eng_aiv Amundson Interpretive Version Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus Lev Leviticus id=eng_aiv name=Amundson Interpretive Version (AIV) status=draft spec=USFM-USX 3.1.1 export=2026-11-02 char:add=translator-addition-italic char:wj=words-of-Jesus-as-received-unmapped note:f=footnotes para:r=parallel-passage-references para:d=psalm-superscriptions Laws for Burnt Offerings (Leviticus 6:8–13) And He called to Moses, and YHWH spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them: When any man from you⁺ brings near an offering to YHWH—from the livestock, from the herd, or from the flock—you⁺ shall bring near your⁺ offering. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall bring near an unblemished male; to the door of the Tent of Meeting he shall bring it near of his own free will before the face of YHWH. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him, to make atonement upon him. And he shall slaughter the son of the herd before the face of YHWH, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall bring near the blood, and they shall sprinkle the blood on the altar all around, which is at the door to the Tent of Meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering, and he shall cut it into its pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and they shall arrange the wood on the fire. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall arrange the pieces with the head and with the fat on the wood that is on the fire that is on the altar. And its entrails and its legs he shall wash with the water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And if his offering is from the flock—from the sheep or from the goats—he shall bring near an unblemished male for a burnt offering. And he shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the face of YHWH, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. And he shall cut it into its pieces, and with its head and with its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire that is on the altar. And the entrails and the legs he shall wash with the water, and the priest shall bring all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And if his offering to YHWH is a burnt offering from the bird, then he shall bring near his offering from the turtledoves or from the sons of the pigeon. And the priest shall bring it near to the altar, and he shall wring off its head, and he shall burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out upon the side of the altar. And he shall remove its crop with its feathers,1.16 Or the crop with its contents and he shall cast it beside the altar eastward, into the place of the ashes. And he shall split it by its wings, he shall not divide it completely, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. Laws for Grain Offerings (Leviticus 6:14–23) “ And when a soul brings near a grain offering, an offering to YHWH, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and he shall put frankincense on it. And he shall bring it to the sons of Aaron, the priests, and he shall take from it the fullness of his handful of fine flour and oil with all its frankincense, and the priest shall burn it, its memorial portion, on the altar, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And the remainder of the grain offering is for Aaron and for his sons; it is holy of holies2.3 Or most holy; also in verse 10 from the fire offerings to YHWH. And if you bring near an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with the oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with the oil. And if your offering is a grain offering on the griddle,2.5 That is, a shallow pan for baking or frying it shall be of fine flour mixed with the oil, unleavened. You shall break it in pieces, and you shall pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. And if your offering is a grain offering in a covered pan,2.7 That is, a deep pan or stew pan it shall be made of fine flour with the oil. And you shall bring near the grain offering that is made from these things to YHWH, and he shall bring it near to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. And the priest shall lift up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and he shall burn it on the altar. It is a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And what is left from the grain offering is for Aaron and for his sons. It is holy of holies from the fire offerings to YHWH. Any grain offering that you⁺ bring near to YHWH shall not be made leavened, for any leaven, and any honey, you⁺ shall not burn from it a fire offering to the LORD. An offering of firstfruits you⁺ shall bring them near to YHWH; and they shall not go up on the altar for a pleasing aroma. And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with the salt. And the salt of the covenant of your God you shall not allow to cease from on your grain offering; on all your offerings you shall bring near salt. And if you bring near a grain offering of firstfruits to YHWH, you shall bring near heads of new grain roasted on the fire, crushed grain from full heads for a grain offering of your firstfruits. And you shall put oil on it, and you shall lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. And the priest shall burn its memorial portion from its crushed grain and from its oil with all its frankincense, as a fire offering to YHWH. Laws for Peace Offerings (Leviticus 7:11–21) “ And if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is bringing near from the herd, whether male or female, he shall bring it near unblemished before the face of YHWH. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood on the altar all around. And he shall bring near from the sacrifice of the peace offerings a fire offering to YHWH: The fat that is covering the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, that is on the flanks, and the lobe of the liver above the kidneys, which he shall remove. And the sons of Aaron shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering which is on the wood that is on the fire, it is a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And if his offering is from the flock, for a sacrifice of peace offerings to YHWH, male or female, he shall bring it near unblemished. If he is bringing near a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the face of YHWH. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it before the face of the Tent of Meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. And he shall bring near from the sacrifice of the peace offerings a fire offering to YHWH, its fat, the entire fat tail close to the backbone, he shall remove it, and the fat that is covering the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, that is on the flanks, and the lobe of the liver above the kidneys, which he shall remove. And the priest shall burn it on the altar as food, a fire offering to YHWH. And if his offering is a goat, then he shall bring it near before the face of YHWH. And He shall lay his hand on its head, and he shall slaughter it before the face of the Tent of Meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. And he shall bring near from it his offering, a fire offering to YHWH, the fat that is covering the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, that is on the flanks, and the lobe of the liver above the kidneys, which he shall remove. And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, a fire offering for a pleasing aroma. All the fat belongs to YHWH. This is an everlasting statute throughout your⁺ generations in all your⁺ dwellings: Any fat and any blood you⁺ shall not eat.” Laws for Sin Offerings (Leviticus 5:1–13; Leviticus 6:24–30) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: When a soul sins in error4.2 Or unintentionally; also in verses 22 and 27 from any of the commandments of YHWH which are not to be done, and he does from one of them— if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall bring near for his sin that he has sinned a young bull, a son of the herd, unblemished, to YHWH for a sin offering.4.3 Or purification offering; here and throughout Leviticus And he shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before the face of YHWH, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and he shall slaughter the bull before the face of YHWH. And the anointed priest shall take from the blood of the bull, and he shall bring it to the Tent of Meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and he shall sprinkle from the blood seven times before the face of YHWH, the face of the veil of the Holy Place. And the priest shall put from the blood on the horns of the altar of the incense of spices before the face of YHWH, which is in the Tent of Meeting. And all the blood of the bull he shall pour at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering, he shall lift up from it the fat that is covering over the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, that is on the flanks, and the lobe of the liver above the kidneys, which he shall remove, as it is lifted up from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offerings. And the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering. And the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and its legs and its entrails and its dung— and he shall carry all of the bull outside of the camp to a clean place, to the place of the pouring out of the ashes, and he shall burn it on wood with the fire. It shall be burned on the place of the pouring out of the ashes. Now if the whole congregation of Israel errs,4.13 Or sins unintentionally and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do one from all the commandments of YHWH which are not to be done, and they are guilty, and the sin that they have sinned against it becomes known, then the assembly shall bring near a young bull, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and they shall bring it before the face of the Tent of Meeting. And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the face of YHWH, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the face of YHWH. And the anointed priest shall bring from the blood of the bull to the Tent of Meeting. And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and he shall sprinkle it seven times before the face of YHWH, the face of the veil. And from the blood he shall put on the horns of the altar that is before the face of YHWH, which is in the Tent of Meeting, and all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the burnt offering that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And all the fat he shall take from it, and he shall burn it on the altar. And he shall do to the bull as he did to the bull of the sin offering; thus shall he do to it. And the priest shall make atonement upon them, and it shall be forgiven for them. And he shall carry the bull to the outside of the camp, and he shall burn it as he burned the first bull; it is a sin offering of the assembly. When a ruler sins, and does one from all the commandments of YHWH his God that are not to be done, in error, and is guilty, or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him, then he shall bring his offering: a kid of the goats, an unblemished male. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and he shall slaughter it in the place where he slaughters the burnt offering before the face of YHWH; it is a sin offering. And the priest shall take from the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he shall pour its blood at the base of the altar of the burnt offering. And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall make atonement upon him from his sin, and it shall be forgiven for him. And if one soul from the people of the land sins in error, in doing one of the commandments of YHWH that are not to be done, and he is guilty, or his sin which he has sinned is made known to him, then he shall bring as his offering: a female kid of the goats unblemished, a female, for his sin that he has sinned. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and he shall slaughter the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And the priest shall take from its blood with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he shall pour all the blood at the base of the altar. And all its fat he shall remove as the fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And the priest shall make atonement upon him, and it shall be forgiven for him. And if he brings a lamb for his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring an unblemished female, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and he shall slaughter it for a sin offering in the place where he slaughters the burnt offering. And the priest shall take from the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he shall pour all its blood at the base of the altar. And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn them on the altar, on the fire offerings to YHWH. And the priest shall make atonement upon him, upon his sin that he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven for him. Sins Requiring a Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1–35; Leviticus 6:24–30) “ And if a soul sins and hears the voice of an oath,5.1 Or curse and he is a witness, whether he has seen or he has known, if he does not tell, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if a soul touches any unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing, and it is hidden from him, then he is unclean and guilty. Or if he touches uncleanness of man, according to all his uncleanness by which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and he realizes it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swears, to utter with his lips to do evil or to do good, according to all that the man utters by an oath, and it is hidden from him, and he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he is guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that he has sinned in it. And he shall bring his guilt offering to YHWH for his sin that he has sinned: A female from the flock, a lamb or a female kid of the goats, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement upon him from his sin. And if his hand does not reach to the sufficiency of a lamb, then