Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Leviticus » Chapter 19 » Verse 1-37

Leviticus 19:1-37 King James Version (KJV)

1 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 neighbor, 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 stumbling-block 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 neighbor.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, 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 neighbor 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 woolen 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 honor 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 19:1-37 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559

2 Speak H1696 unto all the congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and say H559 unto them, Ye shall be holy: H6918 for I the LORD H3068 your God H430 am holy. H6918

3 Ye shall fear H3372 every man H376 his mother, H517 and his father, H1 and keep H8104 my sabbaths: H7676 I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

4 Turn H6437 ye not unto idols, H457 nor make H6213 to yourselves molten H4541 gods: H430 I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

5 And if ye offer H2076 a sacrifice H2077 of peace offerings H8002 unto the LORD, H3068 ye shall offer H2076 it at your own will. H7522

6 It shall be eaten H398 the same day H3117 ye offer H2077 it, and on the morrow: H4283 and if ought remain H3498 until the third H7992 day, H3117 it shall be burnt H8313 in the fire. H784

7 And if it be eaten H398 at all H398 on the third H7992 day, H3117 it is abominable; H6292 it shall not be accepted. H7521

8 Therefore every one that eateth H398 it shall bear H5375 his iniquity, H5771 because he hath profaned H2490 the hallowed thing H6944 of the LORD: H3068 and that soul H5315 shall be cut off H3772 from among his people. H5971

9 And when ye reap H7114 the harvest H7105 of your land, H776 thou shalt not wholly reap H3615 the corners H6285 of thy field, H7704 neither shalt thou gather H3950 the gleanings H3951 of thy harvest. H7105

10 And thou shalt not glean H5953 thy vineyard, H3754 neither shalt thou gather H3950 every grape H6528 of thy vineyard; H3754 thou shalt leave H5800 them for the poor H6041 and stranger: H1616 I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

11 Ye shall not steal, H1589 neither deal falsely, H3584 neither lie H8266 one H376 to another. H5997

12 And ye shall not swear H7650 by my name H8034 falsely, H8267 neither shalt thou profane H2490 the name H8034 of thy God: H430 I am the LORD. H3068

13 Thou shalt not defraud H6231 thy neighbour, H7453 neither rob H1497 him: the wages H6468 of him that is hired H7916 shall not abide H3885 with thee all night until the morning. H1242

14 Thou shalt not curse H7043 the deaf, H2795 nor put H5414 a stumblingblock H4383 before H6440 the blind, H5787 but shalt fear H3372 thy God: H430 I am the LORD. H3068

15 Ye shall do H6213 no unrighteousness H5766 in judgment: H4941 thou shalt not respect H5375 the person H6440 of the poor, H1800 nor honour H1921 the person H6440 of the mighty: H1419 but in righteousness H6664 shalt thou judge H8199 thy neighbour. H5997

16 Thou shalt not go H3212 up and down as a talebearer H7400 among thy people: H5971 neither shalt thou stand H5975 against the blood H1818 of thy neighbour: H7453 I am the LORD. H3068

17 Thou shalt not hate H8130 thy brother H251 in thine heart: H3824 thou shalt in any wise H3198 rebuke H3198 thy neighbour, H5997 and not suffer H5375 sin H2399 upon him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge, H5358 nor bear any grudge H5201 against the children H1121 of thy people, H5971 but thou shalt love H157 thy neighbour H7453 as thyself: H3644 I am the LORD. H3068

19 Ye shall keep H8104 my statutes. H2708 Thou shalt not let thy cattle H929 gender H7250 with a diverse kind: H3610 thou shalt not sow H2232 thy field H7704 with mingled seed: H3610 neither shall a garment H899 mingled H3610 of linen and woollen H8162 come H5927 upon thee.

20 And whosoever H376 lieth H7901 carnally H2233 H7902 with a woman, H802 that is a bondmaid, H8198 betrothed H2778 to an husband, H376 and not at all H6299 redeemed, H6299 nor freedom H2668 given H5414 her; she shall be scourged; H1244 they shall not be put to death, H4191 because she was not free. H2666

21 And he shall bring H935 his trespass offering H817 unto the LORD, H3068 unto the door H6607 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 even a ram H352 for a trespass offering. H817

22 And the priest H3548 shall make an atonement H3722 for him with the ram H352 of the trespass offering H817 before H6440 the LORD H3068 for his sin H2403 which he hath done: H2398 and the sin H2403 which he hath done H2398 shall be forgiven H5545 him.

23 And when ye shall come H935 into the land, H776 and shall have planted H5193 all manner of trees H6086 for food, H3978 then ye shall count H6188 the fruit H6529 thereof as uncircumcised: H6188 H6190 three H7969 years H8141 shall it be as uncircumcised H6189 unto you: it shall not be eaten H398 of.

