Leviticus 20-23

New Life Version

Punishment for Those Who Do Not Obey the Law

20 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Any man of Israel or of the strangers living in Israel, who gives any of his children to the false god Molech, must be put to death. The people of the land will kill him with stones. ³ I Myself will go against that man and he will not be numbered among God’s people, because he has given some of his children to Molech, making My holy place sinful and bringing shame on My holy name. ⁴ If the people of the land close their eyes when a man gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, ⁵ then I Myself will go against that man and his family. They will not be numbered among God’s people, and all who follow him to sell themselves to Molech.

⁶ ‘I will go against the person who turns to those who speak with bad spirits and talk to the dead. In doing this, he sells himself to them. He will not be numbered among God’s people. ⁷ So you should set yourselves apart and be holy. For I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep My Laws and live by them. I am the Lord Who sets you apart.

⁹ ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or mother, he will for sure be put to death. Because he has cursed his father or mother, his blood will be on his own head.

¹⁰ ‘If a man does sex sins with another man’s wife, even his friend’s wife, both the sinful man and woman must be put to death. ¹¹ If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has put his father to shame. Both of the guilty ones must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹² If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a bad sex sin. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹³ If a man lies with a male as if he were a woman, both of them have done a very sinful act. They must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is sin. Both he and they will be burned with fire, so this kind of sin will not be among you. ¹⁵ If a man lies with an animal, he must be put to death. Kill the animal also. ¹⁶ If a woman goes near any animal to have sex with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin.

¹⁷ ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s or mother’s daughter, and he sees her without clothes on and she sees him, it is a shame. They will be punished in front of their people. He has taken off his sister’s clothes. He will suffer for his own sin. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman who has a flow of blood, and takes her clothes off, he has made her flow to show. And she has shown the flow of her blood. So both of them will not be numbered among God’s people. ¹⁹ Do not take the clothes off your mother’s sister or father’s sister. For that is putting to shame one of your own family. They will suffer for their own sin. ²⁰ If a man lies with the wife of his father’s or mother’s brother, he has put to shame his father’s or mother’s brother. They will suffer for their own sin. They will die without children. ²¹ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is sin. He has put his brother to shame. They will have no children.

²² ‘Keep all My Laws and do what I tell you, so the land where I am bringing you to live will not spit you out. ²³ Do not follow the ways of the nation which I am driving out before you. For they did all these things, and so I hated them. ²⁴ But I have said to you, “Their land will belong to you. I Myself will give it to you for your own, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, Who has set you apart from all other peoples. ²⁵ You are to know the difference between the clean animal and the animal that is unclean, and between the clean bird and the bird that is unclean. Do not make yourselves a sinful people with animal or bird or anything that moves on the ground, which I have set apart from you as being unclean. ²⁶ Be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy. I have divided you from the nations, so you belong to Me.

²⁷ ‘A man or woman who speaks with bad spirits or who talks to the dead must be put to death. They will be killed with stones. They will suffer for their own sin.’”

How the Religious Leaders Should Live

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the religious leaders, the sons of Aaron, ‘No one should make himself unclean for a dead person among his people, ² except for his own family, his mother, father, son, daughter and brother, ³ or his young sister who is near to him because she has had no husband. For her he may make himself unclean. ⁴ He should not make himself unclean as a husband among his people, and so make himself sinful. ⁵ They should not cut all the hair from any part on their heads, or cut part of the hair off their face, or make cuts in their flesh. ⁶ They should be holy to their God and not put the name of their God to shame. For they give the gifts by fire to the Lord, the bread of their God. So they must be holy. ⁷ They should not take a woman who is unclean because of selling the use of her body. They should not take a woman who is divorced from her husband. For the religious leader is holy to his God. ⁸ So you must set him apart, for he gives the bread of your God. He will be holy to you. For I, the Lord Who sets you apart, am holy. ⁹ If the daughter of any religious leader makes herself sinful by selling the use of her body, she puts her father to shame. She will be burned with fire.

¹⁰ ‘The head religious leader on whose head the holy oil has been poured, and who has been set apart to wear the clothing, must not take the covering off his head or tear his clothes. ¹¹ He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother. ¹² He must not go out of the holy place or sin against the holy place of his God. For the crown of the holy oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. ¹³ He should take a wife who has never had a man before. ¹⁴ He should not marry a woman whose husband has died, or a divorced woman, or one who has made herself sinful by selling the use of her body. But he should marry a woman from his own people, who has never had a man. ¹⁵ By doing this he will not sin against his children among his people. For I am the Lord Who makes him holy.’”