he shall bring for his guilt offering that he has sinned—two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon to YHWH, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. And he shall bring them to the priest, and he shall bring near that which is for the sin offering first, and he shall wring off its head from its neck, and he shall not divide it completely. And he shall sprinkle from the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the remainder of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. And the second he shall do as a burnt offering, according to the ordinance. And the priest shall make atonement upon him from his sin that he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven for him. And if his hand does not reach to two turtledoves or to two sons of a pigeon, then he shall bring near for his offering that he has sinned a tenth of an ephah of fine flour5.11 A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour). for a sin offering. He shall not put oil on it, and he shall not put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take from it the fullness of his handful, its memorial portion, and he shall burn it on the altar, on the fire offerings to YHWH; it is a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement upon him, upon his sin that he has sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven for him. And the remainder shall be5.13 Literally And it shall be for the priest, like the grain offering.” Laws for Guilt Offerings (Leviticus 6:1–7; Leviticus 7:1–10) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “If a soul acts unfaithfully—an unfaithfulness—and sins in error5.15 Or unintentionally from the holy things of YHWH, then he shall bring his guilt offering to YHWH: an unblemished ram of the flock, in your valuation5.15 Or of the flock or its equivalence of silver shekels,5.15 A shekel is approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams of silver. according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. And for that which he has sinned from the holy thing he shall repay, and its fifth he shall add on it, and he shall give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement upon him with the ram of the guilt offering, and it shall be forgiven for him. And if a soul sins and does one from all the commandments of YHWH which are not to be done, and he has not known, and he is guilty, then he shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring an unblemished ram from the flock, in your valuation, for a guilt offering to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement upon him regarding his error in which he erred and he did not know it, and it shall be forgiven for him. It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty against YHWH.” Sins Requiring a Guilt Offering (Leviticus 5:14–19; Leviticus 7:1–10) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “If a soul sins and acts unfaithfully—an unfaithfulness—against YHWH and has lied to his neighbor concerning a deposit, or concerning a pledge of hand, or concerning a robbery, or if he has extorted his neighbor, or if he has found a lost thing and has lied concerning it, and has sworn upon falsehood—upon one from all that the man does, to sin in them. And it shall be, when he sins and is guilty, that he shall return the plunder that he has stolen, or the extortion that he has extorted, or the deposit that has been deposited with him, or the lost thing that he found, or from all about which he swore to a lie. And He shall restore it in its principal and he shall add a fifth to it; to whomever it belongs, he shall give it in the day of his guilt offering. And his guilt offering he shall bring to YHWH, an unblemished ram from the flock, in your valuation, for a guilt offering, to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement upon him before the face of YHWH, and it shall be forgiven for him regarding one thing from all that he does, to be guilty in it.” The Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1:1–17) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, this is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering is on the hearth on the altar all the night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and he shall put his linen undergarments on his flesh, and he shall lift up the ashes that the fire consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall take off his garments, and he shall put on other garments, and he shall carry the ashes to outside of the camp to a clean place. And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out, and the priest shall burn wood on it morning by morning, and he shall arrange on it the burnt offering, and he shall burn on it the fats of the peace offerings. A fire continually shall be kept burning on the altar; it shall not be put out. The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2:1–16) And this is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall bring it near before the face of YHWH, before the face of the altar. And he shall lift up from it in his handful from the fine flour of the grain offering, and from its oil, and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma, its memorial portion, to YHWH. And the remainder of it, Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened, in a holy place; in the court of the Tent of Meeting they shall eat it. It shall not be baked with leaven; their portion I have given it from My fire offerings. It is holy of holies,6.17 Or most holy; also in verses 25 and 29 like the sin offering and like the guilt offering. All the males among the sons of Aaron shall eat it; it is an everlasting statute throughout your⁺ generations from the fire offerings of YHWH. All that touches them will be holy.” And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall bring near to YHWH in the day of his being anointed: A tenth of an ephah6.20 A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour). of fine flour, a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. It shall be made on a griddle6.21 That is, a shallow pan for baking or frying with the oil—you shall bring it in well mixed; you shall bring near the baked6.21 Or broken pieces of a grain offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And the anointed priest in his place from among his sons shall do it as an everlasting statute to YHWH; it shall be burned completely. And every grain offering of a priest shall be a whole offering. It shall not be eaten.” The Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1–35; Leviticus 5:1–13) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the face of YHWH; it is holy of holies. The priest—the one cleansing from sin with it—shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the Tent of Meeting. All that touches its flesh shall be holy, and if its blood is sprinkled on any garment, that on which it is sprinkled you shall wash in a holy place. And an earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and it shall be rinsed in the water. Every male among the priests may eat it; it is holy of holies. And any sin offering from which the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. The Guilt Offering (Leviticus 5:14–19; Leviticus 6:1–7) “ And this is the law of the guilt offering: It is holy of holies.7.1 Or most holy; also in verse 6 In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering, they shall slaughter the guilt offering; and he shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. And he shall bring near all its fat from it, the fat tail, and the fat that is covering the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them that is on the flanks, and the lobe of the liver above the kidneys—he shall remove it. And the priest shall burn them on the altar, a fire offering to YHWH; it is a guilt offering. Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is holy of holies; Like the sin offering, like the guilt offering; one law is for them. The priest who makes atonement with it, unto him it shall be. And the priest who brings near a burnt offering of a man—the skin of the burnt offering that he has brought near, it is for the priest, for him. And every grain offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is made in the pan7.9 That is, a deep pan or stew pan or on a griddle,7.9 That is, a shallow pan for baking or frying—it shall be for the priest who brings it near, for him. And every grain offering mixed with the oil, or dry, it shall be for all sons of Aaron, each man like his brother. The Peace Offering (Leviticus 3:1–17) And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that he shall bring near to YHWH: If he brings it near for thanksgiving, then he shall bring it near with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with the oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with the oil, and well-mixed cakes of fine flour mixed with the oil. Upon the cakes, he shall bring near leavened bread as his offering with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And he shall bring near from it one cake from each offering, a contribution to YHWH. For the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings, for him it shall be. And the flesh of the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering, it shall be eaten on the day of its offering; he shall not leave from it until morning. And if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, in the day of his bringing near his sacrifice, it shall be eaten; and on the next day the remainder of it may be eaten; and the remainder from the flesh of the sacrifice in the third day must be burned in the fire. And if from the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten at all in the third day, it shall not be accepted for him who is bringing it near, nor shall it be reckoned to him. It shall be an abomination, and the soul who eats from it shall bear his iniquity. And the flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. And the flesh, every clean one shall eat flesh. And the soul who eats the flesh from the sacrifice of the peace offerings that is to YHWH, and his uncleanness is on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. And if a soul touches any unclean thing—for uncleanness of man, or for an unclean animal, or for any unclean abomination—and he eats from the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offerings that is to YHWH, then that soul shall be cut off from his people.” Fat and Blood Forbidden And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Any fat of an ox, or sheep, or goat, you⁺ shall not eat. And the fat of a carcass, and the fat of a torn thing, may be used for any work; and eating. you⁺ shall not eat it For anyone eating fat from the beast of which he brings near, a fire offering to YHWH, then the soul eating shall be cut off from his people. And any blood you⁺ shall not eat in any of your⁺ dwellings, of the bird and of the beast. Any soul who eats any blood, then that soul shall be cut off from his people.’” The Priests’ Portion And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘He who is bringing near the sacrifice of his peace offerings to YHWH shall bring his offering to YHWH from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His hands shall bring fire offerings to YHWH; the fat upon the breast he shall bring with the breast to wave it as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, and the breast shall be for Aaron and for his sons. And the right thigh you⁺ shall give as a contribution to the priest from the sacrifices of your⁺ peace offerings. The one from the sons of Aaron bringing near the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, to him shall be the right thigh for a portion. For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution I have taken from the sons of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons for an everlasting statute from the sons of Israel.’” This is the anointing portion of Aaron and his sons from the fire offerings to YHWH on the day Moses presented7.35 Literally he presented them to minister as priests to YHWH, which YHWH commanded to give to them on the day of his anointing them from the sons of Israel—an everlasting statute throughout their generations. This is the law for the burnt offering, for the grain offering, and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the ordination offerings, and for the sacrifice of the peace offerings, that YHWH commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day of His commanding the sons of Israel to bring near their offerings to YHWH in the Wilderness of Sinai. Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons (Exodus 29:1–9) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of the unleavened bread; and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting.” And Moses did as YHWH commanded him, and the congregation assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the word that YHWH commanded to do.” And Moses brought near Aaron and his sons, and he washed them with the water, and he put the tunic on him, and he girded him with the sash, and he clothed him with the robe, and he put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod, and he bound it on him with it. And he put on him the breastplate, and he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.8.8 That is, Lights and Perfections And he put the turban on his head, and he put on the turban, toward the front of its face, the golden plate, the holy diadem, as YHWH had commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and he anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and he sanctified them. And he sprinkled from it on the altar seven times, and he anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its stand, to sanctify them. And he poured from the anointing oil on the head of Aaron, and he anointed him, to sanctify him. And Moses brought near the sons of Aaron, and he clothed them with tunics, and he girded them with sashes, and he bound headbands, to them, as YHWH had commanded Moses. The Priests’ Sin Offering And he brought near the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. And he slaughtered it, and Moses took the blood, and he put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and he cleansed from sin the altar, and he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and he sanctified it, to make atonement upon it. And he took all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. And the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung, he burned in the fire outside of the camp, as YHWH had commanded Moses. The Priests’ Burnt Offering And he brought near the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. And he slaughtered it, and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar all around. And he cut the ram into its pieces, and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And the entrails and the legs he washed in the water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma; it was a fire offering to YHWH, as YHWH had commanded Moses. The Ram of Ordination (Exodus 29:10–30) And he brought near the second ram, the ram of the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. And he slaughtered it, and Moses took from its blood, and he put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. And he brought near the sons of Aaron, and Moses put from the blood on the tips of their right ears, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar all around. And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. And from the basket of the unleavened bread that was before the face of YHWH he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and he put them on the fat and on the right thigh. And he set all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and he waved them as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. And Moses took them from their palms, and he burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were ordination offerings for a pleasing aroma; it was a fire offering to YHWH. And Moses took the breast, and he waved it as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. From the ram of the ordination it was for Moses, for a portion, as YHWH had commanded Moses. And Moses took from the anointing oil and from the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him. And he sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and there you⁺ shall eat it, and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ And the remainder among the flesh and among the bread you⁺ shall burn in the fire. And you⁺ shall not go from the door of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the day of the fullness, the days of your⁺ ordination—for seven days he will fill your⁺ hand. As he has done in this day, YHWH has commanded to do, to make atonement upon you⁺. And you⁺ shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting, day and night for seven days, and you⁺ shall keep the charge of YHWH, and you⁺ shall not die; for so I have been commanded.” And Aaron and his sons did all the words that YHWH had commanded by the hand of Moses. Aaron’s First Offerings And it came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called for Aaron and for his sons and for the elders of Israel, and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a calf, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, unblemished, and bring them near before the face of YHWH. And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb—sons of a year, unblemished—for a burnt offering, and a bull9.4 Or an ox or a cow; also in verses 18 and 19 and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the face of YHWH, and a grain offering mixed with the oil. For today YHWH will appear to you⁺.’” And they brought what Moses had commanded to the face of the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the face of YHWH. And Moses said, “This is the thing that YHWH has commanded you⁺ to do, and the glory of YHWH will appear to you⁺.” And Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and do your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement on your behalf and on behalf of the people. And do the offering of the people and make atonement on their behalf, as YHWH commanded.” And Aaron drew near to the altar, and he slaughtered the calf of the sin offering that was for himself. And the sons of Aaron brought near the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and he put it on the horns of the altar, and he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. And the fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as YHWH had commanded Moses. And the flesh and the skin he burned with the fire outside of the camp. And he slaughtered the burnt offering. And the sons of Aaron presented to him the blood, and he sprinkled it on the altar all around. And they presented the burnt offering to him by its pieces and the head, and he burned them on the altar. And he washed the entrails and the legs, and he burned them on the burnt offering on the altar. And he brought near the offering of the people, and he took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people, and he slaughtered it, and he cleansed from sin, like the first one. And he brought near the burnt offering, and he did it according to the ordinance. And he brought near the grain offering, and he filled his palm from it, and he burned it on the altar in addition to the burnt offering of the morning. And he slaughtered the bull and the ram as the sacrifice of the peace offerings that were for the people, and the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he sprinkled it on the altar all around. And the fat from the bull and the ram, the fat tail, and the covering, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver, and they put the fat on the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar. And the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the face of YHWH, as Moses had commanded. And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and he blessed them, and he came down from doing the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and they came out, and they blessed the people, and the glory of YHWH appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the face of YHWH, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar, and all the people saw, and they shouted, and they fell on their faces. The Sin of Nadab and Abihu (Numbers 3:1–4) And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his firepan, and they put fire in it, and they put incense on it, and they brought near before the face of YHWH strange10.1 Or unauthorized fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went out from before the face of YHWH, and it consumed them, and they died before the face of YHWH. And Moses said to Aaron, “It is what YHWH spoke, saying, ‘By those drawing near to Me I will be shown holy, and before the faces of all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron was silent. And Moses called to Mishael and to Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and he said to them, “Draw near, carry your⁺ brothers from the face of the Holy Place, to the outside of the camp.” 10.4 Elzaphan is a variant of Elizaphan; see Numbers 3:30. And they drew near, and they carried them in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had spoken. And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, “Do not uncover your⁺ heads10.6 Or Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your⁺ clothes, and you⁺ shall not die, and upon all the congregation He will be angry. And your⁺ brothers, the whole house of Israel, shall weep the burning that YHWH has burned. And you⁺ shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you⁺ die; for the anointing oil of YHWH is upon you⁺.” And they did according to the word of Moses. Restrictions for Priests And YHWH spoke to Aaron, saying, “Wine and strong drink you shall not drink, you and your sons with you, when you⁺ go into the Tent of Meeting, and you⁺ shall not die. It is a statute forever throughout your⁺ generations, and to distinguish between the holy and between the common, and between the unclean and between the clean, and to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes that YHWH has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.” And Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, the ones remaining, “Take the grain offering, the one remaining from the fire offerings of YHWH, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is holy of holies.10.12 Or most holy; also in verse 17 And you⁺ shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion and the portion of your sons from the fire offerings of YHWH; for so I have been commanded. And the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution you⁺ shall eat in a clean place—you and your sons and your daughters with you; for your portion and the portion of your sons, they are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the sons of Israel. The thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the fire offerings of fat to wave as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. And it shall be for you and for your sons with you for an everlasting statute, as YHWH has commanded.” And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, the ones remaining, saying, “Why have you⁺ not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, for it is holy of holies, and He has given it to you⁺ to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement upon them before the face of YHWH? Behold, its blood was not brought in to the Holy Place within. You⁺ surely should have eaten it in the Holy Place, as I commanded.” And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have brought near their sin offerings and their burnt offerings before the face of YHWH, and things as these have befallen me; and if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of YHWH?” And Moses listened, and it was good in his eyes. Clean and Unclean Animals (Deuteronomy 14:1–21; Acts 10:9–16) And YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the living thing that you⁺ may eat from among all the beasts that are on the earth: Every one dividing the hoof, and cleaving the cleft of the hooves, and bringing up the cud among the beasts, it you⁺ may eat. Nevertheless this you⁺ shall not eat from among the ones bringing up the cud, and from among the ones dividing the hoof: The camel, though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it is not dividing—it is unclean to you⁺. 11.4 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain. And the rock badger,11.5 Or The coney or The hyrax though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it is not dividing—it is unclean to you⁺. And the hare, though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it has not divided—it is unclean to you⁺. And the swine, though it is dividing the hoof and cleaving the cleft of the hoof, but the cud it does not chew—it is unclean to you⁺. From their flesh you⁺ shall not eat, and their carcass you⁺ shall not touch—they are unclean to you⁺. This you⁺ shall eat from all that are in the waters: Everything that has fin and scale in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them you⁺ shall eat. And everything that does not have fin and scale in the seas and in the rivers, from every swarming thing of the waters, and from every living creature that is in the waters—they are an abomination to you⁺. And an abomination they shall be to you⁺; from their flesh you⁺ shall not eat, and their carcasses you⁺ shall detest. All that does not have fin and scale in the waters—it is an abomination to you⁺. And these you⁺ shall detest from the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: The eagle, and the bearded vulture, and the black vulture, and the kite, and the falcon according to its kind, every raven according to its kind, and the daughter of the ostrich,11.16 Or the daughter of the owl and the screech owl, and the gull, and the hawk according to its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the white owl, and the desert owl,11.18 Or the pelican and the osprey, and the stork, the heron according to its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. Every swarming thing that flies, the one walking on four legs, it is an abomination to you⁺. Only this you⁺ may eat from every swarming thing that flies, the one walking on four legs: That which has jointed legs above its feet to leap with them on the earth. These from them you⁺ may eat: The locust according to its kind, and the katydid according to its kind, and the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. And every swarming thing that flies that has four feet, it is an abomination to you⁺. And by these you⁺ shall become unclean; anyone who touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And everyone who lifts from their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. To every beast that is dividing the hoof, and is not cleaving a cleft, and is not bringing up the cud, it is unclean to you⁺. Anyone who touches them shall be unclean. And everything walking on its palms among all the living that go on four legs, they are unclean to you⁺. Everyone who touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And the one lifting their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening—they are unclean to you⁺. And this is unclean to you⁺ among the swarming things that swarm upon the earth: The mole, and the mouse, and the large lizard according to its kind, and the gecko, and the monitor lizard, and the lizard, and the skink, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you⁺ among every swarming thing; anyone who touches them in their death shall be unclean until the evening. And on all that, from their death, it falls, shall be unclean. From every vessel of wood, or garment, or skin, or sackcloth. Every vessel in which work is done, it must be put in the water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; and it shall be clean. And every earthen vessel that falls from them into its midst, all that is in its midst shall be unclean, and you⁺ shall break it. From all the food that may be eaten, on which water comes, it shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk from such a vessel shall be unclean. And everything on which their carcass falls, it shall be unclean: An oven or a hearth, it shall be broken down. They are unclean, and they shall be unclean to you⁺. Only a spring and a cistern, a collection of water, shall be clean, and the one touching their carcass shall be unclean. And if their carcass falls on any planting seed that is to be sown, it is clean. And if water is put on the seed, and their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you⁺. And if from the beast that is for food for you⁺ dies, the one touching its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And the one eating from its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; and the one lifting its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth it is an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Everything crawling on its belly and everything walking on four legs, as far as everything multiplying feet among all the swarming things that swarm upon the earth, you⁺ shall not eat them, for they are an abomination. You⁺ shall not make your⁺ souls detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you⁺ shall not make yourselves unclean with them, and you⁺ shall not become unclean by them. For I am YHWH your⁺ God. And you⁺ shall sanctify yourselves, and you⁺ shall be holy, for I am holy. And you⁺ shall not make unclean your souls with any swarming thing that crawls upon the earth. 