24 But in the fourth H7243 year H8141 all the fruit H6529 thereof shall be holy H6944 to praise H1974 the LORD H3068 withal.

25 And in the fifth H2549 year H8141 shall ye eat H398 of the fruit H6529 thereof, that it may yield H3254 unto you the increase H8393 thereof: I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

26 Ye shall not eat H398 any thing with the blood: H1818 neither shall ye use enchantment, H5172 nor observe times. H6049

27 Ye shall not round H5362 the corners H6285 of your heads, H7218 neither shalt thou mar H7843 the corners H6285 of thy beard. H2206

28 Ye shall not make H5414 any H3793 cuttings H8296 in your flesh H1320 for the dead, H5315 nor print H5414 any marks H7085 upon you: I am the LORD. H3068

29 Do not prostitute H2490 thy daughter, H1323 to cause her to be a whore; H2181 lest the land H776 fall to whoredom, H2181 and the land H776 become full H4390 of wickedness. H2154

30 Ye shall keep H8104 my sabbaths, H7676 and reverence H3372 my sanctuary: H4720 I am the LORD. H3068

31 Regard H6437 not them that have familiar spirits, H178 neither seek H1245 after wizards, H3049 to be defiled H2930 by them: I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

32 Thou shalt rise up H6965 before H6440 the hoary head, H7872 and honour H1921 the face H6440 of the old man, H2205 and fear H3372 thy God: H430 I am the LORD. H3068

33 And if a stranger H1616 sojourn H1481 with thee in your land, H776 ye shall not vex H3238 him.

34 But the stranger H1616 that dwelleth H1481 with you shall be unto you as one born H249 among you, and thou shalt love H157 him as thyself; for ye were strangers H1616 in the land H776 of Egypt: H4714 I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

35 Ye shall do H6213 no unrighteousness H5766 in judgment, H4941 in meteyard, H4060 in weight, H4948 or in measure. H4884

36 Just H6664 balances, H3976 just H6664 weights, H68 a just H6664 ephah, H374 and a just H6664 hin, H1969 shall ye have: I am the LORD H3068 your God, H430 which brought you out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714

37 Therefore shall ye observe H8104 all my statutes, H2708 and all my judgments, H4941 and do H6213 them: I am the LORD. H3068


Leviticus 19:1-37 American Standard (ASV)

1 And Jehovah 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 Jehovah your God am holy.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.

4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.

5 And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.

6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire.

7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted:

8 but every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from 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 gleaning of thy harvest.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.

11 Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

13 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him: the wages of a hired servant 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 thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

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 neighbor.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18 Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.

19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.

20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

21 And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering.

22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned 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 their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten.

24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah.

25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God.

26 Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.

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 Jehovah.

29 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; 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 Jehovah.

31 Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.

32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.

34 The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.


Leviticus 19:1-37 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Speak unto all the company of the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Ye are holy, for holy `am' I, Jehovah, your God.

3 `Each his mother and his father ye do fear, and My sabbaths ye do keep; I `am' Jehovah your God.

4 `Ye do not turn unto the idols, and a molten god ye do not make to yourselves; I `am' Jehovah your God.

5 `And when ye sacrifice a sacrifice of peace-offerings to Jehovah, at your pleasure ye do sacrifice it;

6 in the day of your sacrificing it is eaten, and on the morrow, and that which is left unto the third day with fire is burnt,

7 and if it be really eaten on the third day, it `is' an abomination, it is not pleasing,

8 and he who is eating it his iniquity doth bear, for the holy thing of Jehovah he hath polluted, and that person hath been cut off from his people.

9 `And in your reaping the harvest of your land ye do not completely reap the corner of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather,

10 and thy vineyard thou dost not glean, even the omitted part of thy vineyard thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I `am' Jehovah your God.

11 `Ye do not steal, nor feign, nor lie one against his fellow.

12 `And ye do not swear by My name to falsehood, or thou hast polluted the name of thy God; I `am' Jehovah.

13 `Thou dost not oppress thy neighbour, nor take plunder; the wages of the hireling doth not remain with thee till morning.

14 `Thou dost not revile the deaf; and before the blind thou dost not put a stumbling block; and thou hast been afraid of thy God; I `am' Jehovah.

15 `Ye do not do perversity in judgment; thou dost not lift up the face of the poor, nor honour the face of the great; in righteousness thou dost judge thy fellow.

16 `Thou dost not go slandering among thy people; thou dost not stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I `am' Jehovah.

17 `Thou dost not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou dost certainly reprove thy fellow, and not suffer sin on him.

18 `Thou dost not take vengeance, nor watch the sons of thy people; and thou hast had love to thy neighbour as thyself; I `am' Jehovah.

