TRV
Translation
King James Version
Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
KJV (with Strong's)
Ye shall not eat H398 any thing with the blood H1818: neither shall ye use enchantment H5172, nor observe times H6049.
Complete Jewish Bible
"'Do not eat anything with blood. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling.
Berean Standard Bible
You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.
American Standard Version
Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.
World English Bible Messianic
“‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither shall you use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Ye shall not eat the flesh with the blood, ye shall not vse witchcraft, nor obserue times.
Young's Literal Translation
`Ye do not eat with the blood; ye do not enchant, nor observe clouds.
See also
In the KJVVerse 3,308 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Leviticus 19 verses 19–29
19 ¶ Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.
22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
23 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 uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.
24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.
25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
Here is, I. A law against mixtures, Lev 19:19. God in the beginning made the cattle after their kind (Gen 1:25), and we must acquiesce in the order of nature God hath established, believing that is best and sufficient, and not covet monsters. Add thou not unto his works, lest he reprove thee; for it is the excellency of the work of God that nothing can, without making it worse, be either put to it or taken from it, Ecc 3:14. As what God has joined we must not separate, so what he has separated we must not join. The sowing of mingled corn and the wearing of linsey-woolsey garments are forbidden, either as superstitious customs of the heathen or to intimate how careful they should be not to mingle themselves with the heathen nor to weave any of the usages of the Gentiles into God's ordinances. Ainsworth suggests that it was to lead Israel to the simplicity and sincerity of religion, and to all the parts and doctrines of the law and gospel in their distinct kinds. As faith is necessary, good works are necessary, but to mingle these together in the cause of our justification before God is forbidden, Gal 2:16.
II. A law for punishing adultery committed with one that was a bondmaid that was espoused, Lev 19:20-22. If she had not been espoused, the law appointed no punishment at all; being espoused, if she had not been a bondmaid, the punishment had been no less than death: but, being as yet a bondmaid (though before the completing of her espousals she must have been made free), the capital punishment is remitted, and they shall both be scourged; or, as some think, the woman only, and the man was to bring a sacrifice. It was for the honour of marriage, though but begun by betrothing, that the crime should be punished; but it was for the honour of freedom that it should not be punished as the debauching of a free woman was, so great was the difference then made between bond and free (Gal 4:30); but the gospel of Christ knows no such distinction, Col 3:11.
III. A law concerning fruit-trees, that for the first three years after they were planted, if they should happen to be so forward as to bear in that time, yet no use should be made of the fruit, Lev 19:23-25. It was therefore the practice of the Jews to pluck off the fruit, as soon as they perceived it knit, from their young trees, as gardeners do sometimes, because their early bearing hinders their growing. If any did come to perfection, it was not to be used in the service either of God or man; but what they bore the fourth year was to be holy to the Lord, either given to the priests, or eaten before the Lord with joy, as their second tithe was, and thenceforward it was all their own. Now, 1. Some think this taught them not to follow the custom of the heathen, who, they say, consecrated the very first products of their fruit-trees to their idols, saying that otherwise all the fruits would be blasted. 2. This law in the case of fruit-trees seems to be parallel with that in the case of animals, that no creature should be accepted as an offering till it was past eight days old, nor till that day were children to be circumcised; see Lev 22:27. God would have the first-fruits of their trees, but, because for the first three years they were as inconsiderable as a lamb or a calf under eight days old, therefore God would not have them, for it is fit he should have every thing at its best; and yet he would not allow them to be used, because his first-fruits were not as yet offered: they must therefore be accounted as uncircumcised, that is, as an animal under eight days' old, not fit for any use. 3. We are hereby taught not to be over-hasty in catching at any comfort, but to be willing with patience to wait the time for the enjoyment of it, and particularly to acknowledge ourselves unworthy of the increase of the earth, our right to the fruits of which was forfeited by our first parents eating forbidden fruit, and we are restored to it only by the word of God and prayer, Ti1 4:5.
