Leviticus 19

Listen to this chapter

Leviticus 19 outlines God's commands for Israel to be holy, reflecting His own character. It details various ethical and ritual laws, emphasizing reverence for parents, keeping Sabbaths, and avoiding idolatry. The chapter also stresses social justice, including provisions for the poor, fair dealings, and the paramount command to love one's neighbour as oneself. These statutes cover personal conduct, community relations, and proper worship.

The Call to Holiness 1–2

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy.

Basic Obligations: Family and Worship 3–4

Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.

Laws of the Peace Offering 5–8

And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.

It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire.

And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted:

but every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Justice and Care for the Poor 9–10

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.

And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.

Honesty and Integrity 11–18

Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.

And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him: the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah.

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.

Prohibitions on Mixtures and Customs 19–22

Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.

And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering.

And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned shall be forgiven him.

Agricultural and Tree Laws 23–25

And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten.

But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah.

And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God.

Avoiding Pagan Practices 26–31

Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.

Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah.

Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.

Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.

Respect for the Elderly and the Alien 32–34

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.

The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

Honesty in Commerce 35–37

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 19

Verse 2

Ye shall be holy — Qadosh means set apart as sacred. The command goes to 'all the congregation', not to the priests alone, and its ground is the LORD's own holiness, as already in 11:44–45. Peter takes it up for believers: 'Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy' (1 Pet 1:16).

Verse 3

fear every man his mother, and his father — The verb is yare, to revere, and the mother is named first, the reverse of Ex 20:12, 'Honour thy father and thy mother'. The parents are joined to 'my sabbaths' (Ex 20:8), and the same yare is used of God in v.14 and of the sanctuary in v.30.

Verse 6

until the third day — These are the terms of the peace offering (zebach, sacrifice) in 7:15–18: the thanksgiving offering was eaten the same day, a vow or freewill offering that day and 'on the morrow', and 'the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire' (7:17). Eaten on the third day, it 'shall not be accepted' (7:18).

Verse 9

the corners of thy field — Pe'ah is the edge, left standing for the poor; v.10 adds the vineyard, 'for the poor and stranger'. A forgotten sheaf is treated the same way (Deut 24:19), and the rule is repeated at the harvest feast (23:22). Ruth the Moabitess gleaned in this manner, asking to 'glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace' (Ruth 2:2).

Verse 12

swear by my name falsely — Sheqer is falsehood. An oath calls on the LORD's name, so a false one 'profanes' it (chalal, to make common). The verse applies Ex 20:7, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain'. Christ cites the old rule as 'Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths' (Matt 5:33).

Verse 13

all night until the morning — Lun is to lodge for the night: the hired man's pay is not to stay overnight with the employer. Deut 24:15 gives the reason, 'for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it', and says 'neither shall the sun go down upon it'. James 5:4 hears wages 'kept back by fraud' crying out to 'the Lord of sabaoth'.

Verse 14

the deaf… the blind — The deaf (cheresh) cannot hear the curse, and the blind cannot see the 'stumblingblock' (mikshol) put 'before' them. The only check the verse names is 'thou shalt fear thy God', the same verb (yare) as in v.3. Deut 27:18 pronounces a curse on 'he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way'.

Verse 15

respect the person of the poor — The Hebrew is to 'lift the face' (nasa panim) of someone, which is partiality, and the verse forbids it toward the poor and the mighty alike. Judgment is 'in righteousness' (tsedeq). Deut 1:17 gives the ground: 'Ye shall not respect persons in judgment… for the judgment is God's.'

Verse 16

as a talebearer among thy people — Rakil is the scandal-monger who goes about with reports, and 'go up and down' is the verb halak, to walk. To 'stand against the blood of thy neighbour' is to act against his life. Ezekiel finds it in Jerusalem: 'men that carry tales to shed blood' (Ezek 22:9). Compare Ex 23:1, 'Thou shalt not raise a false report'.