19 `My statutes ye do keep: thy cattle thou dost not cause to gender `with' diverse kinds; thy field thou dost not sow with diverse kinds, and a garment of diverse kinds, shaatnez, doth not go up upon thee.

20 `And when a man lieth with a woman with seed of copulation, and she a maid-servant, betrothed to a man, and not really ransomed, or freedom hath not been given to her, an investigation there is; they are not put to death, for she `is' not free.

21 `And he hath brought in his guilt-offering to Jehovah, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, a ram `for' a guilt-offering,

22 and the priest hath made atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering before Jehovah, for his sin which he hath sinned, and it hath been forgiven him because of his sin which he hath sinned.

23 `And when ye come in unto the land, and have planted all `kinds' of trees `for' food, then ye have reckoned as uncircumcised its fruit, three years it is to you uncircumcised, it is not eaten,

24 and in the fourth year all its fruit is holy -- praises for Jehovah.

25 And in the fifth year ye do eat its fruit -- to add to you its increase; I `am' Jehovah your God.

26 `Ye do not eat with the blood; ye do not enchant, nor observe clouds.

27 `Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard.

28 `And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I `am' Jehovah.

29 `Thou dost not pollute thy daughter to cause her to go a-whoring, that the land go not a-whoring, and the land hath been full of wickedness.

30 `My sabbaths ye do keep, and My sanctuary ye do reverence; I `am' Jehovah.

31 `Ye do not turn unto those having familiar spirits; and unto wizards ye do not seek, for uncleanness by them; I `am' Jehovah your God.

32 `At the presence of grey hairs thou dost rise up, and thou hast honoured the presence of an old man, and hast been afraid of thy God; I `am' Jehovah.

33 `And when a sojourner sojourneth with thee in your land, thou dost not oppress him;

34 as a native among you is the sojourner to you who is sojourning with you, and thou hast had love to him as to thyself, for sojourners ye have been in the land of Egypt; I `am' Jehovah your God.

35 `Ye do not do perversity in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight, or in liquid measure;

36 righteous balances, righteous weights, a righteous ephah, and a righteous hin ye have; I `am' Jehovah your God, who hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;

37 and ye have observed all my statutes, and all my judgments, and have done them; I `am' Jehovah.'


Leviticus 19:1-37 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto all the assembly of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Holy shall ye be, for I Jehovah your God am holy.

3 Ye shall reverence every man his mother, and his father, and my sabbaths shall ye keep: I am Jehovah your God.

4 Ye shall not turn unto idols, and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.

5 And if ye sacrifice a sacrifice of peace-offering to Jehovah, ye shall sacrifice it for your acceptance.

6 On the day when ye sacrifice it shall it be eaten, and on the morrow; and that which remaineth until the third day shall be burned with fire.

7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an unclean thing: it shall not be accepted.

8 And he that eateth it shall bear his iniquity; for he hath profaned the hallowed thing of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt not gather.

10 And thy vineyard shalt thou not glean, neither shalt thou gather what hath been left of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am Jehovah your God.

11 Ye shall not steal, and ye shall not deal falsely, and ye shall not lie one to another.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

13 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, neither rob him. The wages of the hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the lowly, nor honour the person of the great; in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

16 Thou shalt not go about as a talebearer among thy people; thou shalt not stand up against the life of thy neighbour: I am Jehovah.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt earnestly rebuke thy neighbour, lest thou bear sin on account of him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge thyself, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Jehovah.

19 My statutes shall ye observe. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with another sort; thou shalt not sow thy field with seed of two sorts; and a garment woven of two materials shall not come upon thee.

20 And if a man lie with a woman for copulation, and she is a bondwoman betrothed to a husband, but not at all ransomed, nor hath freedom been given to her, there shall be a chastisement: they shall not be put to death, for she was not free.

21 And he shall bring his trespass-offering to Jehovah, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a trespass-offering.

22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath done; and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.

23 And when ye come into the land and plant all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count its fruit as uncircumcised, three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of;

24 and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy for praise to Jehovah;

25 and in the fifth year shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may increase unto you the produce thereof: I am Jehovah your God.

26 Ye shall eat nothing with the blood. -- Ye shall not practise enchantment, nor use auguries.

27 -- Ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.

28 And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.

29 -- Do not profane thy daughter, to give her up to whoredom; lest the land practise whoredom, and the land become full of infamy.

30 -- My sabbaths shall ye keep, and my sanctuary shall ye reverence: I am Jehovah.

31 -- Turn not unto necromancers and unto soothsayers; seek not after them to make yourselves unclean: I am Jehovah your God.

32 Before the hoary head thou shalt rise up, and shalt honour the face of an old man; and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not molest him.

34 As one born among you shall the stranger who sojourneth with you be unto you; and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measure of length, in weight, and in measure of capacity:

36 just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.