IV. A law against the superstitious usages of the heathen, Lev 19:26-28. 1. Eating upon the blood, as the Gentiles did, who gathered the blood of their sacrifices into a vessel for their demons (as they fancied) to drink, and then sat about it, eating the flesh themselves, signifying their communion with devils by their feasting with them. Let not this custom be used, for the blood of God's sacrifices was to be sprinkled on the altar, and then poured at the foot of it, and conveyed away. 2. Enchantment and divination, and a superstitious observation of the times, some days and hours lucky and others unlucky. Curious arts of this kind, it is likely, had been of late invented by the Egyptian priests, to amuse the people, and support their own credit. The Israelites had seen them practised, but must by no means imitate them. It would be unpardonable in those to whom were committed the oracles of God to ask counsel of the devil, and yet worse in Christians, to whom the Son of God is manifested, who has destroyed the works of the devil. For Christians to have their nativities cast, and their fortunes told them, to use spells and charms for the cure of diseases and the driving away of evil spirits, to be affected with the falling of the salt, a hare crossing the way, cross days, or the like, is an intolerable affront to the Lord Jesus, a support of paganism and idolatry, and a reproach both to themselves and to that worthy name by which they are called: and those must be grossly ignorant, both of the law and the gospel, that ask, "What harm is there in these things?" Is it no harm for those that have fellowship with Christ to have fellowship with devils, or to learn the ways of those that have? Surely we have not so learned Christ. 3. There was a superstition even in trimming themselves used by the heathen, which must not be imitated by the people of God: You shall not round the corners of your heads. Those that worshipped the hosts of heaven, in honour of them, cut their hair so as that their heads might resemble the celestial globe; but, as the custom was foolish itself, so, being done with respect to their false gods, it was idolatrous. 4. The rites and ceremonies by which they expressed their sorrow at their funerals must not be imitated, Lev 19:28. They must not make cuts or prints in their flesh for the dead; for the heathen did so to pacify the infernal deities they dreamt of, and to render them propitious to their deceased friends. Christ by his sufferings has altered the property of death, and made it a true friend to every true Israelite; and now, as there needs nothing to make death propitious to us (for, if God be so, death is so of course), so we sorrow not as those that have no hope. Those whom the God of Israel had set apart for himself must not receive the image and superscription of these dunghill deities. Lastly, The prostituting of their daughters to uncleanness, which is here forbidden (Lev 19:29), seems to have been practised by the heathen in their idolatrous worships, for with such abominations those unclean spirits which they worshipped were well pleased. And when lewdness obtained as a religious rite, and was committed in their temples, no marvel that the land became full of that wickedness, which, when it entered at the temple-doors, overspread the land like a mighty torrent, and bore down all the fences of virtue and modesty. The devil himself could not have brought such abominations into their lives if he had not first brought them into their worships. And justly were those given up to vile affections who forsook the holy God, and gave divine honours to impure spirits. Those that dishonour God are thus suffered to dishonour themselves and their families.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 19–29. Public domain.
Copy as
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Leviticus 19:26 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Leviticus 19:26 presents a threefold prohibition central to Israel's covenant holiness: forbidding the consumption of meat with its blood, engaging in enchantment, and observing times. This verse, deeply embedded within the Holiness Code, underscores God's imperative for His people to be distinct from surrounding pagan nations, emphasizing the sanctity of life, God's exclusive authority as the revealer of truth, and the necessity of absolute trust in Him over occultic or superstitious practices.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Leviticus 19:26 primarily employs Commandment, presenting direct, unequivocal prohibitions that establish clear boundaries for Israel's conduct. The verse also utilizes Parallelism in the two negative commands concerning occult practices ("neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times"), which reinforce each other and underscore the comprehensive rejection of such activities. Furthermore, Metonymy is evident where "blood" stands for "life" itself, emphasizing the profound sacredness of life that belongs to God. Collectively, these prohibitions function as a powerful Contrast, sharply distinguishing Israelite worship and practice from the idolatrous and superstitious customs of the surrounding pagan nations, thereby defining the essential boundaries of their distinct holiness and covenant identity.