Leviticus 19
New King James Version
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: (A)‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 (B)‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and (C)keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 (D)‘Do not turn to idols, (E)nor make for yourselves [a]molded gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘And (F)if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.
9 (G)‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 (H)‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, (I)nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not (J)swear by My name falsely, (K)nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 (L)‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. (M)The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, (N)nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in (O)judgment. You shall not (P)be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a (Q)talebearer among your people; nor shall you (R)take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 (S)‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. (T)You shall surely [b]rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 (U)You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, (V)but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is (W)betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be [c]scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make [d]atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.
23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as [e]uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.
26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not (X)make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.
29 (Y)‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 ‘You shall [f]keep My Sabbaths and (Z)reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after (AA)them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 (AB)‘You shall [g]rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and (AC)fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 ‘And (AD)if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 (AE)The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as [h]one born among you, and (AF)you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have (AG)honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 (AH)‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord.’ ”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:4 molten
- Leviticus 19:17 reprove
- Leviticus 19:20 punishment
- Leviticus 19:22 Lit. covering
- Leviticus 19:23 unclean
- Leviticus 19:30 observe
- Leviticus 19:32 rise to give honor
- Leviticus 19:34 native among you
Leviticus 19
Easy-to-Read Version
Israel Belongs to God
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell all the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you must be holy.
3 “Each of you must honor your mother and father and keep my special days of rest.[a] I am the Lord your God!
4 “Do not worship idols. Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord, you must offer it in the right way so that you will be accepted. 6 You may eat it the same day you offer it and on the next day. But if any of that sacrifice is left on the third day, you must burn it in the fire. 7 You must not eat any of that sacrifice on the third day. It will be unclean,[b] and it will not be accepted. 8 You will be guilty of sin if you do that because you did not respect the holy things that belong to the Lord. If you do that, you will be separated from your people.
9 “When you cut your crops at harvest time, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your fields. And if grain falls on the ground, you must not gather up that grain. 10 Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards or pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for your poor people and for people traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.
11 “You must not steal. You must not cheat people. You must not lie to each other. 12 You must not use my name to make false promises. If you do that, you will show that you don’t respect the name of your God. I am the Lord!
13 “You must not cheat or rob your neighbor. You must not hold a hired worker’s salary overnight until morning.[c]
14 “You must not curse anyone who is deaf. You must not do anything to make a blind person fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.
15 “You must be fair in judgment. You must not show special favor to the poor. And you must not show special favor to important people. You must be fair when you judge your neighbor. 16 You must not go around spreading false stories against other people. Don’t do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.
17 “Don’t secretly hate any of your neighbors. But tell them openly what they have done wrong so that you will not be just as guilty of sin as they are. 18 Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
19 “You must obey my laws. You must not let your animals mate with animals of a different kind. You must not sow your field with two kinds of seed. You must not wear clothing made from two kinds of material mixed together.
20 “It may happen that a man has sexual relations with a woman who is the slave of another man. But this slave woman has not been bought or given her freedom. If this happens, there must be punishment. But they will not be put to death because the woman was not free. 21 The man must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He must bring a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest will make him pure by offering the ram as a guilt offering before the Lord. The offering is for the man’s sins, which will then be forgiven.
23 “In the future, when you enter your country, you will plant many kinds of trees for food. After planting a tree, you must wait three years before you can use any of the fruit from that tree. You must not use that fruit. 24 In the fourth year, the fruit from that tree will belong to the Lord, a holy offering of praise to him. 25 Then, in the fifth year, you can eat the fruit from that tree. And the tree will produce more and more fruit for you. I am the Lord your God.
26 “You must not eat any meat with blood still in it.
“You must not try to use different kinds of magic to tell the future.
27 “You must not round off the hair that grows on the side of your face. You must not cut your beard that grows on the side of your face. 28 You must not cut your body as a way to remember the dead. You must not make any tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
29 “Do not dishonor your daughters by making them become prostitutes. If you do that, your whole country will turn away from God and be filled with all kinds of sinful things.
30 “You must not work on my special days of rest. You must honor my holy place. I am the Lord.
31 “Do not go to mediums or wizards for advice—they will only make you unclean. I am the Lord your God.
32 “Show honor to old people. Stand up when they come into the room. And show respect to your leaders.[d] I am the Lord.
33 “Do not do bad things to foreigners living in your country. 34 You must treat them the same as you treat your own citizens. Love them as you love yourselves. Remember, you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God!
35 “You must be fair when you judge people, and you must be fair when you measure and weigh things. 36 Your baskets should be the right size. Your jars should hold the right amount of liquids. Your weights and balances should weigh things correctly. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “You must remember all my laws and rules. And you must obey them. I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:3 special days of rest Or “Sabbaths.” This might mean Saturday, or it might mean all the special days when the people were not supposed to work. Also in verse 30.
- Leviticus 19:7 unclean Or “offensive,” “bad,” or “rotten.” This means the meat is not good to eat as part of a sacrifice.
- Leviticus 19:13 Workers were paid at the end of each day for the work they did that day. See Mt. 20:1-16.
- Leviticus 19:32 leaders Or “God.”
Leviticus 19
King James Version
19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will.
6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the Lord: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.
15 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 neighbour.
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
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.
30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19
English Standard Version
The Lord Is Holy
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, (A)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 (B)Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and (C)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 (D)Do not turn to idols (E)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 (F)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so (G)that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is (H)tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall (I)bear his iniquity, because (J)he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 (K)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
11 (L)“You shall not steal; (M)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 (N)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so (O)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 (P)“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. (Q)The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 (R)You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall (S)fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 (T)“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 (U)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not (V)stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 (W)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but (X)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you (Y)incur sin because of him. 18 (Z)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but (AA)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 (AB)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. (AC)You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but (AD)he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 (AE)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. (AF)You shall not interpret omens or (AG)tell fortunes. 27 (AH)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any (AI)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 (AJ)“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 (AK)You shall keep my Sabbaths and (AL)reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 (AM)“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 (AN)“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall (AO)fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 (AP)“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 (AQ)You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and (AR)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 (AS)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 (AT)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And (AU)you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:16 Hebrew blood
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
