Leviticus 17–26

Eating Blood Forbidden

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons^a and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb^b or a goat^c in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting^d to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord^e—such persons shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.^f 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.^g The priest is to splash the blood against the altar^h of the Lordⁱ at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^j They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols^k to whom they prostitute themselves.^l This is to be a lasting ordinance^m for them and for the generations to come.’ⁿ

“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent^o of meeting^p to sacrifice it to the Lord^q must be cut off from their people.

“ ‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,^r and I will cut them off from their people. For the life of a creature is in the blood,^s 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.^t Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

“ ‘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,^u 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.”^v

“ ‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything^w found dead or torn by wild animals^x must wash their clothes and bathe with water,^y and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening;^z then they will be clean. But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.^a’ ”

Unlawful Sexual Relations

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.^a 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.^b You must obey my laws^c and be careful to follow my decrees.^d I am the Lord your God.^e Keep my decrees and laws,^f for whoever obeys them will live by them.^g I am the Lord.

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

“ ‘Do not dishonor your father^h by having sexual relations with your mother.ⁱ She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;^j that would dishonor your father.^k

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.^q She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.^r

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

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

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

“ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness^v of her monthly period.^w

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife^x and defile yourself with her.

“ ‘Do not give any of your children^y to be sacrificed to Molek,^z for you must not profane the name of your God.^a I am the Lord.^b

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;^c that is detestable.^d

“ ‘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.^e

“ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you^f became defiled.^g Even the land was defiled;^h so I punished it for its sin,ⁱ and the land vomited out its inhabitants.^j But you must keep my decrees and my laws.^k The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land,^l it will vomit you out^m as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

“ ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirementsⁿ 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.^o’ ”

Various Laws

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel^a and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,^b am holy.^c

“ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,^d and you must observe my Sabbaths.^e I am the Lord your God.^f

“ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.^g I am the Lord your God.^h

“ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 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.ⁱ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.^j Whoever eats it will be held responsible^k because they have desecrated what is holy^l to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.^m

“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edgesⁿ of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^o Do not go over your vineyard a second time^p or pick up the grapes that have fallen.^q Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.^r I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Do not steal.^s

“ ‘Do not lie.^t

“ ‘Do not deceive one another.^u

“ ‘Do not swear falsely^v by my name^w and so profane^x the name of your God. I am the Lord.

“ ‘Do not defraud your neighbors^y or rob^z them.^a

“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker^b overnight.^c

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

“ ‘Do not pervert justice;^f do not show partiality^g to the poor or favoritism to the great,^h but judge your neighbor fairly.ⁱ

“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander^j among your people.

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

“ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.^l Rebuke your neighbor frankly^m so you will not share in their guilt.

“ ‘Do not seek revengeⁿ or bear a grudge^o against anyone among your people,^p but love your neighbor^q as yourself.^r I am the Lord.

“ ‘Keep my decrees.^s

“ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

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

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

“ ‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man^v but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.^w 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.^x

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

“ ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.^z

“ ‘Do not practice divination^a or seek omens.^b

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

“ ‘Do not cut^d your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

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

“ ‘Observe my Sabbaths^g and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.^h

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

“ ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect^k for the elderly^l and revere your God.^m I am the Lord.ⁿ

“ ‘When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born.^o Love them as yourself,^p for you were foreigners^q in Egypt.^r I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.^s Use honest scales^t and honest weights, an honest ephah^u and an honest hin.^v I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.^w

“ ‘Keep all my decrees^x and…