Leviticus: Israel is formedThe events in Leviticus take place between 1445-1444 BC. Camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai, the Israelites learn the laws and guidelines for living that will prepare them to become a great nation. In order to do that it is essential they know what God expects of them. The guidelines given to them by God are a perfect example of the principles needed for living a life that is pleasing to God. The word "Holiness" is mentioned 152 times in this Book which is more than any other Book of the Bible.
LEVITICUS 2: The Grain Offering: (1) " 'When someone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it (2) and take it to Aaron's sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. (3) The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire. (4) " 'If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of fine flour: cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil, or wafers made without yeast and spread with oil. (5) If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of fine flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. (6) Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. (7) If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour and oil. (8) Bring the grain offering made of these things to the LORD; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. (9) He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. (10) The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire. (11) " 'Every grain offering you bring to the LORD must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in an offering made to the LORD by fire. (12) You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. (13) Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. (14) " 'If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. (15) Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. (16) The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as an offering made to the LORD by fire.
LEVITICUS 4: The Sin Offering: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) "Say to the Israelites: 'When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands- (3) " 'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. (4) He is to present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the LORD. (5) Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent of Meeting. (6) He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. (7) The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the bull's blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. (8) He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, (9) both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys- (10) just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. (11) But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and offal- (12) that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash heap. (13) " 'If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. (14) When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. (15) The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD. (16) Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull's blood into the Tent of Meeting. (17) He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the LORD seven times in front of the curtain. (18) He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. (19) He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar, (20) and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. (21) Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community. (22) " 'When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God, he is guilty. (23) When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect. (24) He is to lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering. (25) Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. (26) He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. (27) " 'If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty. (28) When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. (29) He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. (30) Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. (31) He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. (32) " 'If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect. (33) He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. (34) Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. (35) He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the LORD by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
LEVITICUS 6: (1) The LORD said to Moses: (2) "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, (3) or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do- (4) when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, (5) or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering. (6) And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to the LORD, his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. (7) In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty." (8) The LORD said to Moses: (9) "Give Aaron and his sons this command: 'These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. (10) The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. (11) Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. (12) The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. (13) The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. (14) " 'These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron's sons are to bring it before the LORD, in front of the altar. (15) The priest is to take a handful of fine flour and oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. (16) Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. (17) It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the offerings made to me by fire. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. (18) Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is his regular share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire for the generations to come. Whatever touches them will become holy.'" (19) The LORD also said to Moses, (20) "This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. (21) Prepare it with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. (22) The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the LORD's regular share and is to be burned completely. (23) Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten." (24) The LORD said to Moses, (25) "Say to Aaron and his sons: 'These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the LORD in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. (26) The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. (27) Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place. (28) The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. (29) Any male in a priest's family may eat it; it is most holy. (30) But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned.
LEVITICUS 8: The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) "Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast, (3) and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting." (4) Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. (5) Moses said to the assembly, "This is what the LORD has commanded to be done." (6) Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. (7) He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband; so it was fastened on him. (8) He placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece. (9) Then he placed the turban on Aaron's head and set the gold plate, the sacred diadem, on the front of it, as the LORD commanded Moses. (10) Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them. (11) He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. (12) He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him. (13) Then he brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as the LORD commanded Moses. (14) He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. (15) Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it. (16) Moses also took all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. (17) But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses. (18) He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. (19) Then Moses slaughtered the ram and sprinkled the blood against the altar on all sides. (20) He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat. (21) He washed the inner parts and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire, as the LORD commanded Moses. (22) He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. (23) Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. (24) Moses also brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood against the altar on all sides. (25) He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. (26) Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the LORD, he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. (27) He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the LORD as a wave offering. (28) Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire. (29) He also took the breast—Moses' share of the ordination ram—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD commanded Moses. (30) Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments. (31) Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.' (32) Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. (33) Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days. (34) What has been done today was commanded by the LORD to make atonement for you. (35) You must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and do what the LORD requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded." (36) So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD commanded through Moses.
