Laws of Holiness

1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2“Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holya because I, the Lord your God, am holy.b

3“Each of you is to respect his mother and father.a You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. 4Do not turn to worthless idolsa or make cast imagesb of gods for yourselves;c I am the Lord your God.

5“When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 6It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.a 7If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted.a 8Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.a

9“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleaningsa of your harvest. 10Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poora and the resident alien;b I am the Lord your God.

11“Do not steal.a Do not act deceptivelyb or liec to one another. 12Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God;a I am the Lord.

13“Do not oppressa your neighbor or robb him. The wages due a hired workerc must not remain with you until morning. 14Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,a but you are to fear your God;b I am the Lord.c

15“Do not act unjustlya when deciding a case. Do not be partialb to the poor or give preference to the rich;c judge your neighbor fairly. 16Do not go about spreading slandera among your people; do not jeopardizeA your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

17“Do not harbor hatred against your brother.a a Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him.b 18Do not take revengea or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself;b I am the Lord.

19“You are to keep my statutes. Do not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material.a

20“If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemeda or given her freedom, there must be punishment.A They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21However, he must bring a ram as his guiltA offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.a 22The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

23“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden.A It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. 24In the fourth year all its fruit is to be consecrated as a praise offeringa to the Lord. 25But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you;a I am the Lord your God.

26“You are not to eat anything with blood in it.a a You are not to practice divinationb or witchcraft.c 27You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.a 28You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the deada or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.

29“Do not debasea a your daughter by making her a prostitute,b or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. 30Keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary;a I am the Lord.

31“Do not turn to mediumsa a or consult spiritists,B b or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.

32“You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old.a Fear your God; I am the Lord.

33“When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppressa him. 34You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself,a for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;b I am the Lord your God.

35“Do not be unfaira in measurements of length, weight, or volume. 36You are to have honest balances,a honest weights, an honest dry measure,A and an honest liquid measure;B b I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”