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your children or their children who has something wrong with his body should go near to give the bread as a gift to his God. ¹⁸ For no one whose body is not perfect should come near, no blind man, or man who cannot walk, or one with a marked face, or a bad arm or leg, ¹⁹ or a man who has a broken foot or hand, ²⁰ or a man with a crooked upper back from birth, or a very little man, or one who has a bad eye or skin trouble or sores, or one whose sex parts have been crushed. ²¹ No man among the children of Aaron the religious leader, who has something wrong with his body, should come near to give the Lord’s gifts by fire. He should not come near to give the bread of his God, because he has something wrong with him. ²² He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy. ²³ But he should not come near the curtain or the altar, because he has something wrong with him, and so he may not sin against My holy places. For I am the Lord Who makes them holy.’” ²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

22 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for Me. So they will not sin against My holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any one of all your children comes near the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for the Lord, while he is unclean, he will be cut off from My holy place. I am the Lord. ⁴ None of the children of Aaron who has a bad skin disease or something flowing from his body may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. If one touches anything that is unclean because of a dead body, or has had his seed come from his sex part, ⁵ or touches anything that is unclean that moves on the ground, or touches any man who makes him unclean, for whatever reason, ⁶ the man who touches any such thing will be unclean until evening. He must not eat of the holy gifts unless he has washed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun has gone down, he will be clean. After that he may eat of the holy gifts, for they are his food. ⁸ He should not eat an animal that dies of itself or is killed by wild animals. He will be unclean if he does. I am the Lord. ⁹ The religious leaders must obey My Law, so they will not be sinful because of it and die because they sin against My Law. I am the Lord Who makes them holy.

¹⁰ ‘But no one who is not a religious leader may eat the holy gift. One who is visiting the religious leader or working for him must not eat of the holy gift. ¹¹ But a person whom the religious leader buys to work for him with his own money may eat of it. And those who are born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² If a religious leader’s daughter is married to a man who is not a religious leader, she must not eat of the holy gifts. ¹³ But if a religious leader’s daughter loses her husband by death or divorce, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as when she was young, she may eat of her father’s food. But no stranger may eat of it. ¹⁴ If a man eats a holy gift by mistake, he must add a fifth of its worth to it and give the holy gift to the religious leader. ¹⁵ The religious leaders must not make the holy gifts unclean that the people of Israel give to the Lord. ¹⁶ This would bring sin upon them when they eat their holy gifts. For I am the Lord Who makes them holy.’”

Gifts That Are Not Good Enough

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Say to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘When any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel gives his gift for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay a promise or as a free-will gift ¹⁹ to please the Lord, it must be a male that is perfect from the cattle, sheep or goats. ²⁰ Do not give anything that is not perfect, for you will not please the Lord. ²¹ When a man gives a peace gift to the Lord to keep a special promise or for a free-will gift from the cattle or the flock, it must be perfect to be received. It must have nothing wrong with it. ²² You must not give to the Lord or make a gift by fire on the altar to the Lord any animals that are blind or broken or hurt or have a flowing sore or a skin disease. ²³ You may give for a free-will gift a bull or lamb which has some part too long or too short. But it will not be received if it is to pay a promise. ²⁴ Do not give to the Lord any animal with its sex parts hurt or crushed or torn or cut. Do not give such animals on the altar in your land. ²⁵ And do not receive such animals from a man from another land to give as the food of your God. For they are unclean. They are not perfect. They will not be received from you.’”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. After that it will be received as a gift by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ But do not kill a cow or female sheep and her young on the same day. ²⁹ When you give thanks to the Lord by giving a gift in worship, give it the right way so you will be received. ³⁰ It must be eaten on the same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “So keep My Laws and obey them. I am the Lord. ³² Do not sin against My holy name. I will be honored among the people of Israel. I am the Lord Who makes you holy. ³³ I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

Religious Suppers

23 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘These are the special suppers of the Lord, which you will keep for holy meetings. These are My special suppers. ³ Work may be done for six days. But the seventh day is the Day of Rest, a holy meeting when you do no work at all. It is the Day of Rest to the Lord in all your homes.