LEVITICUS 10: The Death of Nadab and Abihu: (1) Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. (2) So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. (3) Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: " 'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.' " Aaron remained silent. (4) Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." (5) So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered. (6) Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire. (7) Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the LORD's anointing oil is on you." So they did as Moses said. (8) Then the LORD said to Aaron, (9) "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. (10) You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, (11) and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses." (12) Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to the LORD by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy. (13) Eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons' share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire; for so I have been commanded. (14) But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship offerings. (15) The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to be waved before the LORD as a wave offering. This will be the regular share for you and your children, as the LORD has commanded." (16) When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, (17) "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the LORD. (18) Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded." (19) Aaron replied to Moses, "Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the LORD have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?" (20) When Moses heard this, he was satisfied. LEVITICUS 11: Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals: (1) Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Of all the land animals, these are the ones you may use for food. (3) You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud. (4) You may not, however, eat the following animals that have split hooves or that chew the cud, but not both. The camel chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. (5) The hyrax chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. (6) The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. (7) The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean. (8) You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you. (9) “Of all the marine animals, these are ones you may use for food. You may eat anything from the water if it has both fins and scales, whether taken from salt water or from streams. (10) But you must never eat animals from the sea or from rivers that do not have both fins and scales. They are detestable to you. This applies both to little creatures that live in shallow water and to all creatures that live in deep water. (11) They will always be detestable to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. (12) Any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you. (13) “These are the birds that are detestable to you. You must never eat them: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, (14) the kite, falcons of all kinds, (15) ravens of all kinds, (16) the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, (17) the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, (18) the barn owl, the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture, (19) the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat. (20) “You must not eat winged insects that walk along the ground; they are detestable to you. (21) You may, however, eat winged insects that walk along the ground and have jointed legs so they can jump. (22) The insects you are permitted to eat include all kinds of locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers. (23) All other winged insects that walk along the ground are detestable to you. (24) “The following creatures will make you ceremonially unclean. If any of you touch their carcasses, you will be defiled until evening. (25) If you pick up their carcasses, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. (26) “Any animal that has split hooves that are not evenly divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled. (27) Of the animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. (28) If you pick up its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. These animals are unclean for you. (29) “Of the small animals that scurry along the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole rat, the rat, large lizards of all kinds, (30) the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. (31) All these small animals are unclean for you. If any of you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. (32) If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again. (33) “If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed. (34) If the water from such a container spills on any food, the food will be defiled. And any beverage in such a container will be defiled. (35) Any object on which the carcass of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is an oven or hearth, it must be destroyed, for it is defiled, and you must treat it accordingly. (36) “However, if the carcass of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who touches the carcass will be defiled. (37) If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. (38) But if the seed is wet when the carcass falls on it, the seed will be defiled. (39) “If an animal you are permitted to eat dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening. (40) If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. (41) “All small animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. (42) This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. (43) Do not defile yourselves by touching them. You must not make yourselves ceremonially unclean because of them. (44) For I am the LORD your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves with any of these small animals that scurry along the ground. (45) For I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy. (46) “These are the instructions regarding land animals, birds, marine creatures, and animals that scurry along the ground. (47) By these instructions you will know what is unclean and clean, and which animals may be eaten and which may not be eaten.” LEVITICUS 12: Purification after Childbirth: (1) The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. (2) If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. (3) On the eighth day the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. (4) After waiting thirty-three days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is set apart as holy. And she must not enter the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. (5) If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially unclean for two weeks, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. After waiting sixty-six days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. (6) “When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must bring her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (7) The priest will then present them to the LORD to purify her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter. (8) “If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean.” LEVITICUS 13: Serious Skin Diseases: (1) The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, (2) “If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease, that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons. (3) The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. (4) “But if the affected area of the skin is only a white discoloration and does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair on the spot has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the person for seven days. (5) On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has not changed and the problem has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine the person for seven more days. (6) On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has faded and has not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a rash. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean. (7) But if the rash continues to spread after the person has been examined by the priest and has been pronounced clean, the infected person must return to be examined again. (8) If the priest finds that the rash has spread, he must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is indeed a skin disease. (9) “Anyone who develops a serious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. (10) If the priest finds a white swelling on the skin, and some hair on the spot has turned white, and there is an open sore in the affected area, (11) it is a chronic skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. In such cases the person need not be quarantined, for it is obvious that the skin is defiled by the disease. (12) “Now suppose the disease has spread all over the person’s skin, covering the body from head to foot. (13) When the priest examines the infected person and finds that the disease covers the entire body, he will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. Since the skin has turned completely white, the person is clean. (14) But if any open sores appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. (15) The priest must make this pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore, since open sores indicate the presence of a skin disease. (16) However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin, the person must return to the priest (17) for another examination. If the affected areas have indeed turned white, the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, ‘You are clean!’ (18) “If anyone has a boil on the skin that has started to heal, (19) but a white swelling or a reddish white spot develops in its place, that person must go to the priest to be examined. (20) If the priest examines it and finds it to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the affected area has turned white, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. The boil has become a serious skin disease. (21) But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the person for seven days. (22) If during that time the affected area spreads on the skin, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, because it is a serious disease. (23) But if the area grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. (24) “If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either reddish white or shiny white, (25) the priest must examine it. If he finds that the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a skin disease has broken out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease. (26) But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the infected person for seven days. (27) On the seventh day the priest must examine the person again. If the affected area has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease. (28) But if the affected area has not changed or spread on the skin and has faded, it is simply a swelling from the burn. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean, for it is only the scar from the burn. (29) “If anyone, either a man or woman, has a sore on the head or chin, (30) the priest must examine it. If he finds it is more than skin-deep and has fine yellow hair on it, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. It is a scabby sore of the head or chin. (31) If the priest examines the scabby sore and finds that it is only skin-deep but there is no black hair on it, he must quarantine the person for seven days. (32) On the seventh day the priest must examine the sore again. If he finds that the scabby sore has not spread, and there is no yellow hair on it, and it appears to be only skin-deep, (33) the person must shave off all hair except the hair on the affected area. Then the priest must quarantine the person for another seven days. (34) On the seventh day he will examine the sore again. If it has not spread and appears to be no more than skin-deep, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean. (35) But if the scabby sore begins to spread after the person is pronounced clean, (36) the priest must do another examination. If he finds that the sore has spread, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair. The infected person is ceremonially unclean. (37) But if the color of the scabby sore does not change and black hair has grown on it, it has healed. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean. (38) “If anyone, either a man or woman, has shiny white patches on the skin, (39) the priest must examine the affected area. If he finds that the shiny patches are only pale white, this is a harmless skin rash, and the person is ceremonially clean. (40) “If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean. (41) And if he loses hair on his forehead, he simply has a bald forehead; he is still clean. (42) However, if a reddish white sore appears on the bald area at the top or back of his head, this is a skin disease. (43) The priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore anywhere on the man’s head and it looks like a skin disease, (44) the man is indeed infected with a skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him ceremonially unclean because of the sore on his head. (45) “Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ (46) As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp. (47) “Now suppose mildew contaminates some woolen or linen clothing, (48) woolen or linen fabric, the hide of an animal, or anything made of leather. (49) If the contaminated area in the clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather article has turned greenish or reddish, it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest. (50) After examining the affected spot, the priest will put the article in quarantine for seven days. (51) On the seventh day the priest must inspect it again. If the contaminated area has spread, the clothing or fabric or leather is clearly contaminated by a serious mildew and is ceremonially unclean. (52) The priest must burn the item—the clothing, the woolen or linen fabric, or piece of leather—for it has been contaminated by a serious mildew. It must be completely destroyed by fire. (53) “But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has not spread in the clothing, the fabric, or the leather, (54) the priest will order the object to be washed and then quarantined for seven more days. (55) Then the priest must examine the object again. If he finds that the contaminated area has not changed color after being washed, even if it did not spread, the object is defiled. It must be completely burned up, whether the contaminated spot is on the inside or outside. (56) But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has faded after being washed, he must cut the spot from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather. (57) If the spot later reappears on the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article, the mildew is clearly spreading, and the contaminated object must be burned up. (58) But if the spot disappears from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article after it has been washed, it must be washed again; then it will be ceremonially clean. (59) “These are the instructions for dealing with mildew that contaminates woolen or linen clothing or fabric or anything made of leather. This is how the priest will determine whether these items are ceremonially clean or unclean.” LEVITICUS 14: Cleansing from Skin Diseases: (1) And the LORD said to Moses, (2) “The following instructions are for those seeking ceremonial purification from a skin disease. Those who have been healed must be brought to the priest, (3) who will examine them at a place outside the camp. If the priest finds that someone has been healed of a serious skin disease, (4) he will perform a purification ceremony, using two live birds that are ceremonially clean, a stick of cedar, some scarlet yarn, and a hyssop branch. (5) The priest will order that one bird be slaughtered over a clay pot filled with fresh water. (6) He will take the live bird, the cedar stick, the scarlet yarn, and the hyssop branch, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. (7) The priest will then sprinkle the blood of the dead bird seven times on the person being purified of the skin disease. When the priest has purified the person, he will release the live bird in the open field to fly away. (8) “The persons being purified must then wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, and bathe themselves in water. Then they will be ceremonially clean and may return to the camp. However, they must remain outside their tents for seven days. (9) On the seventh day they must again shave all the hair from their heads, including the hair of the beard and eyebrows. They must also wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. Then they will be ceremonially clean. (10) “On the eighth day each person being purified must bring two male lambs and a one-year-old female lamb, all with no defects, along with a grain offering of six quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil, and a cup of olive oil. (11) Then the officiating priest will present that person for purification, along with the offerings, before the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (12) The priest will take one of the male lambs and the olive oil and present them as a guilt offering, lifting them up as a special offering before the LORD. (13) He will then slaughter the male lamb in the sacred area where sin offerings and burnt offerings are slaughtered. As with the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest. It is a most holy offering. (14) The priest will then take some of the blood of the guilt offering and apply it to the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified. (15) “Then the priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. (16) He will dip his right finger into the oil in his palm and sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the LORD. (17) The priest will then apply some of the oil in his palm over the blood from the guilt offering that is on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified. (18) The priest will apply the oil remaining in his hand to the head of the person being purified. Through this process, the priest will purify the person before the LORD. (19) “Then the priest must present the sin offering to purify the person who was cured of the skin disease. After that, the priest will slaughter the burnt offering (20) and offer it on the altar along with the grain offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the person who was healed, and the person will be ceremonially clean. (21) “But anyone who is too poor and cannot afford these offerings may bring one male lamb for a guilt offering, to be lifted up as a special offering for purification. The person must also bring two quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil for the grain offering and a cup of olive oil. (22) The offering must also include two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever the person can