Verse 17

in any wise rebuke — Yakach is to reprove. The command is set against hatred 'in thine heart' (levav): the unspoken grudge is answered by speaking to the brother. Christ gives the same order, 'If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him' (Luke 17:3; cf. Matt 18:15). 'Open rebuke is better than secret love' (Prov 27:5).

Verse 18

love thy neighbour as thyself — Ahab is to love, and it follows the forbidden vengeance and grudge. Christ calls it the second great commandment (Matt 22:39). Paul says 'all the law is fulfilled in one word' (Gal 5:14), and James calls it 'the royal law according to the scripture' (James 2:8). The same words are said of the stranger in v.34.

Verse 19

mingled seed — Three pairings are forbidden: cattle 'with a diverse kind', a field with 'mingled seed', and 'a garment mingled of linen and woollen'. The last is shaatnez, a word found only here and in Deut 22:11. Deut 22:9 gives the seed rule for the vineyard, 'lest the fruit… be defiled'.

Verse 20

not at all redeemed — The woman is a shiphchah, a bondmaid, betrothed but neither ransomed (padah) nor freed. Her case differs from the free betrothed woman of Deut 22:23–24, where both are stoned. Here 'she shall be scourged' (biqqoreth, a word found only here), and the man brings 'a ram for a trespass offering' and is forgiven (vv.21–22).

Verse 23

as uncircumcised — The fruit of the first three years is counted as having a foreskin: orlah is the word for 'foreskin' in Gen 17:11. In the fourth year the fruit is 'holy to praise the LORD withal', and in the fifth 'shall ye eat of the fruit thereof' (vv.24–25). Jeremiah uses the same figure of the heart: 'all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart' (Jer 9:26).

Verse 26

with the blood — Blood was forbidden to Noah, 'flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat' (Gen 9:4), and to Israel because 'the life of the flesh is in the blood' (17:11). The Jerusalem council still asks Gentile believers to abstain 'from blood' (Acts 15:20). 'Enchantment' (nachash) and 'observe times' (anan) are listed in Deut 18:10.

Verse 27

the corners of your heads — The word for corner is pe'ah, the same as the field's edge in v.9. No reason is stated here. The rule on the beard is repeated for priests in 21:5, 'neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard'.

Verse 28

cuttings in your flesh for the dead — The ban is repeated in Deut 14:1, 'Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves', and for priests in 21:5. The prophets of Baal 'cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets' (1 Kings 18:28). 'Print any marks' translates two words, ketoveth and qaaqa, each found only here.

Verse 30

reverence my sanctuary — The two commands of v.3 return. The sabbaths are kept again, and the verb yare, used there of parents, is now used of the sanctuary (miqdash). Lev 26:2 repeats the verse word for word. Ecclesiastes 5:1 gives the manner in the house of God: 'be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools'.

Verse 31

familiar spirits — Ob is the medium's spirit and yiddeoni a 'knowing one', the wizard; to turn to them is to be 'defiled by them'. The penalty is given in 20:6, 27. Saul sought 'a woman that hath a familiar spirit' at Endor (1 Sam 28:7), and Isaiah asks, 'should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?' (Isa 8:19).

Verse 32

the hoary head — Seybah is grey hair. The verb 'honour' is hadar, the one forbidden in v.15 toward 'the mighty' in judgment; here the old man's face is the one to honour. Again the verse ends 'fear thy God' (yare). 'The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness' (Prov 16:31).

Verse 34

as one born among you — Ezrach is the native-born. The command uses the words of v.18, 'love him as thyself', now of the stranger (ger), with the reason 'for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt'. Ex 12:49 sets the same footing in law: 'One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.'

Verse 35

meteyard — Middah is a measure and a standard of measure, named with weight (mishqal) and liquid measure (mesurah). Verse 36 names the standards: 'Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin'. Deut 25:13–15 forbids 'divers weights, a great and a small' in the bag.

Verse 37

all my statutes, and all my judgments — Chuqqah (statute) and mishpat (judgment) are the pair of 18:5, 'keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them'. The chapter has used both: 'Ye shall keep my statutes' introduced the mixed kinds (v.19), and 'judgment' is the word of vv.15 and 35.