Leviticus 19:1-37 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, 'You shall be holy; for I Yahweh your God am holy.

3 "'Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.

4 "'Don't turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.

5 "'When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day: and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.

7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;

8 but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

9 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.

11 "'You shall not steal; neither shall you deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

12 "'You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.

13 "'You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

14 "'You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.

15 "'You shall do no injustice in judgment: you shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

16 "'You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people; neither shall you stand against the life{literally, "blood"} of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.

17 "'You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.

19 "'You shall keep my statutes. "'You shall not crossbreed different kinds of animals. "'you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; "'neither shall there come upon on you a garment made of two kinds of material.

20 "'If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed, or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

21 He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.

22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before Yahweh 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 forbidden.{literally, "uncircumcised"} Three years shall they be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten.

24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Yahweh.

25 In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Yahweh your God.

26 "'You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither shall you use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.

27 You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your heads, neither shall you clip off the edge of your beard.

28 "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.

29 Don't profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

30 "'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.

31 "'Don't turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don't seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.

32 You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.

33 "'If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

35 "'You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall you have. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 You shall observe all my statutes, and all my ordinances, and do them. I am Yahweh.'"


Leviticus 19:1-37 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 Say to all the people of Israel, You are to be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

3 Let every man give honour to his mother and to his father and keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

4 Do not go after false gods, and do not make metal images of gods for yourselves: I am the Lord your God.

5 And when you give a peace offering to the Lord, do it in the way which is pleasing to the Lord.

6 Let it be used for food on the same day on which it is offered, or on the day after; and whatever is over on the third day is to be burned with fire.

7 If any of it is used for food on the third day, it is a disgusting thing and will not be pleasing to the Lord.

8 And as for anyone who takes it for food, his sin will be on him, for he has put shame on the holy thing of the Lord: he will be cut off from his people.

9 And when you get in the grain from your land, do not let all the grain be cut from the edges of the field, or take up what has been dropped on the earth after the getting in of the grain.

10 And do not take all the grapes from your vine-garden, or the fruit dropped on the earth; let the poor man, and the man from another country, have these: I am the Lord your God.

11 Do not take anyone's property or be false in act or word to another.

12 And do not take an oath in my name falsely, putting shame on the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 Do not be cruel to your neighbour or take what is his; do not keep back a servant's payment from him all night till the morning.

14 Do not put a curse on those who have no hearing, or put a cause of falling in the way of the blind, but keep the fear of your God before you: I am the Lord.

15 Do no wrong in your judging: do not give thought to the position of the poor, or honour to the position of the great; but be a judge to your neighbour in righteousness.

16 Do not go about saying untrue things among your people, or take away the life of your neighbour by false witness: I am the Lord.

17 Let there be no hate in your heart for your brother; but you may make a protest to your neighbour, so that he may be stopped from doing evil.

18 Do not make attempts to get equal with one who has done you wrong, or keep hard feelings against the children of your people, but have love for your neighbour as for yourself: I am the Lord.

19 Keep my laws. Do not let your cattle have offspring by those of a different sort; do not put mixed seed into your field; do not put on a robe made of two sorts of cloth.

20 If any man has sex relations with a servant-woman who has given her word to be married to a man, and has not been made free for a price or in any other way, the thing will be looked into; but they will not be put to death because she was not a free woman.

21 Let him take his offering for wrongdoing to the Lord, to the door of the Tent of meeting; let him give a male sheep as an offering for wrongdoing.

22 And the priest will take away his sin before the Lord with the sheep which is offered for his wrongdoing, and he will have forgiveness for the sin which he has done.

23 And when you have come into the land, and have put in all sorts of fruit-trees, their fruit will be as if they had not had circumcision, and for three years their fruit may not be used for food.

24 And in the fourth year all the fruit will be holy as a praise-offering to the Lord.

25 But in the fifth year you may take the fruit and the increase of it for your food: I am the Lord your God.

26 Nothing may be used for food with its blood in it; you may not make use of strange arts, or go in search of signs and wonders.

27 The ends of the hair round your face and on your chin may not be cut off.

28 You may not make cuts in your flesh in respect for the dead, or have marks printed on your bodies: I am the Lord.

29 Do not make your daughter common by letting her become a loose woman, for fear that the land may become full of shame.

30 Keep my Sabbaths and have respect for my holy place: I am the Lord.

31 Do not go after those who make use of spirits, or wonder-workers; do not go in their ways or become unclean through them: I am the Lord your God.

32 Get up from your seats before the white-haired, and give honour to the old, and let the fear of your God be before you: I am the Lord.