afford. One of the pair must be used for the sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. (23) On the eighth day of the purification ceremony, the person being purified must bring the offerings to the priest in the LORD’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (24) The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the olive oil, and lift them up as a special offering to the LORD. (25) Then the priest will slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering. He will take some of its blood and apply it to the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified. (26) “The priest will also pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. (27) He will dip his right finger into the oil in his palm and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD. (28) The priest will then apply some of the oil in his palm over the blood from the guilt offering that is on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified. (29) The priest will apply the oil remaining in his hand to the head of the person being purified. Through this process, the priest will purify the person before the LORD. (30) “Then the priest will offer the two turtledoves or the two young pigeons, whichever the person can afford. (31) One of them is for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to be presented along with the grain offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the person before the LORD. (32) These are the instructions for purification for those who have recovered from a serious skin disease but who cannot afford to bring the offerings normally required for the ceremony of purification.” (33) Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, (34) “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew. (35) The owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, ‘It appears that my house has some kind of mildew.’ (36) Before the priest goes in to inspect the house, he must have the house emptied so nothing inside will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. (37) Then the priest will go in and examine the mildew on the walls. If he finds greenish or reddish streaks and the contamination appears to go deeper than the wall’s surface, (38) the priest will step outside the door and put the house in quarantine for seven days. (39) On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If he finds that the mildew on the walls of the house has spread, (40) the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated material will then be taken outside the town to an area designated as ceremonially unclean. (41) Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in the unclean place outside the town. (42) Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that were removed, and the walls will be replastered. (43) “But if the mildew reappears after all the stones have been replaced and the house has been scraped and replastered, (44) the priest must return and inspect the house again. If he finds that the mildew has spread, the walls are clearly contaminated with a serious mildew, and the house is defiled. (45) It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean. (46) Those who enter the house during the period of quarantine will be ceremonially unclean until evening, (47) and all who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing. (48) “But if the priest returns for his inspection and finds that the mildew has not reappeared in the house after the fresh plastering, he will pronounce it clean because the mildew is clearly gone. (49) To purify the house the priest must take two birds, a stick of cedar, some scarlet yarn, and a hyssop branch. (50) He will slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot filled with fresh water. (51) He will take the cedar stick, the hyssop branch, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, and dip them into the blood of the slaughtered bird and into the fresh water. Then he will sprinkle the house seven times. (52) When the priest has purified the house in exactly this way, (53) he will release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. Through this process, the priest will purify the house, and it will be ceremonially clean. (54) “These are the instructions for dealing with serious skin diseases, including scabby sores; (55) and mildew, whether on clothing or in a house; (56) and a swelling on the skin, a rash, or discolored skin. (57) This procedure will determine whether a person or object is ceremonially clean or unclean. “These are the instructions regarding skin diseases and mildew.” LEVITICUS 15: Bodily Discharges: (1) The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Any man who has a bodily discharge is ceremonially unclean. (3) This defilement is caused by his discharge, whether the discharge continues or stops. In either case the man is unclean. (4) Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies and anything on which he sits will be ceremonially unclean. (5) So if you touch the man’s bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (6) If you sit where the man with the discharge has sat, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (7) If you touch the man with the discharge, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (8) If the man spits on you, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (9) Any saddle blanket on which the man rides will be ceremonially unclean. (10) If you touch anything that was under the man, you will be unclean until evening. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (11) If the man touches you without first rinsing his hands, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (12) Any clay pot the man touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil he touches must be rinsed with water. (13) “When the man with the discharge is healed, he must count off seven days for the period of purification. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in fresh water, and he will be ceremonially clean. (14) On the eighth day he must get two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle and give his offerings to the priest. (15) The priest will offer one bird for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the man before the LORD for his discharge. (16) “Whenever a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his entire body in water, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until the next evening. (17) Any clothing or leather with semen on it must be washed in water, and it will remain unclean until evening. (18) After a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, they must each bathe in water, and they will remain unclean until the next evening. (19) “Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time will be unclean until evening. (20) Anything on which the woman lies or sits during the time of her period will be unclean. (21) If any of you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (22) If you touch any object she has sat on, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (23) This includes her bed or any other object she has sat on; you will be unclean until evening if you touch it. (24) If a man has sexual intercourse with her and her blood touches him, her menstrual impurity will be transmitted to him. He will remain unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will be unclean. (25) “If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues. (26) Any bed she lies on and any object she sits on during that time will be unclean, just as during her normal menstrual period. (27) If any of you touch these things, you will be ceremonially unclean. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. (28) “When the woman’s bleeding stops, she must count off seven days. Then she will be ceremonially clean. (29) On the eighth day she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (30) The priest will offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify her before the LORD for the ceremonial impurity caused by her bleeding. (31) “This is how you will guard the people of Israel from ceremonial uncleanness. Otherwise they would die, for their impurity would defile my Tabernacle that stands among them. (32) These are the instructions for dealing with anyone who has a bodily discharge—a man who is unclean because of an emission of semen (33) or a woman during her menstrual period. It applies to any man or woman who has a bodily discharge, and to a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.” LEVITICUS 16: The Day of Atonement: (1) The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the LORD’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him. (2) The LORD said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. (3) “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. (4) He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. (5) Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. (6) “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the LORD. (7) Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (8) He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the LORD and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. (9) Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the LORD. (10) The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the LORD. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the LORD. (11) “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the LORD. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering, (12) he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the LORD. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. (13) There in the LORD’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. (14) Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover. (15) “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. (16) Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. (17) No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with the LORD. (18) “Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the LORD. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar. (19) Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy. (20) “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. (21) He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. (22) As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. (23) “When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. (24) Then he must bathe himself with water in a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the LORD. (25) He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar. (26) “The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to the camp. (27) “The bull and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron takes into the Most Holy Place for the purification ceremony, will be carried outside the camp. The animals’ hides, internal organs, and dung are all to be burned. (28) The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp. (29) “On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. (30) On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the LORD’s presence from all your sins. (31) It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you. (32) In future generations, the purification ceremony will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments (33) and purify the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire congregation. (34) This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the LORD once each year.” Moses followed all these instructions exactly as the LORD had commanded him. LEVITICUS 17: Prohibitions against Eating Blood: (1) Then the LORD said to Moses, (2) “Give the following instructions to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel. This is what the LORD has commanded. (3) “If any native Israelite sacrifices a bull or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp (4) instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present it as an offering to the LORD, that person will be as guilty as a murderer. Such a person has shed blood and will be cut off from the community. (5) The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the LORD as peace offerings. (6) Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the LORD’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (7) The people must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by offering sacrifices to the goat idols. This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation. (8) “Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice (9) but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the LORD, that person will be cut off from the community. (10) “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, (11) for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. (12) That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood—neither you nor the foreigners living among you.’ (13) “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth. (14) The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community. (15) “And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean. (16) But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be punished for their sin.” LEVITICUS 18: Forbidden Sexual Practices: (1) Then the LORD said to Moses, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the LORD your God. (3) So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. (4) You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the LORD your God. (5) If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD. (6) “You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the LORD. (7) “Do not violate your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her. (8) “Do not have sexual relations with any of your father’s wives, for this would violate your father. (9) “Do not have sexual relations with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born into your household or someone else’s. (10) “Do not have sexual relations with your granddaughter, whether she is your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for this would violate yourself. (11) “Do not have sexual relations with your stepsister, the daughter of any of your father’s wives, for she is your sister. (12) “Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister, for she is your father’s close relative. (13) “Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative. (14) “Do not violate your uncle, your father’s brother, by having sexual relations with his wife, for she is your aunt. (15) “Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, so you must not have sexual relations with her. (16) “Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, for this would violate your brother. (17) “Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. And do not take her granddaughter, whether her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives, and this would be a wicked act. (18) “While your wife is living, do not marry her sister and have sexual relations with her, for they would be rivals. (19) “Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity. (20) “Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife. (21) “Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the LORD. (22) “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin. (23) “A man must not defile himself by having sex with an animal. And a woman must not offer herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it. This is a perverse act. (24) “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. (25) Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out. (26) You must obey all my decrees and regulations. You must not commit any of these detestable sins. This applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. (27) “All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become defiled. (28) So do not defile the land and give it a reason to vomit you out, as it will vomit out the people who live there now. (29) Whoever commits any of these detestable sins will be cut off from the community of Israel. (30) So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the LORD your God.” LEVITICUS 19: Holiness in Personal Conduct: (1) The LORD also said to Moses, (2) “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. (3) “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the LORD your God. (4) “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. (5) “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God. (6) The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up. (7) If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. (8) Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the LORD and will be cut off from the community. (9) “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. (10) It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God. (11) “Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another. (12) “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD. (13) “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. (14) “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the LORD. (15) “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly. (16) “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD. (17) “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. (18) “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (19) “You must obey all my decrees. “Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread. (20) “If a man has sex with a slave girl whose freedom has never been purchased but who is committed to become another man’s wife, he must pay full compensation to her master. But since she is not a free woman, neither the man nor the woman will be put to death. (21) The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. (22) The priest will then purify him before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering, and the man’s sin will be forgiven. (23) “When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. Do not eat it. (24) In the fourth year the entire crop must be consecrated to the LORD as a celebration of praise. (25) Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you follow this pattern, your harvest will increase. I am the LORD your God. (26) “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood. “Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft. (27) “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. (28) “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD. (29) “Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with prostitution and wickedness. (30) “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the LORD. (31) “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God. (32) “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the LORD. (33) “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. (34) Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (35) “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. (36) Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (37) “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the LORD.” LEVITICUS 20: Punishments for Disobedience: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) “Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel. “If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death. (3) I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and brought shame on my holy name by offering their children to Molech. (4) And if the people of the