Leviticus19
New International Version
1The Lord said to Moses,
2“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3“‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5“‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
6It 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.
7If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.
8Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.
9“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
11“‘Do not steal. “‘Do not lie. “‘Do not deceive one another.
12“‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13“‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
14“‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.
15“‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16“‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
17“‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
19“‘Keep my decrees. “‘Do not mate different kinds of animals. “‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. “‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
20“‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man 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.
21The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.
22With 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.
23“‘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.
24In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord.
25But 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. “‘Do not practice divination or seek omens.
27“‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
28“‘Do not cut 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, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
30“‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32“‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.
33“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
34The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35“‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
36Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
37“‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.’”
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