Leviticus19
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy.
3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.
4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.
5And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.
6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire.
7And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted:
8but every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.
10And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.
11Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.
12And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
13Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him: the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
15Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
16Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah.
17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.
19Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.
20And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering.
22And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned shall be forgiven him.
23And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten.
24But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah.
25And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God.
26Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.
27Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah.
29Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
30Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.
31Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.
32Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
33And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.
34The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
35Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
36Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 19.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Laws. (1-37).
vv1-37
There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the ten commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, verse 2. To teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it! Children are to be obedient to their parents, verse 3. The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem, outward respect and obedience, care to please them and to make them easy. God only is to be worshipped, verse 4. Turn not from the true God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you, and make you for ever miserable. Turn not your eyes to them, much less your heart. They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor, verse 9. Works of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of every thing we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings, verse 11. Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not so. Reverence to the sacred name of God must be shown, verse 12. We must not detain what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, verse 13. We must be tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, verse 14. Do no hurt to any, because they are unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall. The fear of God should keep us from doing wrong things, though they will not expose us to men's anger. Judges, and all in authority, are commanded to give judgment without partiality, verse 15. To be a tale-bearer, and to sow discord among neighbours, is as bad an office as a man can put himself into. We are to rebuke our neighbour in love, verse 17. Rather rebuke him than hate him, for an injury done to thyself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother. We should say, I will do him the kindness to tell him of his faults. We are to put off all malice, and to put on brotherly love, verse 18. We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love to ourselves; in like manner we should love our neighbour. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbour. Verse 31: For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or the like, is a sad affront to God. They must be grossly ignorant who ask, “What harm is there in these things?” Here is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged, verse 32. Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to honour those to whom honour is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very tender of strangers, verse 33. Strangers, and the widows and fatherless, are God's particular care. It is at our peril, if we do them any wrong. Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to recommend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures is commanded, verse 35. We must make conscience of obeying God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives and tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, and the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we adorn the gospel.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
עֵדָה: a stated assemblage (specifically, a concourse, or generally, a family or crowd)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
קָדוֹשׁ: sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
יָרֵא: to fear; morally, to revere; caus. to frighten
Cross References
Leviticus 19Peter quotes this passage directly to command holiness in all manner of conversation.
Supported by JFB
Our Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan defines 'neighbour' in contrast to narrow Jewish interpretations.
Supported by JFB
Establishes the time limits for eating peace offerings based on vow and voluntary classifications.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Expands on the gleaning laws for fields, olive trees, and vineyards to sustain the needy.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Condemns withholding hirelings' wages as an injustice crying out to the Lord of Sabaoth.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels prohibitions against mingling seeds, diverse draft animals, and garments of mixed materials.
Supported by JFB
Reiterates the severe prohibition and defilement of turning after familiar spirits.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Parallels the prohibition against having divers weights and measures in your bag.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The Fifth Commandment requiring honor to parents, joined with Sabbath observance in Leviticus.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Decalogue prohibitions against having other gods and making graven or molten images.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Repeats the command to leave corners and gleanings of harvests for the poor.
Supported by JFB
Christ's practical instruction on how to privately rebuke an offending brother in love.
Supported by JFB
Comprehensive prohibition of witchcraft, enchantment, and observing times as heathen practices.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Provides the foundational sacrificial and theological reason for not eating blood.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prohibits making baldness or cutting oneself for the dead as God's holy people.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Repeats verbatim the command to keep the Sabbaths and reverence the sanctuary.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Command not to vex a stranger, grounded in Israel's experience in Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Declares that a false balance is an abomination to the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Reiterates the prohibition against turning to idols, graven images, or standing pillars.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Pronounces a curse on anyone who makes the blind wander out of the way.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul forbids personal vengeance, urging believers to yield wrath to God's judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Applies the prohibition of shaving corners of heads and marring beards to priests.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Historical account of Saul putting away those with familiar spirits and wizards.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Extends the command 'love thy neighbour as thyself' specifically to the stranger.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Command to love the stranger, reminding Israel they were strangers in Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prophetic call for just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Defines the trespass offering of a ram/lamb brought to the priest.
Supported by Matthew Poole