11.44 Here and in verse 45; cited in 1 Peter 1:16 For I am YHWH, the One bringing you⁺ up from the land of Egypt, to be your⁺ God; and you⁺ shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast and the bird and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that swarms upon the earth, to distinguish between the unclean and between the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and between the living thing that may not be eaten.’” Purification after Childbirth And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘A woman, that conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As in the days of the uncleanness of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And thirty days and three days she shall continue in the blood of her purification. She shall not touch any holy thing, and she shall not come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. And if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks like her menstruation, and sixty days and six days she shall continue in the blood of her purification. And in the fulfilling of the days of her purification, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring near a lamb, a son of a year, for a burnt offering, and a son of a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest. And he shall bring it near before the face of YHWH, and he shall make atonement upon her, and she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law of the one giving birth, for the male or for the female. And if her hand is not able to bring a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement upon her, and she will be clean.’” 12.8 Cited in Luke 2:24 Laws about Skin Diseases (Numbers 5:1–4) And YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes a plague of leprosy13.2 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; here and throughout verses 3–46. in the skin of his flesh, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one from his sons, the priests. And the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of his flesh. And if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the skin of his body, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and he shall pronounce him unclean. And if the bright spot is white in the skin of his flesh, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall shut up the one with the plague seven days. And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and behold, if the plague has stood in his eyes, the plague has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up a second seven days. And the priest shall examine him on the second seventh day, and behold, if the plague has faded and the plague has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and he shall be clean. And if the scab spreads at all in the skin after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, then he shall be seen a second time by the priest. And the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the scab has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. When a plague is leprous in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. And the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the swelling is white in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of living flesh in the swelling, it is an old leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. And if leprosy breaks out at all in the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one with the plague, from his head and to his feet, to all that appears to the eye of the priest, then the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, then the one with the plague he shall pronounce clean; it has all turned white; he is clean. And in the day of the appearing of living flesh in him, he shall be unclean. And the priest shall examine the living flesh and pronounce him unclean, the living flesh is unclean; it is leprosy. Or if the living flesh turns back, and it is turned to white, then he shall come to the priest, and the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the plague has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean the one with the plague; he is clean. And when the flesh has a boil in the skin and it is healed, and there is in the place of the boil a white swelling, or a reddish-white bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest. And the priest shall examine him and behold, if its appearance is lower than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. And if the priest examines it and behold, there is not white hair in it, and it is not lower than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. And if it spreads at all in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague. And if the bright spot stands in its place, it has not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. Or if the flesh has a burn of fire in its skin and the raw spot of the burn becomes a reddish-white bright spot, or white, then the priest shall examine it, and behold, if the hair has been turned white in the bright spot, and its appearance is deeper than the skin, it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of leprosy. And if the priest examines it, and behold, there is not white hair in the bright spot, and it is not lower than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if it has spread at all in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of leprosy. And if the bright spot stands in its place, it has not spread in the skin, and it has faded, it is the swelling of the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn. And if a man or woman has a plague in him in the head or in the beard, then the priest shall examine the plague, and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and in it is thin yellow hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale—it is a leprosy of the head or of the beard. And if the priest examines the plague of the scale, and behold, its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and black hair is not in it, then the priest shall shut up the one who has the plague of the scale seven days. And the priest shall examine the plague on the seventh day, and behold, if the scale has not spread, and there is not yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the scale is not deeper than the skin, then he shall shave himself, and the scale he shall not shave. And the priest shall shut up the one who has the scale a second seven days. And the priest shall examine the scale on the seventh day, and behold, if the scale has not spread in the skin, and the appearance of it is not deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean, and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall be clean. And if the scale spreads at all in the skin after his cleansing, then the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the scale has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. And if in his eyes the scale has stood, and black hair has grown up in it, the scale has been healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean. And if a man or a woman has in the skin of their flesh bright spots—white bright spots— then the priest shall examine, and behold, if in the skin of their flesh are dull white bright spots, it is a harmless rash, it has broken out in the skin; he is clean. And when a man’s head is made bare, he is bald; he is clean. And if from the side of his face his head is made bare, he is bald of forehead; he is clean. And if there is in the bald head or in the bald forehead a reddish-white … plague, it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head or in his bald forehead. And the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the swelling of the plague is reddish-white … in his bald head or in his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the flesh, he is a leprous man; he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper who has in him the plague, his clothes shall be torn, and his head shall be uncovered,13.45 Or his hair shall not be unkempt and he shall cover his mustache. And he shall call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ All the days that the plague is in him he shall be unclean; he is unclean. He shall dwell alone; his dwelling is outside of the camp. Laws about Mildew And if there is a garment that has a plague of leprosy13.47 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy regarding skin diseases, are translated as mildew regarding blemishes on garments, utensils, or buildings; here and throughout the remainder of this chapter. in it—in a garment of wool or in a garment of linen— or in the warp or in the woof, for the linen and for the wool, or in skin or in any work of skin, and the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is a plague of leprosy, and it shall be shown to the priest. And the priest shall examine the plague, and he shall shut up the plague seven days. And he shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, or in the warp or in the woof, or in the skin, for any work that the skin is made for, the plague is a harmful leprosy; it is unclean. And he shall burn the garment, or the warp or the woof, in the wool or in the linen, or any article of skin that the plague is in it, for it is a harmful leprosy. In the fire it shall be burned. And if the priest examines, and behold, the plague has not spread in the garment, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, then the priest shall command, and they shall wash that in which is the plague, and he shall shut it up a second seven days. And the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed, and behold, if the plague has not turned its eye, and the plague has not spread, it is unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it is a rot in its back part or in its front part. And if the priest examines, and behold, the plague has faded after washing it, then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof. And if again it appears in the garment, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is breaking out; you shall burn it in the fire, that in which the plague is. And if the garment, or the warp or the woof, or any article of skin that you wash, and the plague departs from it, then it shall be washed a second time, and it shall be clean. This is the law of the plague of leprosy of a garment of wool or of linen, or of the warp or of the woof, or any article of skin, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.” Cleansing from Skin Diseases (Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leper14.2 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; also in verses 3, 7, 32, 54, and 57. in the day of his cleansing. And he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. And the priest shall examine him, and behold, if the plague of the leprosy is healed in the leper, then the priest shall command, and he shall take for the one being cleansed two clean living birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet yarn, and hyssop. And the priest shall command, and he shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthen vessel over living water.14.5 Or flowing water or fresh water; here and in verses 6, 50, 51, and 52 The living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet yarn, and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the living water. And he shall sprinkle it on the one being cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and he shall send out the living bird upon the face of the field. And the one being cleansed shall wash his clothes and he shall shave off all his hair, and he shall wash himself in the water, and he shall be clean. And afterward he shall come into the camp, and he shall dwell outside of his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair—his head and his beard and his eyebrows—and all his hair he shall shave off. And he shall wash his clothes, and he shall wash his flesh in the water, and he shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs, unblemished, and one ewe lamb, a daughter of a year, unblemished, and three tenths of an ephah14.10 Three-tenths of an ephah is approximately 6 dry quarts or 6.6 liters (probably about 7.6 pounds or 3.5 kilograms of flour). of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with the oil, and one log of oil.14.10 Or one log of olive oil; that is, approximately 0.33 quarts or 0.31 liters; also in verses 12, 15, 21, and 24 And the priest, the one cleansing, shall present the man, the one being cleansed, and together with these before the face of YHWH at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And the priest shall take the one male lamb, and he shall bring it near for a guilt offering, and the log of the oil, and he shall wave them as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. And he shall slaughter the lamb in the place where he slaughters the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for like the sin offering, the guilt offering. It is for the priest; it is holy of holies.14.13 Or most holy And the priest shall take from the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. And