Leviticus 19

1 And the Lorde spake vnto Moses sayenge:

2 speake vnto all the multitude of the childern of Israel, and saye vnto them. Be holy for I the Lorde youre God am holye.

3 Se that ye feare: euery man his father and his mother, ad that ye kepe my Sabbathes, for I am the Lorde youre God.

4 Ye shall not turne vnto ydolls nor make you goddes of metall: I am the Lorde youre God.

5 When ye offre youre peaceofferynges vnto the Lorde, ye shall offer them that ye maye be accepted.

6 And it shalbe eaten the same daye ye offer it and on the morowe, but what soeuer is lefte on the thirde daye shalbe burnt in the fire.

7 Yf it be eaten the thirde daye, it shalbe vncleane ad not accepted.

8 And he that eateth it shall bere his synne: because he hath defiled the halowed thinges of the Lorde, ad that soule shall perish from amonge his people.

9 When ye repe doune the rype corne of youre lande, ye shal not repe doune the vtmost borders of youre feldes, nether shalt thou gather that which is left behynd in thy haruest.

10 Thou shalt not plucke in all thy vyneyarde clene, nether gather in the grapes that are ouerscaped. But thou shalt leaue them for the pore ad straunger. I am the Lord youre God.

11 Ye shall not steale nether lye, nether deale falsely one with another.

12 Ye shal not swere by my name falselye: that thou defilest not the name of thy God, I am the Lorde.

13 Thou shalt not begile thy neyghboure with cauellacios, nether robbe him violently, nether shall the workmans laboure abide with the vntyll the mornynge.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaffe, nether put a stomblinge blocke before the blynd: but shalt feare thy God. I am the Lorde.

15 Ye shall doo no vnrightuousnes in iudgement. Thou shalt not fauoure the poore nor honoure the mightye, but shalt iudge thy neghboure rightuously.

16 Thou shalt not go vp ad doune a preuy accuser amoge thy people, nether shalt thou helpe to shed the bloude of thy neyghboure: I am the Lorde.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thyne hart but shalt in any wyse rebuke thy neghbour: that thou bere not synne for his sake.

18 Thou shalt not avenge thy selfe nor bere hate in thy mynde against the childern of thi people, but shalt loue thy neghboure eue as thy self I am the Lorde.

19 Kepe myne ordinaunces. Let none of thy catell gendre with a cotrary kynde, nether sowe thy felde with myngled seed, nether shalt thou put on ony garment of lynen and wollen

20 Yf a man haue to doo with a woman that is bonde and hath bene medled with al of another man which nether is boughte nor fredome geuen her, there shalbe a payne apon it: but they shall not dye, because she was not made fre.

21 And he shall brynge for his trespaceofferynge vnto the Lorde: euen vnto the dore off the tabernacle of witnesse, a ram for a trespaceoffrynge.

22 And the preast shall make an attonement for him with the ram of the trespaceofferynge before the Lord, for his synne which he hath done: and it shalbe forgeuen him, as concerninge the synne which he hath done.

23 And when ye come to the lande ad haue plated all maner of trees where of me eate, ye shal holde them vncircumcised as concerning their frute: eue thre yere shal they be vncircucysed vnto you ad shall not be eate of,

24 ad the fourth yere all the frute of the shalbe holy ad acceptable to the Lorde.

25 And the fifth yere maye ye eate of the frute of the, ad gather in the encrease of them: I am the Lorde youre God.

26 Ye shall eate nothinge with the bloude, ye shall vse no witchcrafte, nor obserue dismall dayes,

27 ye shall not rounde the lockes of youre heedes, nether shalt thou marre the tuftes of thy beerde.

28 Ye shall not rent youre flesh for any soules sake, nor printe any markes apon you: I am the Lorde.

29 Thou shalt not pollute thi doughter, that thou woldest maintene her to be an whoore: lest the lade fall to whoredome, ad waxe ful of wekednesse.

30 Se that ye kepe my Sabbathes and feare my sauctuary: I am the Lorde.

31 Turne not to the that worke with sprites, nether regarde the that obserue disemall dayes: that ye be not defiled by the, for I am the Lorde youre God.

32 Thou shalt ryse vp before the hoorehed, ad reuerence the face of the old ma ad dread thy god, for I am the Lorde.

33 Yf a straunger soioure by the in youre lande, se that ye vexe him not:

34 But let the straunger that dwelleth with you, be as one of youre selues, and loue him as thi selfe, for ye were straungers in the lande of Egipte. I am the Lorde youre God.

35 Ye shall do no vnrightuousnes in iudgemet nether in meteyerde, weyght or measure.

36 But ye shal haue true balaces, true weightes, A true Epha ad a true hin. I am the Lorde youre god which broughte you out of the land of Egipte,

37 that ye shulde obserue all myne ordinaunces and iudgementes and that ye shulde kepe them: I am the Lorde.

Leviticus 19 Commentary

Chapter 19

laws.

- There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the ten commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, ver. ( Leviticus 19:2 ) . To teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it! Children are to be obedient to their parents, ver. ( Leviticus 19:3 ) . The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem, outward respect and obedience, care to please them and to make them easy. God only is to be worshipped, ver. ( Leviticus 19:4 ) . Turn not from the true God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you, and make you for ever miserable. Turn not your eyes to them, much less your heart. They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor, ver. ( Leviticus 19:9 ) . Works of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of every thing we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings, ver. ( Leviticus 19:11 ) . Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not so. Reverence to the sacred name of God must be shown, ver. ( Leviticus 19:12 ) . We must not detain what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, ver. ( Leviticus 19:13 ) . We must be tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, ver. ( Leviticus 19:14 ) . Do no hurt to any, because they are unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall. The fear of God should keep us from doing wrong things, though they will not expose us to men's anger. Judges, and all in authority, are commanded to give judgment without partiality, ver. ( Leviticus 19:15 ) . To be a tale-bearer, and to sow discord among neighbours, is as bad an office as a man can put himself into. We are to rebuke our neighbour in love, ver. ( Leviticus 19:17 ) . Rather rebuke him than hate him, for an injury done to thyself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother. We should say, I will do him the kindness to tell him of his faults. We are to put off all malice, and to put on brotherly love, ver. ( Leviticus 19:18 ) . We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love to ourselves; in like manner we should love our neighbour. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbour. Ver. ( Leviticus 19:31 ) : For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or the like, is a sad affront to God. They must be grossly ignorant who ask, "What harm is there in these things?" Here is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged, ver. ( Leviticus 19:32 ) . Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to honour those to whom honour is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very tender of strangers, ver. ( Leviticus 19:33 ) . Strangers, and the widows and fatherless, are God's particular care. It is at our peril, if we do them any wrong. Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to recommend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures is commanded, ver. ( Leviticus 19:35 ) . We must make conscience of obeying God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives and tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, and the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we adorn the gospel.

Chapter Summary

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.