The Supper of Bread without Yeast

⁴ ‘These are the special suppers of the Lord, the holy meetings you will keep at the right times. ⁵ On the fourteenth day of the first month in the evening begins the Lord’s religious gathering to remember how His people left Egypt. ⁶ On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Lord’s special supper of bread without yeast. For seven days you will eat bread made without yeast. ⁷ On the first day you will have a holy meeting. You will not do any hard work. ⁸ But you will give a gift by fire to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy meeting. You will not do any hard work.’”

The Supper of First Fruits

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you come into the land I am going to give you and gather its grain, bring some of the first fruits of your grain to the religious leader. ¹¹ He will wave the grain before the Lord for you to be received. The religious leader will wave it on the day after the Day of Rest. ¹² On the day when you wave the grain, you will give a perfect, one year old male lamb as a burnt gift to the Lord. ¹³ The grain gift with it will be one-fifth part of a basket of fine flour mixed with oil. It is a gift by fire to the Lord for a pleasing smell. And the drink gift with it will be a jar of wine. ¹⁴ Do not eat bread or dry grain or new grain until this same day, when you have brought the gift to your God. It is to be a Law forever for all your people in all your homes.

The Supper of Weeks

¹⁵ ‘Number seven full weeks from the day after the Day of Rest, from the day when you give the grain for the wave gift. There will be seven whole Days of Rest. ¹⁶ Number fifty days to the day after the seventh Day of Rest. Then give a new grain gift to the Lord. ¹⁷ Bring from your homes two loaves of bread for a wave gift, made of one-fifth part of a basket of fine flour. They will be made with yeast, as first-fruits to the Lord. ¹⁸ With the bread give seven one year old male lambs that are perfect, and one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt gift to the Lord, with their grain gift and their drink gift. It is a gift by fire with a pleasing smell to the Lord. ¹⁹ Then give one male goat for a sin gift and two male lambs one year old for a peace gift. ²⁰ The religious leader will wave them with the bread of the first-fruits as a wave gift before the Lord, with the two lambs. They will be holy to the Lord for the religious leader. ²¹ On this same day call together a holy meeting. Do no hard work. It is a Law forever in all your homes for all your people.

²² ‘When you gather the food of your land, do not pick all the way to the corners of your field. And do not gather the food that falls. Leave it for those in need and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”

The Supper of Horns

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘On the first day of the seventh month, you will have a Day of Rest. It will be a day of remembering, made known by the blowing of horns, a holy meeting. ²⁵ Do not do any hard work. But give a gift by fire to the Lord.’”

A Day to Be Made Free from Sin

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the day to be made free from sin. It will be a holy meeting for you. You will be without pride and give a gift by fire to the Lord.

²⁸ “Do no work on this day. For it is a day to be made free from sin, to be made free from your sin before the Lord your God. ²⁹ If there is any person who will not be free from his pride on this day, he will be kept away from his people. ³⁰ Whoever does any work on this day, I will destroy from among his people. ³¹ Do no work at all. It is a Law forever for all your people in all your homes. ³² It will be a Day of Rest for you. And you must be without pride. You will keep your Day of Rest from evening until evening on the ninth day of the month.”

Supper of Tents

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the special supper of tents to the Lord. It will last seven days. ³⁵ A holy meeting will be on the first day. Do no hard work of any kind. ³⁶ Give a gift by fire to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day have a holy meeting and give a gift by fire to the Lord. It is a special gathering. Do no hard work.

³⁷ ‘These are the special suppers, the holy meetings you will keep at the right times. They will be for giving to the Lord gifts by fire, burnt gifts and grain gifts, gifts of animals and drink gifts, each on its own day. ³⁸ These are to be added to the Days of Rest of the Lord, and your gifts, both those that are promised and your free-will gifts that you give to the Lord.

³⁹ ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the food of your land, you will have the special supper of the Lord for seven days. The first day and the eighth day will be Days of Rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day, you will take the leaves of beautiful trees, branches of trees with big leaves and of trees beside the river. And be full of joy before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You will keep it as a special supper to the Lord seven days in the year. It will be a Law forever for all your people. You will have it in the seventh month. ⁴² You will live in tents for seven days. All who were born in Israel will live in tents. ⁴³ So all your people to come may know that I had the people of Israel live in tents when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” ⁴⁴ So Moses made known to the people of Israel the special suppers of the Lord.