the priest shall take from the log of the oil, and he shall pour it upon the palm of the priest's left hand, and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is upon his left palm, and he shall sprinkle from the oil with his finger seven times before the face of YHWH. And from the remainder of the oil that is upon his palm, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering. And the rest of the oil that is upon the palm of the priest, he shall put on the head of the one being cleansed; and the priest shall make atonement upon him before the face of YHWH. And the priest shall do the sin offering, and he shall make atonement upon the one being cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall slaughter the burnt offering. And the priest shall cause the burnt offering and the grain offering to go up on the altar. And the priest shall make atonement upon him, and he shall be clean. And if he is poor, and his hand cannot reach, then he shall take one male lamb, a guilt offering, for a wave offering, to make atonement upon him, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour,14.21 A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour). one mixed with the oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil, and two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon, which his hand can reach; and one shall be a sin offering, and the one a burnt offering. And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before the face of YHWH. And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering, and the log of the oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. And he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest shall take from the blood of the guilt offering, and he shall put it on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. And the priest shall pour from the oil upon the palm of the priest's left hand. And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil that is upon his left palm seven times before the face of YHWH. And the priest shall put from the oil that is upon his palm on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering. And the remainder from the oil that is upon the palm of the priest he shall put on the head of the one being cleansed, to make atonement upon him before the face of YHWH. And he shall do one from the turtledoves or from the sons of the pigeon, from which his hand reaches to, that which his hand reaches, the one as a sin offering and the one as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement upon the one being cleansed before the face of YHWH. This is the law of him in whom is a plague of leprosy, whose hand does not reach in his cleansing.” Signs of Home Contamination And YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When you⁺ come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving to you⁺ for a possession, and I put a plague of leprosy14.34 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy regarding skin diseases, are translated as mildew regarding blemishes on garments, utensils, or buildings; here and throughout the remainder of this chapter. in a house of the land of your⁺ possession, then he to whom the house belongs shall come, and he shall tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like a plague has appeared to me in the house.’ And the priest shall command, and they shall empty the house before the priest goes in to examine the plague, and all that is in the house shall not become unclean. And after thus, the priest shall go in to examine the house. And he shall examine the plague, and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house—hollow spots, greenish or reddish—and their appearance is lower than the wall, then the priest shall go out from the house to the door of the house, and he shall shut up the house seven days. And the priest shall return on the seventh day and he shall examine, and behold, if the plague has spread in the walls of the house, then the priest shall command, and they shall take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them to the outside of the city, to an unclean place. And he shall cause the house to be scraped from the house all around, and they shall pour out the dust that they have scraped off to the outside of the city, to an unclean place. And they shall take other stones, and they shall bring them to the place of the stones; and he shall take other mortar, and he shall plaster the house. And if the plague returns and it breaks out in the house after his taking out of the stones, and after his scraping the house, and after his plastering, then the priest shall come and he shall examine, and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a harmful leprosy in the house; it is unclean. And he shall break down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the mortar of the house, and he shall carry them to the outside of the city, to an unclean place. And the one coming into the house all the days of his shutting it up shall be unclean until the evening. And the one lying down in the house shall wash his clothes, and the one eating in the house shall wash his clothes. Cleansing a Home And if the priest surely comes and examines it, and behold, the plague has not spread in the house after the plastering of the house, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the plague has been healed. And he shall take to cleanse from sin the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and he shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthen vessel over living water. And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn, and the living bird, and he shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered and in the living water, and he shall sprinkle it toward the house seven times. And he shall cleanse from sin the house with the blood of the bird, and with the living water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet yarn. And he shall send away the living bird to the outside of the city to the face of the field, and he shall make atonement upon the house, and it shall be clean. This is the law for every plague of leprosy, and for the scale, and for leprosy of the garment and of the house, and for a swelling, and for the scab, and for the bright spot— to teach in the day of the unclean, and in the day of the clean. This is the law of the leprosy.14.57 that is, the law of skin diseases and mildew; see the footnotes for verses 2 and 34.” The Uncleanness of Men (Deuteronomy 23:9–14) And YHWH spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, ‘Any man—when there is a discharge from his flesh his discharge—it is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his flesh runs with his discharge, or his flesh is stopped up from his discharge; it is his uncleanness. Every bed on which the one discharging lies is unclean, and every vessel that he sits on shall be unclean. And a man that touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And the one sitting on the vessel on which the one discharging sits shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And the one touching the flesh of the one discharging shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And if the one discharging spits on one who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And any saddle on which the one discharging rides shall be unclean. And anyone who touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and the one carrying them shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And all who touch against the one discharging, and his hands he has not rinsed in the water, then he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And the earthen vessel that the one discharging touches, shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in the water. The Cleansing of Men And when the one discharging is clean from his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in living water,15.13 Or flowing water or fresh water and he shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon, and he shall come before the face of YHWH to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and he shall give them to the priest. And the priest shall do them, one as a sin offering and the one as a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement upon him before the face of YHWH from his discharge. And if a man’s seed from lying goes out from him, then he shall wash in the water all his flesh, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And every garment and every skin on which there is seed from lying, it shall be washed with the water, and it shall be unclean until the evening. And a woman that a man lies with, and there is seed from lying, then they shall bathe in the water, and they be unclean until the evening. The Uncleanness of Women And a woman—when she is discharging, her discharge consisting of blood from her flesh, she shall be in her menstruation seven days, and anyone who touches her shall be unclean until the evening. And everything on which she lies in her menstruation shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And anyone who touches any vessel on which she sits shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. And if it is on the bed, or on the vessel that she sits upon, in his touching it he shall be unclean until the evening. And if any man really lies with her, and her menstruation is on him, then he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed that he lies upon shall be unclean. And a woman—when her discharge is a discharge of her blood for many days, not in the time of her menstruation, or if she discharges beyond her menstruation, all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be like the days of her menstruation; she is unclean. Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like the bed of her menstruation, and every vessel on which she sits shall be unclean like the uncleanness of her menstruation. And anyone who touches them shall be unclean, and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. The Cleansing of Women And if she is clean from her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and afterward she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon, and she shall bring them to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting. And the priest shall do the one as a sin offering and the one as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement upon her before the face of YHWH from the discharge of her uncleanness. And you⁺ shall separate the sons of Israel from their uncleanness, and they shall not die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is in their midst. This is the law of the one discharging, and of the one whose seed from lying goes from him, to be unclean by it, and the menstruating woman in her menstruation, and the one discharging his discharge, for the male and for the female, and for a man who lies with an unclean woman.’” The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26–32; Numbers 29:7–11) And YHWH spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the face of YHWH, and they died. And YHWH said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron your brother, and he shall not come in at any time to the Holy Place16.2 Or the Most Holy Place; also in verses 16, 17, 20, 23, and 27 inside the veil before the face of the mercy seat16.2 Or atonement cover; here and throughout this chapter that is on the ark, and he will not die. For in the cloud I appear above the mercy seat. In this way Aaron shall come to the Holy Place; with a bull, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. And he shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments he shall have on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen sash, and he shall wrap himself with the linen turban; these are holy garments. And he shall bathe his flesh in the water, and he shall put them on. And from the congregation of the sons of Israel he shall take two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall bring near the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and he shall make atonement on behalf of himself, and on behalf of his house. And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them before the face of YHWH at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And Aaron shall give lots upon the two goats, one lot for YHWH and one lot for Azazel.16.8 Or for the scapegoat; similarly twice in verse 10 and once in verse 26 And Aaron shall bring near the goat upon which the lot for YHWH came up, and he shall do it as a sin offering. And the goat upon which the lot for Azazel came up shall be presented alive before the face of YHWH, to make atonement upon it, to send it away to Azazel into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring near the bull of the sin offering that is for himself, and he shall make atonement on behalf of himself, and on behalf of his house, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself. And he shall take the fullness of the firepan of burning coals of fire from on the altar before the face of YHWH, and the fullness of his handfuls of fine incense of spices, and he shall bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the face of YHWH, and the cloud of incense shall cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony,16.13 The Testimony refers to the stone tablets in the ark of the covenant inscribed with the Ten Commandments. and he will not die. And he shall take from the blood from the bull, and he shall sprinkle it with his finger on the face of the mercy seat on the east side; and before the face of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood seven times with his finger. And he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and he shall bring its blood to the inside of the veil, and he shall do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and he shall sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the face of the mercy seat. And he shall make atonement upon the Holy Place from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel and from their transgressions, for all their sins; and thus he shall do for the Tent of Meeting, the one dwelling with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. And any man shall not be