33 And if a man from another country is living in your land with you, do not make life hard for him;

34 Let him be to you as one of your countrymen and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange land, in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

35 Do not make false decisions in questions of yard-sticks and weights and measures.

36 Have true scales, true weights and measures for all things: I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt;

37 You are to keep all my rules and my decisions and do them: I am the Lord.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 19

Commentary on Leviticus 19 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verse 1

Holiness of Behaviour Towards God and Man. - However manifold the commandments, which are grouped together rather according to a loose association of ideas than according to any logical arrangement, they are all linked together by the common purpose expressed in Leviticus 19:2 in the words, “ Ye shall be holy, for I am holy, Jehovah your God .” The absence of any strictly logical arrangement is to be explained chiefly from the nature of the object, and the great variety of circumstances occurring in life which no casuistry can fully exhaust, so that any attempt to throw light upon these relations must consist more or less of the description of a series of concrete events.


Verses 2-8

The commandment in Leviticus 19:2, “to be holy as God is holy,” expresses on the one hand the principle upon which all the different commandments that follow were based, and on the other hand the goal which the Israelites were to keep before them as the nation of Jehovah.

Leviticus 19:3

The first thing required is reverence towards parents and the observance of the Lord's Sabbaths-the two leading pillars of the moral government, and of social well-being. To fear father and mother answers to the honour commanded in the decalogue to be paid to parents; and in the observance of the Sabbaths the labour connected with a social calling is sanctified to the Lord God.

Leviticus 19:4

Leviticus 19:4 embraces the first two commandments of the decalogue: viz., not to turn to idols to worship them (Deuteronomy 31:18, Deuteronomy 31:20), nor to make molten gods (see at Exodus 34:17). The gods beside Jehovah are called elilim , i.e., nothings, from their true nature.

Leviticus 19:5-8

True fidelity to Jehovah was to be shown, so far as sacrifice, the leading form of divine worship, was concerned, in the fact, that the holiness of the sacrificial flesh was strictly preserved in the sacrificial meals, and none of the flesh of the peace-offerings eaten on the third day. To this end the command in Leviticus 7:15-18 is emphatically repeated, and transgressors are threatened with extermination. On the singular ישּׂא in Leviticus 19:8, see at Genesis 27:29, and for the expression “shall be cut off,” Genesis 17:14.


Verses 9-18

Laws concerning the conduct towards one's neighbour, which should flow from unselfish love, especially with regard to the poor and distressed.

Leviticus 19:9-10

In reaping the field, “thou shalt not finish to reap the edge of thy field,” i.e., not reap the field to the extreme edge; “neither shalt thou hold a gathering up (gleaning) of thy harvest,” i.e., not gather together the ears left upon the field in the reaping. In the vineyard and olive-plantation, also, they were not to have any gleaning, or gather up what was strewn about ( peret signifies the grapes and olives that had fallen off), but to leave them for the distressed and the foreigner, that he might also share in the harvest and gathering. כּרם , lit., a noble plantation, generally signifies a vineyard; but it is also applied to an olive-plantation (Judges 15:5), and her it is to be understood of both. For when this command is repeated in Deuteronomy 24:20-21, both vineyards and olive-plantations are mentioned. When the olives had been gathered by being knocked off with sticks, the custom of shaking the boughs ( פּאר ) to get at those olives which could not be reached with the sticks was expressly forbidden, in the interest of the strangers, orphans, and widows, as well as gleaning after the vintage. The command with regard to the corn-harvest is repeated again in the law for the feast of Weeks or Harvest Feast (Leviticus 23:20); and in Deuteronomy 24:19 it is extended, quite in the spirit of our law, so far as to forbid fetching a sheaf that had been overlooked in the field, and to order it to be left for the needy. (Compare with this Deuteronomy 23:24-25.)

Leviticus 19:11-13

The Israelites were not to steal (Exodus 20:15); nor to deny, viz., anything entrusted to them or found (Leviticus 6:2.); nor to lie to a neighbour, i.e., with regard to property or goods, for the purpose of overreaching and cheating him; nor to swear by the name of Jehovah to lie and defraud, and so profane the name of God (see Exodus 20:7, Exodus 20:16); nor to oppress and rob a neighbour (cf. Leviticus 6:2), by the unjust abstraction or detention of what belonged to him or was due to him, - for example, they were not to keep the wages of a day-labourer over night, but to pay him every day before sunset (Deuteronomy 24:14-15).

Leviticus 19:14

They were not to do an injury to an infirm person: neither to ridicule or curse the deaf, who could not hear the ridicule or curse, and therefore could not defend himself (Psalms 38:15); nor “to put a stumblingblock before the blind,” i.e., to put anything in his way over which he might stumble and fall (compare Deuteronomy 27:18, where a curse is pronounced upon the man who should lead the blind astray). But they were to “fear before God,” who hears, and sees, and will punish every act of wrong (cf. Leviticus 19:32, Leviticus 25:17, Leviticus 25:36, Leviticus 25:43).