community ignore those who offer their children to Molech and refuse to execute them, (5) I myself will turn against them and their families and will cut them off from the community. This will happen to all who commit spiritual prostitution by worshiping Molech. (6) “I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community. (7) So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. (8) Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy. (9) “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense. (10) “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death. (11) “If a man violates his father by having sex with one of his father’s wives, both the man and the woman must be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. (12) “If a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both must be put to death. They have committed a perverse act and are guilty of a capital offense. (13) “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. (14) “If a man marries both a woman and her mother, he has committed a wicked act. The man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you. (15) “If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed. (16) “If a woman presents herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. You must kill both, for they are guilty of a capital offense. (17) “If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a shameful disgrace. They must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has violated his sister, he will be punished for his sin. (18) “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them must be cut off from the community, for together they have exposed the source of her blood flow. (19) “Do not have sexual relations with your aunt, whether your mother’s sister or your father’s sister. This would dishonor a close relative. Both parties are guilty and will be punished for their sin. (20) “If a man has sex with his uncle’s wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman will be punished for their sin, and they will die childless. (21) “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has violated his brother, and the guilty couple will remain childless. (22) “You must keep all my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you as your new home will vomit you out. (23) Do not live according to the customs of the people I am driving out before you. It is because they do these shameful things that I detest them. (24) But I have promised you, ‘You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from all other people. (25) “You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any unclean animal or bird or creature that scurries along the ground. I have identified them as being unclean for you. (26) You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. (27) “Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense.” LEVITICUS 21: Instructions for the Priests: (1) The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. (2) The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, (3) or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. (4) But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage. (5) “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. (6) They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the LORD, gifts of food for their God. (7) “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God. (8) You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make you holy. (9) “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death. (10) “The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothing. (11) He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. (12) He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD. (13) “The high priest may marry only a virgin. (14) He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, (15) so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the LORD who makes him holy.” (16) Then the LORD said to Moses, (17) “Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God. (18) No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, (19) or has a broken foot or arm, (20) or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. (21) No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. (22) However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. (23) Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the LORD who makes them holy.” (24) So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites. LEVITICUS 22: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the LORD. 3 Give them the following instructions. “In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the LORD, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD. (4) “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, (5) or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason. (6) The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water. (7) When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food. (8) He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the LORD. (9) “The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the LORD who makes them holy. (10) “No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them. (11) However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. (12) If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. (13) But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. (14) “Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent. (15) The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the LORD (16) by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the LORD who makes them holy.” (17) And the LORD said to Moses, (18) “Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. “If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the LORD, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, (19) you will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. (20) Do not present an animal with defects, because the LORD will not accept it on your behalf. (21) “If you present a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind. (22) You must not offer an animal that is blind, crippled, or injured, or that has a wart, a skin sore, or scabs. Such animals must never be offered on the altar as special gifts to the LORD. (23) If a bull or lamb has a leg that is too long or too short, it may be offered as a voluntary offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow. (24) If an animal has damaged testicles or is castrated, you may not offer it to the LORD. You must never do this in your own land, (25) and you must not accept such an animal from foreigners and then offer it as a sacrifice to your God. Such animals will not be accepted on your behalf, for they are mutilated or defective.” (26) And the LORD said to Moses, (27) “When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must be left with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a special gift to the LORD. (28) But you must not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, whether from the herd or the flock. (29) When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the LORD, sacrifice it properly so you will be accepted. (30) Eat the entire sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. I am the LORD. (31) “You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD. (32) Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who makes you holy. (33) It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the LORD.” LEVITICUS 23: The Appointed Festivals: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly. (3) “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live. (4) “In addition to the Sabbath, these are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year. (5) “The LORD’s Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month. (6) On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This festival to the LORD continues for seven days, and during that time the bread you eat must be made without yeast. (7) On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. (8) For seven days you must present special gifts to the LORD. On the seventh day the people must again stop all their ordinary work to observe an official day for holy assembly.” (9) Then the LORD said to Moses, (10) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest. (11) On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the LORD so it may be accepted on your behalf. (12) On that same day you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the LORD. (13) With it you must present a grain offering consisting of four quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil. It will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. You must also offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering. (14) Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. (15) “From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering—count off seven full weeks. (16) Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. (17) From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the LORD as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the LORD from the first of your crops. (18) Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the LORD. These burnt offerings, together with the grain offerings and liquid offerings, will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (19) Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering. (20) “The priest will lift up the two lambs as a special offering to the LORD, together with the loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the LORD, belong to the priests. (21) That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. (22) “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.” (23) The LORD said to Moses, (24) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. (25) You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the LORD.” (26) Then the LORD said to Moses, (27) “Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the LORD. (28) Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the LORD your God. (29) All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. (30) And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. (31) You must not do any work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. (32) This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves. This day of rest will begin at sundown on the ninth day of the month and extend until sundown on the tenth day.” (33) And the LORD said to Moses, (34) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the LORD will last for seven days. (35) On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work. (36) For seven days you must present special gifts to the LORD. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the LORD. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day. (37) (“These are the LORD’s appointed festivals. Celebrate them each year as official days for holy assembly by presenting special gifts to the LORD—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings—each on its proper day. (38) These festivals must be observed in addition to the LORD’s regular Sabbath days, and the offerings are in addition to your personal gifts, the offerings you give to fulfill your vows, and the voluntary offerings you present to the LORD.) (39) “Remember that this seven-day festival to the LORD—the Festival of Shelters—begins on the fifteenth day of the appointed month, after you have harvested all the produce of the land. The first day and the eighth day of the festival will be days of complete rest. (40) On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the LORD your God for seven days. (41) You must observe this festival to the LORD for seven days every year. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month from generation to generation. (42) For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters. (43) This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (44) So Moses gave the Israelites these instructions regarding the annual festivals of the LORD. LEVITICUS 24: Pure Oil and Holy Bread: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. (3) This is the lampstand that stands in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron must keep the lamps burning in the LORD’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation. (4) Aaron and the priests must tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand continually in the LORD’s presence. (5) “You must bake twelve loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf. (6) Place the bread before the LORD on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two rows, with six loaves in each row. (7) Put some pure frankincense near each row to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the LORD. (8) Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD. The bread is to be received from the people of Israel as a requirement of the eternal covenant. (9) The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD.” (10) One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father came out of his tent and got into a fight with one of the Israelite men. (11) During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the Name of the LORD with a curse. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. (12) They kept the man in custody until the LORD’s will in the matter should become clear to them. (13) Then the LORD said to Moses, (14) “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard the curse to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death. (15) Say to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished for their sin. (16) Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the LORD must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the LORD must be put to death. (17) “Anyone who takes another person’s life must be put to death. (18) “Anyone who kills another person’s animal must pay for it in full—a live animal for the animal that was killed. (19) “Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—(20) a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind. (21) “Whoever kills an animal must pay for it in full, but whoever kills another person must be put to death. (22) “This same standard applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.” (23) After Moses gave all these instructions to the Israelites, they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him to death. The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. LEVITICUS 25: The Sabbath Year: (1) While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the LORD every seventh year. (3) For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, (4) but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the LORD’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. (5) And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. (6) But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. (7) Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces. (8) “In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. (9) Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. (10) Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. (11) This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don’t gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. (12) It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own. (13) In the Year of Jubilee each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors. (14) “When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other. (15) When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. (16) The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests. (17) Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the LORD your God. (18) “If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations. (19) Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it. (20) But you might ask, ‘What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?’ (21) Be assured that I will send my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a crop large enough for three years. (22) When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year. (23) “The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me. (24) “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back. (25) If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him. (26) If there is no close relative to buy the land, but the person who sold it gets enough money to buy it back, (27) he then has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be discounted according to the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. In this way the original owner can then return to the land. (28) But if the original owner cannot afford to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land. (29) “Anyone who sells a house inside a walled town has the right to buy it back for a full year after its sale. During that year, the seller retains the right to buy it back. (30) But if it is not bought back within a year, the sale of the house within the walled town cannot be reversed. It will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. (31) But a house in a village—a settlement without fortified walls—will be treated like property in the countryside. Such a house may be bought back at any time, and it must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. (32) “The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them. (33) And any property that is sold by the Levites—all houses within the Levitical towns—must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the houses in the towns reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel. (34) The open pastureland around the Levitical towns may never be sold. It is their permanent possession. (35) “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. (36) Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. (37) Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. (38) I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. (39) “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. (40) Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. (41) At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. (42) The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. (43) Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly. (44) “However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you. (45) You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, (46) passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way. (47) “Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family, (48) they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother, (49) an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back. They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered. (50) They will negotiate the price of their freedom with the person who bought them. The price will be based on the number of years from the time they were sold until the next Year of Jubilee—whatever it would cost to hire a worker for that period of time. (51) If many years still remain until the jubilee, they will repay the proper proportion of what they received when they sold themselves. (52) If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they will repay a small amount for their redemption. (53) The foreigner must treat them as workers hired on a yearly basis. You must not allow a foreigner to treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly. (54) If any Israelites have not been