You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

¹¹“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.^{* 12}And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.^*

¹³“You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.^{* 14}You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.^*

¹⁵“You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.^{* 16}You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the bloodⁱ of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.^*

¹⁷“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.^{* 18}You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.^*

¹⁹“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.^*

²⁰“If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave, designated for another man but not ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, since she has not been freed, ²¹but he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as guilt offering.^{* 22}And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he committed, and the sin he committed shall be forgiven him.

²³“When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall regard their fruit as forbidden;^j three years it shall be forbidden^k to you; it must not be eaten. ²⁴In the fourth year all their fruit shall be set apart for rejoicing in the Lord.^{* 25}But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that their yield may be increased for you: I am the Lord your God.

²⁶“You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice augury or witchcraft.^{* 27}You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.^{* 28}You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.^*

²⁹“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, that the land not become prostituted and full of depravity.^{* 30}You shall keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary: I am the Lord.^*

³¹“Do not turn to mediums and…