Leviticus 19:15

In judgment, i.e., in the administration of justice, they were to do no unrighteousness: neither to respect the person of the poor ( πρόσωπον λαμβάνειν , to do anything out of regard to a person, used in a good sense in Genesis 19:21, in a bad sense here, namely, to act partially from unmanly pity); nor to adorn the person of the great (i.e., powerful, distinguished, exalted), i.e., to favour him in a judicial decision (see at Exodus 23:3).

Leviticus 19:16

They were not to go about as calumniators among their countrymen, to bring their neighbour to destruction (Ezekiel 22:9); nor to set themselves against the blood of a neighbour, i.e., to seek his life. רכיל does not mean calumny, but, according to its formation, a calumniator ( Ewald , §149 e ).

Leviticus 19:17

They were not to cherish hatred in their hearts towards their brother, but to admonish a neighbour, i.e., to tell him openly what they had against him, and reprove him for his conduct, just as Christ teaches His disciples in Matthew 18:15-17, and “not to load a sin upon themselves.” חטא עליו נשׁא does not mean to have to bear, or atone for a sin on his account (Onkelos, Knobel , etc.), but, as in Leviticus 22:9; Numbers 18:32, to bring sin upon one's self, which one then has to bear, or atone for; so also in Numbers 18:22, חטא שׂאת , from which the meaning “to bear,” i.e., atone for sin, or suffer its consequences, was first derived.

Leviticus 19:18

Lastly, they were not to avenge themselves, or bear malice against the sons of their nation (their countrymen), but to love their neighbour as themselves. נטר to watch for (Song of Solomon 1:6; Song of Solomon 8:11, Song of Solomon 8:12), hence (= τηρεῖν ) to cherish a design upon a person, or bear him malice (Psalms 103:9; Jeremiah 3:5, Jeremiah 3:12; Nahum 1:2).


Verses 19-32

The words, “Ye shall keep My statutes,” open the second series of commandments, which make it a duty on the part of the people of God to keep the physical and moral order of the world sacred. This series begins in Leviticus 19:19 with the commandment not to mix the things which are separated in the creation of God. “Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment of mixed stuff.” כּלאים , from כּלא separation, signifies duae res diversi generis , heterogeneae , and is a substantive in the accusative, giving a more precise definition. שעטנז is in apposition to כּלאים בּגד , and according to Deuteronomy 22:11 refers to cloth or a garment woven of wool and flax, to a mixed fabric therefore. The etymology is obscure, and the rendering given by the lxx, κίβδηλον , i.e., forged, not genuine, is probably merely a conjecture based upon the context. The word is probably derived from the Egyptian; although the attempt to explain it from the Coptic has not been so far satisfactory. In Deuteronomy 22:9-11, instead of the field, the vineyard is mentioned, as that which they were not to sow with things of two kinds, i.e., so that a mixed produce should arise; and the threat is added, “that thy fulness (full fruit, Exodus 22:28), the seed, and the produce of the vineyard (i.e., the corn and wine grown upon the vineyard) may not become holy” (cf. Leviticus 27:10, Leviticus 27:21), i.e., fall to the sanctuary for its servants. It is also forbidden to plough with an ox and ass together, i.e., to yoke them to the same plough. By these laws the observance of the natural order and separation of things is made a duty binding upon the Israelites, the people of Jehovah, as a divine ordinance founded in the creation itself (Genesis 1:11-12, Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24-25). All the symbolical, mystical, moral, and utilitarian reasons that have been supposed to lie at the foundation of these commands, are foreign to the spirit of the law. And with regard to the observance of them, the statement of Josephus and the Rabbins, that the dress of the priests, as well as the tapestries and curtains of the tabernacle, consisted of wool and linen, is founded upon the assumption, which cannot be established, that שׁשׁ , βύσσος , is a term applied to linen. The mules frequently mentioned, e.g., in 2 Samuel 13:29; 2 Samuel 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33, may have been imported from abroad, as we may conclude from 1 Kings 10:25.

Leviticus 19:20-22

Even the personal rights of slaves were to be upheld; and a maid, though a slave, was not to be degraded to the condition of personal property. If any one lay with a woman who was a slave and betrothed to a man, but neither redeemed nor emancipated, the punishment of death was not to be inflicted, as in the case of adultery (Leviticus 20:10), or the seduction of a free virgin who was betrothed (Deuteronomy 22:23.), because she was not set free; but scourging was to be inflicted, and the guilty person was also to bring a trespass-offering for the expiation of his sin against God (see at Leviticus 5:15.). נחרפת , from חרף carpere , lit., plucked, i.e., set apart, betrothed to a man, not abandoned or despised. הפדּה redeemed, חפשׁה emancipation without purchase, - the two ways in which a slave could obtain her freedom. בּקּרת , ἁπ. λεγ. , from בּקּר to examine (Leviticus 13:36), lit., investigation, then punishment, chastisement. This referred to both parties, as is evident from the expression, “they shall not be put to death;” though it is not more precisely defined. According to the Mishnah , Kerith . ii. 4, the punishment of the woman consisted of forty stripes.