bought back by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, they and their children must be set free at that time. (55) For the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. LEVITICUS 26: Blessings for Obedience: (1) “Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the LORD your God. (2) You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. (3) “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, (4) I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. (5) Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. (6) “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. (7) In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. (8) Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword. (9) “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. (10) You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! (11) I will live among you, and I will not despise you. (12) I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. (13) I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high. (14) “However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, (15) and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands, (16) I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them. (17) I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you! (18) “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins. (19) I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze. (20) All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit. (21) “If even then you remain hostile toward me and refuse to obey me, I will inflict disaster on you seven times over for your sins. (22) I will send wild animals that will rob you of your children and destroy your livestock. Your numbers will dwindle, and your roads will be deserted. (23) “And if you fail to learn the lesson and continue your hostility toward me, (24) then I myself will be hostile toward you. I will personally strike you with calamity seven times over for your sins. (25) I will send armies against you to carry out the curse of the covenant you have broken. When you run to your towns for safety, I will send a plague to destroy you there, and you will be handed over to your enemies. (26) I will destroy your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake bread for their families. They will ration your food by weight, and though you have food to eat, you will not be satisfied. (27) “If in spite of all this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me, (28) then I will give full vent to my hostility. I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins. (29) Then you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. (30) I will destroy your pagan shrines and knock down your places of worship. I will leave your lifeless corpses piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you. (31) I will make your cities desolate and destroy your places of pagan worship. I will take no pleasure in your offerings that should be a pleasing aroma to me. (32) Yes, I myself will devastate your land, and your enemies who come to occupy it will be appalled at what they see. (33) I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins. (34) Then at last the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath years as it lies desolate while you are in exile in the land of your enemies. Then the land will finally rest and enjoy the Sabbaths it missed. (35) As long as the land lies in ruins, it will enjoy the rest you never allowed it to take every seventh year while you lived in it. (36) “And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you in the land of your enemies. You will live in such fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind will send you fleeing. You will run as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall even when no one pursues you. (37) Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other as though fleeing from a sword. You will have no power to stand up against your enemies. (38) You will die among the foreign nations and be devoured in the land of your enemies. (39) Those of you who survive will waste away in your enemies’ lands because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors. (40) “But at last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me. (41) When I have turned their hostility back on them and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will pay for their sins. (42) Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. (43) For the land must be abandoned to enjoy its years of Sabbath rest as it lies deserted. At last the people will pay for their sins, for they have continually rejected my regulations and despised my decrees. (44) “But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out, for I am the LORD their God. (45) For their sakes I will remember my ancient covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of all the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.” (46) These are the decrees, regulations, and instructions that the LORD gave through Moses on Mount Sinai as evidence of the relationship between himself and the Israelites. LEVITICUS 27: Redemption of Gifts Offered to the LORD: (1) The LORD said to Moses, (2) “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the LORD by paying the value of that person, (3) here is the scale of values to be used. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty is valued at fifty shekels of silver, as measured by the sanctuary shekel. (4) A woman of that age is valued at thirty shekels of silver. (5) A boy between the ages of five and twenty is valued at twenty shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at ten shekels of silver. (6) A boy between the ages of one month and five years is valued at five shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at three shekels of silver. (7) A man older than sixty is valued at fifteen shekels of silver; a woman of that age is valued at ten shekels of silver. (8) If you desire to make such a vow but cannot afford to pay the required amount, take the person to the priest. He will determine the amount for you to pay based on what you can afford. (9) “If your vow involves giving an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the LORD, any gift to the LORD will be considered holy. (10) You may not exchange or substitute it for another animal—neither a good animal for a bad one nor a bad animal for a good one. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy. (11) If your vow involves an unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the LORD—then you must bring the animal to the priest. (12) He will assess its value, and his assessment will be final, whether high or low. (13) If you want to buy back the animal, you must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. (14) “If someone dedicates a house to the LORD, the priest will come to assess its value. The priest’s assessment will be final, whether high or low. (15) If the person who dedicated the house wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the house will again be his. (16) “If someone dedicates to the LORD a piece of his family property, its value will be assessed according to the amount of seed required to plant it—fifty shekels of silver for a field planted with five bushels of barley seed. (17) If the field is dedicated to the LORD in the Year of Jubilee, then the entire assessment will apply. (18) But if the field is dedicated after the Year of Jubilee, the priest will assess the land’s value in proportion to the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. Its assessed value is reduced each year. (19) If the person who dedicated the field wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the field will again be legally his. (20) But if he does not want to buy it back, and it is sold to someone else, the field can no longer be bought back. (21) When the field is released in the Year of Jubilee, it will be holy, a field specially set apart for the LORD. It will become the property of the priests. (22) “If someone dedicates to the LORD a field he has purchased but which is not part of his family property, (23) the priest will assess its value based on the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. On that day he must give the assessed value of the land as a sacred donation to the LORD. (24) In the Year of Jubilee the field must be returned to the person from whom he purchased it, the one who inherited it as family property. (25) (All the payments must be measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.) (26) “You may not dedicate a firstborn animal to the LORD, for the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats already belong to him. (27) However, you may buy back the firstborn of a ceremonially unclean animal by paying the priest’s assessment of its worth, plus 20 percent. If you do not buy it back, the priest will sell it at its assessed value. (28) “However, anything specially set apart for the LORD—whether a person, an animal, or family property—must never be sold or bought back. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart as holy, and it belongs to the LORD. (29) No person specially set apart for destruction may be bought back. Such a person must be put to death. (30) “One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to him as holy. (31) If you want to buy back the LORD’s tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. (32) Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the LORD as holy. (33) You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy and cannot be bought back.” (34) These are the commands that the LORD gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. |