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Leviticus 19:26 stands as a potent declaration of God's demand for exclusive devotion and distinct holiness from His covenant people. It establishes fundamental theological principles: the sanctity of life as belonging to God, the sole authority of God as the revealer of all truth, and the absolute necessity of trusting Him alone for guidance and provision. By explicitly prohibiting practices common in the pagan world, God calls Israel to a radical separation, not merely in ritual observance, but in their entire worldview and lifestyle. This separation was intended to manifest His unique character and their unique relationship with Him, highlighting that true guidance and power emanate solely from the Lord, not from occultic manipulation or superstitious beliefs. This commitment to God's holiness was meant to permeate all aspects of their existence, underscoring that their identity as God's chosen people was inextricably defined by their ethical and spiritual integrity.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Leviticus 19:26, though rooted in the specific ancient Israelite context, resonates profoundly with timeless principles for believers today. It calls us to a deep reverence for life, recognizing its sacred origin and ultimate belonging to God. This principle extends beyond ancient dietary laws to encompass our ethical stances on all life issues, challenging us to honor life in all its stages, from conception to natural death. More overtly, the prohibitions against enchantment and observing times serve as a stark and enduring warning against any practice that seeks knowledge, power, or guidance from sources other than God. In a contemporary world saturated with horoscopes, spiritualism, New Age mysticism, and a myriad of alternative "truths," this verse commands us to place our absolute and unwavering trust in God's revealed Word and His sovereign will. Our faith should be unwavering, diligently seeking wisdom through prayer, diligent study of Scripture, and godly counsel, rather than succumbing to superstitions or the deceptive allure of hidden knowledge. Ultimately, this passage is a clarion call to live distinctly, demonstrating our exclusive devotion to the one true God in a world that constantly offers enticing, yet ultimately empty, alternative sources of truth and security.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "eat [any thing] with the blood" specifically mean, and is it still relevant for Christians today?
Answer: The phrase "eat with the blood" (Hebrew: al ha-dam) likely refers to two related practices: consuming meat that has not been properly drained of its blood, or, more significantly, participating in pagan rituals where blood was consumed or where meat was eaten "over" or "on" the blood, often as a means to commune with other deities or to gain life force. This was a direct violation of God's command that the life (blood) belonged to Him and was reserved for atonement (Leviticus 17:11). For Christians, the specific dietary prohibition regarding blood is part of the Old Covenant ceremonial law, which is not binding in the same way under the New Covenant, as affirmed by the early church in Acts 15:20. However, the underlying principle of respecting the sacredness of life, which blood profoundly symbolizes, remains profoundly relevant. It calls us to reverence all life as God's creation and to avoid any practice that devalues or misuses it.
Why were "enchantment" and "observing times" so strongly forbidden?
Answer: "Enchantment" (Hebrew: nâchash) and "observing times" (Hebrew: ʻânan) were strongly forbidden because they represented attempts to gain knowledge, power, or control over the future through means other than God. These practices, common in pagan cultures, involved various forms of divination, sorcery, consulting omens, astrology, and fortune-telling. God's prohibition was a clear call for Israel to place their complete trust in Him alone as the sovereign Lord and the sole source of truth and guidance. Relying on such illicit practices was seen as an act of spiritual idolatry, diverting allegiance from Yahweh to false gods or deceptive spirits (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). It fundamentally undermined the unique relationship God desired with His people, where He would speak to them directly through His Word and His prophets (Numbers 12:6-8).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Leviticus 19:26, with its prohibitions against pagan practices and its emphasis on the sanctity of life, finds its ultimate fulfillment and deepest meaning in Jesus Christ. The prohibition against eating with the blood foreshadows the profound truth that "the life is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11), a principle fully realized in Christ's atoning sacrifice. His shed blood on the cross is not for common consumption, but for the forgiveness of sins and the giving of eternal life (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22). Through His perfect sacrifice, Jesus became the ultimate means of atonement, rendering all other ritualistic uses of blood obsolete and establishing a new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). Furthermore, the commands against enchantment and observing times point to Christ as the sole source of all wisdom, knowledge, and revelation. Unlike pagan diviners who sought hidden truths from unreliable sources, believers in Christ find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Him (Colossians 2:3). He is the true Prophet, through whom God has spoken His final and complete Word (Hebrews 1:1-2). Therefore, our reliance is not on omens or superstitions, but on the living Christ, who guides us by His Spirit and His Word (John 16:13). In Him, we are called to be a holy people, set apart from the world's deceptive practices, living in exclusive trust and devotion to the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).