Leviticus 19:23-25

The garden-fruit was also to be sanctified to the Lord. When the Israelites had planted all kinds of fruit-trees in the land of Canaan, they were to treat the fruit of every tree as uncircumcised for the first three years, i.e., not to eat it, as being uncircumcised. The singular suffix in ערלתו refers to כּל , and the verb ערל is a denom . from ערלה , to make into a foreskin, to treat as uncircumcised, i.e., to throw away as unclean or uneatable. The reason for this command is not to be sought for in the fact, that in the first three years fruit-trees bear only a little fruit, and that somewhat insipid, and that if the blossom or fruit is broken off the first year, the trees will bear all the more plentifully afterwards ( Aben Esra, Clericus, J. D. Mich. ), though this end would no doubt be thereby attained; but it rests rather upon ethical grounds. Israel was to treat the fruits of horticulture with the most careful regard as a gift of God, and sanctify the enjoyment of them by a thank-offering. In the fourth year the whole of the fruit was to be a holiness of praise for Jehovah, i.e., to be offered to the Lord as a holy sacrificial gift, in praise and thanksgiving for the blessing which He had bestowed upon the fruit-trees. This offering falls into the category of first-fruits, and was no doubt given up entirely to the Lord for the servants of the altar; although the expression הלּוּלים עשׂה (Judges 9:27) seems to point to sacrificial meals of the first-fruits, that had already been reaped: and this is the way in which Josephus has explained the command ( Ant . iv. 8, 19). For (Leviticus 19:25) they were not to eat the fruits till the fifth year, “to add (increase) its produce to you,” viz., by the blessing of God, not by breaking off the fruits that might set in the first years.

Leviticus 19:26-32

The Israelites were to abstain from all unnatural, idolatrous, and heathenish conduct.

Leviticus 19:26

“Ye shall not eat upon blood” ( על as in Exodus 12:8, referring to the basis of the eating), i.e., no flesh of which blood still lay at the foundation, which was not entirely cleansed from blood (cf. 1 Samuel 14:32). These words were not a mere repetition of the law against eating blood (Leviticus 17:10), but a strengthening of the law. Not only were they to eat no blood, but no flesh to which any blood adhered. They were also “to practise no kind of incantations.” נחשׁ : from נחשׁ to whisper (see Genesis 44:5), or, according to some, a denom . verb from נחשׁ a serpent; literally, to prophesy from observing snakes, then to prophesy from auguries generally, augurari . עונן a denom . verb, not from ענן a cloud, with the signification to prophesy from the motion of the clouds, of which there is not the slightest historical trace in Hebrew; but, as the Rabbins maintain, from עין an eye, literally, to ogle, then to bewitch with an evil eye.

Leviticus 19:27

Ye shall not round the border of your head: ” i.e., not cut the hair in a circle from one temple to the other, as some of the Arab tribes did, according to Herodotus (3, 8), in honour of their god Ὀροτάλ , whom he identifies with the Dionysos of the Greeks. In Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 25:23; Jeremiah 49:32, the persons who did this are called פאה קצוּצי , round-cropped, from their peculiar tonsure. “ Neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard, ” sc., by cutting it off (cf. Leviticus 21:5), which Pliny reports some of the Arabs to have done, barba abraditur, praeterquam in superiore labro, aliis et haec intonsa , whereas the modern Arabs either wear a short moustache, or shave off the beard altogether (Niebuhr, Arab. p. 68).

