Leviticus 19:1-19

The Lord Is Holy

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, 1You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
3 2Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and 3you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
4 4Do not turn to idols 5or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God.
5 6"When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so 7that 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 8tainted; it will not be accepted,
8 and everyone who eats it shall 9bear his iniquity, because 10he has profaned what is holy to the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

9 11"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 12"You shall not steal; 13you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
12 14You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so 15profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
13 16"You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. 17The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 18You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall 19fear your God: I am the LORD.
15 20"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 21You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not 22stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
17 23"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but 24you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you 25incur sin because of him.
18 26You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but 27you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

You Shall Keep My Statutes

19 28"You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. 29You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

Leviticus 19:1-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 19

This chapter contains various laws, ceremonial and moral, tending to the sanctification of men, in imitation of the holy God, Le 19:1,2; as concerning the reverence of parents, and observing the sabbaths, Le 19:3; against idolatry, Le 19:4; about offering and eating of peace offerings, Le 19:5-8; concerning harvest and gleaning of fields and vineyards, Le 19:9,10; respecting the breach of several of the commandments of the law, as the eighth, ninth, and third, particularly, Le 19:11-13; and others relating to the ill usage of the deaf and blind, and having respect to persons rich or poor in judgment, and acting the part of a tale bearer among people, Le 19:14-16; and bearing hatred and ill will to any of their neighbours, Le 19:17,18; and others forbidding mixtures in the generation of cattle, sowing fields, and wearing apparel, Le 19:19; and concerning the punishment of a man that lay with a bondmaid, and the offering he should bring for his atonement, Le 19:20-22; then follow certain laws concerning fruit trees, when the fruit of them should be eaten, Le 19:23-25; and concerning eating with blood, using enchantments, and observing times, and managing the hair of the head and beard, and avoiding to make any marks, prints, and cuttings in the flesh for the dead, Le 19:26-28; a caution not to prostitute a daughter to whoredom, and to observe the sabbath, and reverence the sanctuary of God, and pay no regard to wizards and familiar spirits, Le 19:29-31; to show reverence to ancient persons, and not to vex and distress strangers, Le 19:32-34; and to do no injustice in weight and measure, Le 19:35,36; all which instructions are to be carefully observed, and put in execution, Le 19:37.

Cross References 29

  • 1. See Leviticus 11:44, 45
  • 2. See Exodus 20:12
  • 3. See Exodus 20:8
  • 4. Leviticus 26:1; 1 John 5:21; See Exodus 20:3-5
  • 5. Exodus 34:17; [Deuteronomy 27:15]
  • 6. See Leviticus 7:15-18
  • 7. Leviticus 1:3; Leviticus 22:19
  • 8. Leviticus 7:18
  • 9. See Leviticus 5:1
  • 10. Leviticus 22:15
  • 11. Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-21; [Ruth 2:15, 16]
  • 12. See Exodus 20:15
  • 13. [Leviticus 6:2, 3; Ephesians 4:15, 25; Colossians 3:9]
  • 14. See Exodus 20:7
  • 15. See Leviticus 18:21
  • 16. Leviticus 6:2, 3
  • 17. Deuteronomy 24:14, 15; Malachi 3:5; [James 5:4]
  • 18. Deuteronomy 27:18
  • 19. ver. 32; Leviticus 25:17; Ecclesiastes 5:7; Ecclesiastes 12:13; 1 Peter 2:17
  • 20. Exodus 23:2, 3; Deuteronomy 1:17; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:19; Psalms 82:2; Proverbs 24:23; James 2:9; [2 Chronicles 19:6, 7]
  • 21. Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 20:19
  • 22. Exodus 23:1, 7; [Matthew 26:60, 61]; See 1 Kings 21:10-13; Acts 6:11-13
  • 23. 1 John 2:9, 11; 1 John 3:15
  • 24. Proverbs 27:5, 6; Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 5:11
  • 25. [Leviticus 22:16; Romans 1:32; 1 Timothy 5:22; 2 John 11]
  • 26. Proverbs 20:22; Romans 12:17, 19; Hebrews 10:30
  • 27. Matthew 5:43; Cited Matthew 19:19; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8
  • 28. See Leviticus 18:4, 5
  • 29. Deuteronomy 22:9-11

Footnotes 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.