Leviticus 19:28

Ye shall not make cuttings on your flesh (body) on account of a soul, i.e., a dead person ( נפשׁ = מת נפשׁ , Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6, or מת , Deuteronomy 14:1; so again in Leviticus 22:4; Numbers 5:2; Numbers 9:6-7, Numbers 9:10), nor make engraven (or branded) writing upon yourselves .” Two prohibitions of an unnatural disfigurement of the body. The first refers to passionate outbursts of mourning, common among the excitable nations of the East, particularly in the southern parts, and to the custom of scratching the arms, hands, and face (Deuteronomy 14:1), which is said to have prevailed among the Babylonians and Armenians ( Cyrop . iii. 1, 13, iii. 3, 67), the Scythians ( Herod . 4, 71), and even the ancient Romans (cf. M. Geier de Ebraeor. luctu, c. 10), and to be still practised by the Arabs ( Arvieux Beduinen, p. 153), the Persians ( Morier Zweite Reise, p. 189), and the Abyssinians of the present day, and which apparently held its ground among the Israelites notwithstanding the prohibition (cf. Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5), - as well as to the custom, which is also forbidden in Leviticus 21:5 and Deuteronomy 14:1, of cutting off the hair of the head and beard (cf. Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 22:12; Micah. Leviticus 1:16; Amos 8:10; Ezekiel 7:18). It cannot be inferred from the words of Plutarch , quoted by Spencer , δοκοῦντες χαρίζεσθαι τοῖς τετελευκηκόσιν , that the heathen associated with this custom the idea of making an expiation to the dead. The prohibition of קעקע כּתבת , scriptio stigmatis , writing corroded or branded (see Ges. thes. pp. 1207-8), i.e., of tattooing, - a custom not only very common among the savage tribes, but still met with in Arabia ( Arvieux Beduinen , p. 155; Burckhardt Beduinen , pp. 40, 41) and in Egypt among both men and women of the lower orders ( Lane , Manners and Customs i. pp. 25, 35, iii. p. 169), - had no reference to idolatrous usages, but was intended to inculcate upon the Israelites a proper reverence for God's creation.

Leviticus 19:29

Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore, lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of vice ” ( zimmah : see Leviticus 18:17). The reference is not to spiritual whoredom or idolatry (Exodus 34:16), but to fleshly whoredom, the word zimmah being only used in this connection. If a father caused his daughter to become a prostitute, immorality would soon become predominant, and the land (the population of the land) fall away to whoredom.

Leviticus 19:30

The exhortation now returns to the chief point, the observance of the Lord's Sabbaths and reverence for His sanctuary, which embrace the true method of divine worship as laid down in the ritual commandments. When the Lord's day is kept holy, and a holy reverence for the Lord's sanctuary lives in the heart, not only are many sins avoided, but social and domestic life is pervaded by the fear of God and characterized by chasteness and propriety.

Leviticus 19:31

True fear of God, however, awakens confidence in the Lord and His guidance, and excludes all superstitious and idolatrous ways and methods of discovering the future. This thought prepares the way for the warning against turning to familiar spirits, or seeking after wizards. אוב denotes a departed spirit, who was called up to make disclosures with regard to the future, hence a familiar spirit, spiritum malum qui certis artibus eliciebatur ut evocaret mortuorum manes, qui praedicarent quae ab eis petebantur ( Cler .). This is the meaning in Isaiah 29:4, as well as here and in Leviticus 20:6, as is evident from Leviticus 20:27, “a man or woman in whom is an ob ,” and from 1 Samuel 28:7-8, baalath ob , “a woman with such a spirit.” The name was then applied to the necromantist himself, by whom the departed were called up (1 Samuel 28:3; 2 Kings 23:24). The word is connected with ob , a skin. ידּעני , the knowing, so to speak, “clever man” ( Symm . γνώστης , Aq . γνωριστής ), is only found in connection with ob , and denotes unquestionably a person acquainted with necromancy, or a conjurer who devoted himself to the invocation of spirits. (For further remarks, see as 1 Samuel 28:7.).

Leviticus 19:32

This series concludes with the moral precept, “ Before a hoary head thou shalt rise up (sc., with reverence, Job 29:8), and the countenance (the person) of the old man thou shalt honour and fear before thy God .” God is honoured in the old man, and for this reason reverence for age is required. This virtue was cultivated even by the heathen, e.g., the Egyptians ( Herod . 2, 80), the Spartans ( Plutarch ), and the ancient Romans ( Gellius , ii. 15). It is still found in the East ( Lane, Sitten und Gebr. ii. p. 121).


Verse 33-34

A few commandments are added of a judicial character. - Leviticus 19:33, Leviticus 19:34. The Israelite was not only not to oppress the foreigner in his land (as had already been commanded in Exodus 22:20 and Exodus 23:9), but to treat him as a native, and love him as himself.


Verse 35-36

As a universal rule, they were to do no wrong in judgment (the administration of justice, Leviticus 19:15), or in social intercourse and trade with weights and measures of length and capacity; but to keep just scales, weights, and measures. On ephah and hin , see at Exodus 16:36 and Exodus 29:40. In the renewal of this command in Deuteronomy 25:13-16, it is forbidden to carry “stone and stone” in the bag, i.e., two kinds of stones (namely, for weights), large and small; or to keep two kinds of measures, a large one for buying and a small one for selling; and full (unadulterated) and just weight and measure are laid down as an obligation. This was a command, the breach of which was frequently condemned (Proverbs 16:11; Proverbs 20:10, Proverbs 20:23; Amos 8:5; Micah 6:10, cf. Ezekiel 45:10).


Verse 37

Concluding exhortation, summing up all the rest.