in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and he may make atonement on behalf of himself and on behalf of his house and on behalf of all the assembly of Israel. And he shall go out to the altar that is before the face of YHWH and he shall make atonement upon it; and he shall take from the blood of the bull, and from the blood of the goat, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle on it from of the blood with his finger seven times, and he shall cleanse it, and he shall sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel. And he shall finish from making atonement upon the Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and he shall bring near the living goat. And Aaron shall lay his two hands on the head of the living goat, and he shall confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and he shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. And the goat shall carry on itself all their iniquities, to a land inaccessible;16.22 Or of cutting off and he shall send away the goat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and he shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and he shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his flesh with the water in a holy place, and he shall put on his garments, and he shall come out, and he shall do his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and he shall make atonement on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people. And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. And the one sending away the goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in the water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be brought out to the outside of the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins and their flesh and their dung. And the one burning them shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in the water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And it shall be an everlasting statute for you⁺: In the seventh month on the tenth of the month you⁺ shall afflict your⁺ souls,16.29 Or humble yourselves or deny yourselves; also in verse 31 and you⁺ shall not do any work—the native and the sojourner who is sojourning in your⁺ midst. For on this day he shall make atonement upon you⁺ to cleanse you⁺ from all your⁺ sins before the face of YHWH, and you⁺ shall be clean. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you⁺, and you⁺ shall afflict your⁺ souls; it is an everlasting statute. And the priest shall make atonement, he who is anointed and he whose hand is filled to minister as priest in place of his father, and he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments. And he shall make atonement upon the Sanctuary of Holiness16.33 Or the Most Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting; and he shall make atonement upon the altar; and he shall make atonement upon the priests and upon all the people of the assembly. And this shall be an everlasting statute for you⁺, to make atonement upon the sons of Israel, from all their sins, once in the year.” And he did as YHWH had commanded Moses. The Place of Sacrifice And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: This is the word that YHWH has commanded, saying, ‘Any man of the house of Israel who slaughters an ox17.3 Or a bull or a cow or lamb or goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside of the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to bring it near as an offering to YHWH before the face of the tabernacle of YHWH—blood shall be reckoned to that man; he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people, in order that the sons of Israel bring their sacrifices, which they are sacrificing upon the face of the field, and bring them to YHWH, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to YHWH. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of YHWH at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and he shall burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons after whom they have prostituted themselves. This shall be an everlasting statute for them throughout their generations.’ And you shall say to them: Any man from the house of Israel, and from the sojourners who sojourn in their midst, who brings near a burnt offering or a sacrifice and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to do it to YHWH—then that man shall be cut off from his people. Laws against Eating Blood And any man from the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, who eats any blood, I will set My face against the soul who is eating the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people. For the life17.11 Or the soul; also in verse 14 of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you⁺ upon the altar to make atonement upon your⁺ souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the soul. Upon thus I said to the sons of Israel, ‘Not any soul among you⁺ shall eat blood, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your⁺ midst shall not eat blood.’ And any man, from the sons of Israel and from the sojourner who is sojourning in your⁺ midst, who hunts living game or bird that may be eaten, then he shall pour out its blood, and he shall cover it with dust. For the soul of all flesh is its blood; in its soul it is. And I said to the sons of Israel, ‘Blood of any flesh you⁺ shall not eat, for the soul of all flesh is its blood; all who eat it shall be cut off.’ And any soul who eats a carcass or torn thing, among the native and among the sojourner, he shall both wash his clothes, and he shall bathe in the water, and he shall be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. And if he does not wash them and does not bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.” Unlawful Sexual Relations (Matthew 5:27–30) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall not do according to the work of the land of Egypt in which you⁺ dwelt, and according to the work of the land of Canaan where I am bringing you⁺, you⁺ shall not do, and in their statutes you⁺ shall not walk. You⁺ shall do My judgments, and you⁺ shall keep My statutes, to walk in them. I am YHWH your⁺ God. And you⁺ shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which the man shall do them, and he shall live by them. I am YHWH. 18.5 Cited in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12; see also Ezekiel 20:11, 13, and 21. Any man shall not draw near to any close relative of his flesh to uncover nakedness.18.6 That is, to have sexual relations; here and throughout this chapter I am YHWH. The nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of the wife of your father you shall not uncover; it is the nakedness of your father. The nakedness of your sister the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother born at home or born outside it, you shall not uncover their nakedness. The nakedness of the daughter of your son or of the daughter of your daughter—you shall not uncover their nakedness; for they are your own nakedness. The nakedness of the daughter of the wife of your father, begotten of your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of the sister of your father you shall not uncover; she is a close relative of your father. The nakedness of the sister of your mother you shall not uncover, for she is a close relative of your mother. The nakedness of the brother of your father you shall not uncover. To his wife you shall not draw near; she is your aunt. The nakedness of your daughter-in-law you shall not uncover; she is the wife of your son. You shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of the wife of your brother you shall not uncover; it is the nakedness of your brother. The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you shall not uncover—the daughter of her son and the daughter of her daughter you shall not take to uncover her nakedness. They are close relatives; it is wickedness. And a woman to her sister you shall not take, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness beside her in her life. And to a woman in the menstruation of her uncleanness you shall not draw near to uncover her nakedness. And to the wife of your neighbor you shall not give your lying to seed to defile yourself with her. And from your seed you shall not give to pass over to Molech, and you shall not profane the name of your God. I am YHWH. 18.21 That is, to be sacrificed And with a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman; it is an abomination. And with any animal you shall not give your lyings to defile yourself with it, and a woman shall not stand before the face of an animal to lie with it. It is perversion. Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for by all these the nations have defiled themselves, which I am sending away from before your⁺ faces. And the land is defiled; and I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out those dwelling in it. And you⁺ shall keep My statutes and My judgments, and you⁺ shall not do from all of these abominations, the native and the sojourner who is sojourning in your⁺ midst— for the men of the land who were before your⁺ faces have done all these abominations, and the land was defiled— And the land will not vomit you⁺ out when you⁺ defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before your⁺ faces. For anyone who does from all these abominations—then the soul who do them—shall be cut off from among their people. And you⁺ shall keep My charge, to not do from the statutes of the abominations that have been done before your⁺ faces, and you⁺ shall not defile yourselves by them. I am YHWH your⁺ God.” Commandments for Holiness And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: You⁺ shall be holy, for I am holy—YHWH your⁺ God. 19.2 Cited in 1 Peter 1:16 Each man shall fear his mother and his father, and you⁺ shall keep My Sabbaths. I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall not turn to the idols, and you⁺ shall not make molten gods for yourselves. I am YHWH your⁺ God. And when you⁺ sacrifice a sacrifice of peace offerings to YHWH, you⁺ shall sacrifice it for your⁺ acceptance. It shall be eaten on the day of your⁺ sacrificing and on the next day. and the remainder until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. And if any of it is eaten on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted. And the one who eats it shall bear his iniquity because he has profaned the holy thing of YHWH, and that soul shall be cut off from his people. Love Your Neighbor (Romans 13:8–10) And in your⁺ reaping the harvest of your⁺ land, you shall not complete reaping the edge of your field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not gather. And your vineyard—you shall not glean, and the fallen grapes of your vineyard you shall not gather. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall not steal, and you⁺ shall not deal falsely, and you⁺ shall not lie—a man to his neighbor. And you⁺ shall not swear by My name to a lie and so profane the name of your God. I am YHWH. You shall not oppress your neighbor, and you shall not rob. The wage of a hireling shall not remain with you until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, and before the face of the blind you shall not put a stumbling block, and you shall fear your God. I am YHWH. You⁺ shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not lift up the face of the poor, and you shall not honor the face of the great; in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people. You shall not stand against the blood of your neighbor. I am YHWH. 19.16 That is, the life You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and you shall not you shall not lift up upon him sin. You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not bear a grudge against sons of your people, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am YHWH. 19.18 Cited in Matthew 5:43, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8 Keep My Statutes My statutes you⁺ shall keep: Your livestock you shall not cause to breed with two kinds; your field you shall not sow with two kinds, and a garment of two kinds of mixed material shall not go up upon you. And when a man lies with a woman, a lying of seed, and she is a maidservant betrothed to a man and has not been redeemed at all, or freedom has not been given to her, there shall be punishment. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall bring his guilt offering to YHWH, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, a ram of a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement upon him with the ram of the guilt offering before the face of YHWH, upon his sin that he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven for him from his sin that he has sinned. And when you⁺ come into the land, and you plant every kind of tree for food, then you⁺ shall regard their fruit uncircumcised.19.23 That is, forbidden; twice in this verse Three years it shall be uncircumcised to you⁺; it shall not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy praises to YHWH. And in the fifth year you⁺ shall eat its fruit, to add to you⁺ its yield. I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall not eat with the blood. You⁺ shall not practice divination, and you⁺ shall not practice soothsaying. You⁺ shall not round off the edge of your⁺ head, and you shall not destroy the edge of your beard. And a cutting for a soul you⁺ shall not make in your⁺ flesh, and a tattoo mark you⁺ shall not put on yourselves. I am YHWH. You shall not profane your daughter by making her practice prostitution, and the land will not practice prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness. My Sabbaths you⁺ shall keep, and My sanctuary you⁺ shall fear. I am YHWH. You⁺ shall not turn to the mediums and to the spiritists; you⁺ shall not seek after them to be defiled by them. I am YHWH your⁺ God. Before the face of the gray headed you shall rise, and you shall honor the presence of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am YHWH. And if a sojourner sojourns with you in your⁺ land, you⁺ shall not oppress him. As a native from among you⁺ shall be to you⁺ the sojourner who is sojourning with you⁺, and you shall love him as yourself, for you⁺ were sojourners in the land of Egypt. I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall not do injustice in judgment in measure, in weight, and in volume. Righteous scales, righteous stones, a righteous ephah,19.36 An ephah is a dry measure of approximately 20 dry quarts or 22 liters. and a righteous hin19.36 A hin is a liquid measure of approximately 0.97 gallons or 3.67 liters. shall be unto you⁺. I am YHWH your⁺ God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you⁺ shall keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and you⁺ shall do them. I am YHWH.” Punishments for Disobedience (Leviticus 26:14–39; Deuteronomy 28:15–68) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “And to the sons of Israel you shall say, ‘Any man of the sons of Israel or from the sojourner who is sojourning in Israel who gives of his seed to Molech, he must surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, for of his seed he has given to Molech to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes from that man when he gives of his seed to Molech, and they do not kill him, then I will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut him off—and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit prostitution with Molech—from among their people. And the person who turns to the mediums and to the spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. And consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am YHWH your⁺ God. And you⁺ shall keep My statutes and perform them. I am YHWH who sanctifies you⁺. For any man who curses his father or his mother, he must surely be put to death.20.9 Or dishonors or reviles; similarly again in this verse His father or his mother He has cursed; his blood is on him. 20.9 Cited in Matthew 15:4 and Mark 7:10 Punishments for Sexual Immorality (Proverbs 5:1–23; 1 Corinthians 5:1–8) And the man who commits adultery with the wife of a man—who commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor—the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death. And the man who lies with the wife of his father has uncovered the nakedness of his father—both of them must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. And a man, if he lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them must surely be put to death. They have committed perversion; their blood is on them. And a man, if he lies with a male as he lies with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is on them. And a man, if he marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with the fire, he and they, that there may not be wickedness in your⁺ midst. And a man who commits his copulation with an animal, he must surely be put to death, and the animal you⁺ shall kill. And a woman, if she approaches unto any animal and mates with it, then you shall kill the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is on them. And a man, if he takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness,20.17 Or and they have sexual relations it is a wicked thing, and they shall be cut off in the eyes of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his guilt. And a man, if he lies with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness,20.18 Or has sexual relations with her; similarly in verse 19 he has exposed her flow and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. And the two of them shall be cut off from among their people. And the nakedness of the sister of your mother or the sister of your father you shall not uncover, because he would uncover his close relative. They shall bear their guilt. And a man, if he lies with his aunt, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle; they shall bear their sin. They shall die childless. And a man, if he takes the wife of his brother, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother. They shall be childless. Distinguish between Clean and Unclean And you⁺ shall keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you⁺ there to dwell may not vomit you⁺ out. And you⁺ shall not walk in the statutes of the nation that I am casting out before you⁺, for all these things they commit, and I abhor them. And I have said to you⁺ that you⁺ shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you⁺ to possess it—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am YHWH your⁺ God, who has separated you⁺ from the peoples. And you⁺ shall distinguish between the clean and between the unclean animals, and between the unclean and between the clean birds; and you⁺ shall not make yourselves detestable by the beast or by the bird or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you⁺ as unclean. And you⁺ shall be holy to Me, for I, YHWH, am holy; and I have separated you⁺ from the peoples, that you should be unto Me. And a man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist, they must surely be put to death. With stones they shall stone them. Their blood is on them.’” Holiness Required of Priests And YHWH said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: No one shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his close relative who are near to him—his mother, and his father, and his son, and his daughter, and his brother, and his sister, the virgin, who is near to him, who has not had a husband. He may defile himself for her. As a chief man he shall not defile himself among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness on their heads, and they shall not shave the edges of their beards, and they shall not make a cutting in their flesh. They shall be Holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the fire offerings of YHWH, the bread of their God; and they shall be holy. And they shall not take a woman, a prostitute or defiled, or a woman cast out from her husband they shall not take, for he is holy to his God. And you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He is Holy to you, for holy am I, YHWH, sanctifying you⁺. And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with the fire. And the high priest among his brothers, on whose head is poured the anointing oil and who has consecrated his hand to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head21.10 Or shall not let his hair be unkempt and not tear his clothes. And he shall not go near any dead body; he shall not defile himself for his father or his mother. And he shall not go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am YHWH. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman—a prostitute—these he shall not marry; for rather he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. He shall not profane his posterity among his people. For I am YHWH, sanctifying him.” Restrictions against Those with Blemishes And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your seed to their generations who has a blemish in him shall draw near to bring near the bread of his God. For any man who has a blemish in him shall not approach—a man blind, or lame, or disfigured, or deformed, or a man who has in him a breach in the foot, or a breach in the hand, or a hunchback, or dwarfed, or a man who has a blemish in his eye, or itch, or scab, or a crushed testicle. Any man of the seed of Aaron the priest who has a blemish in him shall not come near to offer the fire offerings to YHWH; he has a blemish in him. He shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God from the holies of holies,21.22 Or most holy and from the holies. Only he shall not go near the veil. And he shall not approach the altar, because he has a blemish in him. And he shall not profane My sanctuaries, for I am YHWH, sanctifying them.’” And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel. Restrictions against the Unclean And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and they shall be separated from the holy things of the sons of Israel, lest they profane My holy name that they dedicate to Me. I am YHWH. Say to them throughout your⁺ generations: Any man of all your⁺ seed who goes near the holy things that the sons of Israel dedicate to YHWH, and his uncleanness is upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence. I am YHWH. Any man of the seed of Aaron and who is a leper22.4 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; see Leviticus 13. or has a discharge—the holy offerings he shall not eat until that he is clean; and whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse or a man from whom a laying of seed goes out, or a man who touches any swarming thing that is unclean to him or any person who is unclean to him, whatever his uncleanness may be, then the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat of the holy things, unless if he bathes his flesh with the water. And when the sun goes down, then he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his food. A carcass or torn thing he shall not eat, to defile himself with it. I am YHWH. And they shall keep My ordinance and bear no sin for it that they die in it because they profane it. I am YHWH, sanctifying them. And not any outsider shall eat the holy thing; one who dwells with the priest and a hireling shall not eat the holy thing. And if a priest buys a person with his silver, he may eat it. And one who is born in his house, they may eat his food. And the daughter of a priest, if she is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy contributions. And the daughter of a priest, if she is a widow or divorced and has no seed to her and has returned to the house of her father as in her youth, she may eat from the bread of her father, and no outsider shall eat it. And if a man eats the holy thing in error,22.14 Or unintentionally then he shall add a fifth to it and he shall restore it to the priest with the holy thing. And they shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they offer to YHWH, or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy things. For I am YHWH, sanctifying them.” Worthy Offerings And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings that they offer to YHWH as a burnt offering, you⁺ must offer freely an unblemished male of the herd from the sheep or from the goats. Anything that has a blemish in it, you⁺ shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable on your⁺ behalf. And whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to YHWH to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, it must be perfect for acceptance; there shall not be any blemish on it. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a running sore, or itch, or scab—these you⁺ shall not offer to YHWH, nor make of them a fire offering on the altar to YHWH. And an ox22.23 Or a bull or a cow or a lamb that has any limb too long or too short, you may offer as a freewill offering, and for a vow it shall not be accepted. And what is bruised, or crushed, or torn, or cut you⁺ shall not offer to YHWH. And in your⁺ land you⁺ shall not do it. And you⁺ shall not offer as the bread of your⁺ God from the hand of a son of a foreigner, from any of these, because their corruption is in them and defects are in them; they shall not be accepted on your⁺ behalf.’” And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “When an ox22.27 Or a calf or a sheep or a goat is born, then it shall be seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted for an offering, a fire offering to YHWH. And an ox22.28 Or a cow or a sheep—do not kill both her and her young in one day. And when you⁺ offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to YHWH, offer it of your⁺ own free will. On that day it shall be eaten; you⁺ shall leave none of it until morning. I am YHWH. And you⁺ shall keep My commandments and perform them. I am YHWH. And you⁺ shall not profane My holy name, and I will be acknowledged as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. I am YHWH, sanctifying you⁺, the One bringing you out of the land of Egypt, to be your⁺ God. I am YHWH.” Feasts and Sabbaths (Exodus 23:14–19) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The feasts of YHWH that you⁺ shall proclaim to be holy convocations—these are My feasts. Six days work shall be done, and the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You⁺ shall not do any work; it is the Sabbath of YHWH in all your⁺ dwellings. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:14–28; Numbers 28:16–25; Deuteronomy 16:1–8) These are the feasts of YHWH, holy convocations, which you⁺ shall proclaim at their appointed times. In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings,23.5 That is, at twilight is the passover to YHWH. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of the Unleavened23.6 That is, the seven-day period after the Passover during which no leaven may be eaten; see Exodus 12:14–20. to YHWH. Seven days you⁺ must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you⁺ shall have a holy convocation. You⁺ shall not do any customary work. And you⁺ shall offer a fire offering to YHWH for seven days. The seventh day is a holy convocation; you⁺ shall not do any customary work.’” The Feast of Firstfruits And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you⁺ come into the land that I am giving to you⁺ and you⁺ reap its harvest, then you⁺ shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your⁺ harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the face of YHWH to be accepted on your⁺ behalf. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you⁺ shall offer on that day when you⁺ wave the sheaf a male lamb, unblemished, a son of a year, as a burnt offering to YHWH. And its grain offering is two tenths of an ephah of fine flour23.13 Two-tenths of an ephah is approximately 4 dry quarts or 4.4 liters (probably about 5.1 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of flour); also in verse 17. mixed with the oil, a fire offering to YHWH, a pleasing aroma. And its drink offering is of wine, a fourth of a hin.23.13 A fourth of a hin is approximately 0.97 quarts or 0.92 liters of wine. And you⁺ shall not eat bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day that you⁺ have brought an offering to your⁺ God; it shall be an everlasting statute throughout your⁺ generations in all your⁺ dwellings. The Feast of Weeks (Acts 2:1–13) And you⁺ shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you⁺ brought the sheaf of the wave offering—they are seven completed Sabbaths— until the day after the seventh Sabbath. You⁺ shall number fifty days, and you⁺ shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH. From your⁺ dwellings you⁺ shall bring bread of a wave offering, two loaves, of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven, the firstfruits to YHWH. And you⁺ shall offer with the bread seven lambs unblemished, sons of a year, and one bull, a son of the herd, and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to YHWH, and with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to YHWH. And you⁺ shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs, sons of a year, as a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the face of YHWH, besides the two lambs; they shall be holy to YHWH for the priest. And you⁺ shall proclaim on this same day that it is a holy convocation to you⁺. You⁺ shall not do any customary work; it shall be an everlasting statute in all your⁺ dwellings throughout your⁺ generations. And in your⁺ reaping the harvest of your⁺ land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field in your reaping, and you shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest; you shall leave them to the poor and to the sojourner. I am YHWH your⁺ God.’” The Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1–6) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first of the month, it shall be to you⁺ a complete rest, a memorial of shouting, a holy convocation.23.24 Or a sacred assembly You⁺ shall not do any customary work, and you⁺ shall offer a fire offering to YHWH.’” The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1–34; Numbers 29:7–11) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Indeed on the tenth of this seventh month, it is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you⁺ a holy convocation, and you⁺ shall afflict your⁺ souls23.27 Or humble yourselves or deny yourselves; also in verse 32 and offer a fire offering to YHWH. And you⁺ shall not do any work on this same day. For it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement upon you⁺ before the face of YHWH your⁺ God. For any person who is not afflicted on this very day shall even be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on this very day, I will even destroy that person from among his people. You⁺ shall not do any work; it is an everlasting statute throughout your⁺ generations in all your⁺ dwellings. It is to you⁺ a Sabbath of complete rest, and you⁺ shall afflict your⁺ souls. On the ninth of the month at the evening, from evening to evening you⁺ shall celebrate your⁺ sabbath.” The Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:13–18; Zechariah 14:16–21) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to YHWH. 23.34 That is, Sukkot, the autumn feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; also translated as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Shelters and originally called the Feast of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16 and Exodus 34:22). On the first day is a holy convocation; you⁺ shall not do any customary work. For seven days you⁺ shall offer a fire offering to YHWH. On the eighth day you⁺ shall have a holy convocation, and you⁺ shall offer a fire offering to YHWH. It is a sacred assembly; you⁺ shall not do any customary work. These are the feasts of YHWH that you⁺ shall proclaim as holy convocations, to offer a fire offering to YHWH, a burnt offering, and a grain offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings—everything on its proper day— besides the Sabbaths of YHWH, and besides your⁺ gifts, and besides all your⁺ vows, and besides all your⁺ freewill offerings that you⁺ give to YHWH. Indeed on the five and tenth day of the seventh month, when you⁺ have gathered in the produce of the land, you⁺ shall keep the feast of YHWH for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest, and on the eighth day a complete rest. And you⁺ shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook. And you⁺ shall rejoice before the face of YHWH your⁺ God for seven days. 23.40 Or poplars And you⁺ shall keep it as a feast to YHWH for seven days in the year, an everlasting statute in your⁺ generations. In the seventh month you⁺ shall celebrate it. You⁺ shall dwell in booths23.42 Or tabernacles or shelters; twice in this verse, and also in verse 43; see the footnote for verse 34. for seven days; all the native of Israel shall dwell in booths, that your⁺ generations may know that I made the sons of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am YHWH your⁺ God.’” And Moses declared the feasts of YHWH to the sons of Israel. The Oil for the Lamps (Exodus 27:20–21) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you pure olive oil, pressed, for the light, to make the lamps to go up continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony,24.3 The Testimony refers to the stone tablets in the ark of the covenant inscribed with the Ten Commandments. in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening until morning before the face of YHWH continually; it is an everlasting statute in your⁺ generations. On the pure gold lampstand He shall arrange the lamps before the face of YHWH continually. The Showbread (Exodus 25:23–30; Exodus 37:10–16) And you shall take fine flour and bake with it two and ten cakes; two tenths of an ephah24.5 Two-tenths of an ephah is approximately 4 dry quarts or 4.4 liters (probably about 5.1 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of flour). shall be one cake. And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the face of YHWH. And you shall put on each row pure frankincense, that it may be with the bread for a memorial, a fire offering to YHWH. On the Sabbath day by Sabbath day he shall arrange it before the face of YHWH continually on behalf of the sons of Israel as an everlasting covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place. For it is holy of holies24.9 Or most holy to him from the fire offerings of YHWH—an everlasting statute.” Punishment for Blasphemy And a son of a woman, an Israelitess, went out (and he the son of an Egyptian man) in the midst of the sons of Israel. And this son of the Israelitess and a man of the Israelites fought each other in the camp. And the son of the woman, the Israelitess, blasphemed the Name and cursed. And they brought him to Moses. And His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in custody, that it might be shown to them upon the mouth of YHWH. And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Take him who has cursed24.14 That is, the blasphemer; also in verse 23 to the outside of the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any man curses his God, then he shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of YHWH must surely be put to death. All the congregation must surely stone him, as the sojourner, as the native; when he blasphemes the name he shall be put to death. An Eye for an Eye (Matthew 5:38–48) And whoever kills any man, he must surely be put to death. And he who kills an animal shall make it good—the life of animal for animal. And if a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him: Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has caused disfigurement in the man, so shall it be done to him. 24.20 Cited in Matthew 5:38 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; and whoever kills a man, he shall be put to death. You⁺ shall have one law. As the sojourner it shall be as the native, for I am YHWH your⁺ God.’” And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they took him who had cursed to the outside of the camp, and they stoned him with stones. And the sons of Israel did as YHWH had commanded Moses. The Seventh Year (Exodus 23:10–13; Deuteronomy 15:1–6) And YHWH spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When you⁺ come into the land that I am giving to you⁺, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to YHWH. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit. And in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath to YHWH. Your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your untended vine you shall not gather. It is a year of complete rest for the land. And the Sabbath of the land to you⁺ shall be food for you, and for your manservant, and for your maidservant, and for your hireling, and for your sojourner sojourning with you, and for your livestock, and for the beast that is in your land. All its produce shall be for food. The Year of Jubilee And you shall count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years—seven years seven times—and the days of seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you nine and forty years. And the shofar of the Jubilee you shall cause to sound in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, in the Day of the Atonements. You⁺ shall make the shofar to sound throughout all your⁺ land. And you⁺ shall consecrate the year, the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land to all its dwellers. It shall be a Jubilee for you⁺, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a year of Jubilee to you⁺. You⁺ shall not sow, nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather of your untended vine. For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you⁺. You⁺ shall eat its produce from the field. Return of Property In the Year of this Jubilee each of you shall return to his possession. And if you⁺ sell anything to your neighbor or buy from the hand of your neighbor, you⁺ shall not oppress one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops, he shall sell to you. According to the multitude of the years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for he is selling to you a number of crops. And you⁺ shall not oppress one another, and you shall fear your God. For I am YHWH your⁺ God. The Blessing of Obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1–14) And you⁺ shall observe My statutes, and keep My ordinances and perform them, and you⁺ will dwell in the land in safety. And the land will yield its fruit, and you⁺ will eat your fill and dwell in safety there. Now you⁺ may say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?’ And I will command My blessing on you⁺ in the sixth year, and it will bring forth enough produce for three years. And you⁺ shall sow in the eighth year, and eat of the old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you⁺ shall eat of the old harvest. The Law of Redemption And the land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine, for you⁺ are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your⁺ possession, you⁺ shall grant redemption of the land. If one of your brothers becomes poor and he has sold some of his possession, then the redeemer to him, if he comes to redeem it, he may redeem what his brother sold. And if the man, there is unto him no one to redeem it, and he has found his own hand has attained sufficiency for its redemption, then let him count the years of its sale and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. But if his hand has not found sufficiency to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of the Jubilee. And it shall be released in the Jubilee, and he shall return to his possession. And if a man sells a dwelling-house in a walled city, then it shall be that he may redeem it within the completion of a year from its selling; during that year it may be redeemed. But if it is not redeemed within the filling for it of a full year, the house that is within that walled city, then it shall belong forever to the buyer of it throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the Jubilee. And the houses of the villages that have no wall around them, as the fields of the country, shall be counted redeemed; and they may be unto it; they shall be released in the Jubilee. And as for the cities of the Levites, the houses the Levites shall be a redemption of perpetuity in the cities of their possession. And as to him who redeems from the Levites, then both the sale of a house and the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession in the midst of the sons of Israel. And the field of the pastureland of their cities may not be sold, for it is an everlasting possession to them. Redemption of the Poor And if one of your brothers among you becomes poor and his hand has failed, then you shall help him like a sojourner or a stranger, and he may live with you. And you shall not take usury from him or interest; you shall fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall lend your silver to him, not for usury at a profit, nor sell him your food. I am YHWH your⁺ God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give to you⁺ the land of Canaan and to be your⁺ God. Redemption of Bondmen And if one of your brothers among you becomes poor, and he sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. He shall be as a hireling and a sojourner with you; he shall serve you until the Year of the Jubilee. And he shall depart from you, and his children with him, and he shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers he shall return. For they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, and you shall fear your God. And your manservant and your maidservant whom you may have are from the nations that are around you⁺; from them you⁺ may buy a manservant and maidservant. Moreover, the sons of the sojourners who dwell among you⁺, these you⁺ may buy, and their clans who are with you⁺ that they beget in your⁺ land; and they shall be unto you⁺ for a possession. And you⁺ may take them as an inheritance for your⁺ children after you⁺ to inherit them as a possession forever; in them shall be your⁺ slaves, and regarding your⁺ brothers, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with rigor one over another. Redemption of Servants And if a sojourner or stranger among you becomes rich, and one of your brothers by him becomes poor and sells himself to the sojourner or stranger among you, or to a member of the family of a sojourner, after he is sold, there is unto him the right of redemption. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or a son of his uncle may redeem him, or someone from a close relative of his flesh from his family may redeem him, or if his own hand has attained, then he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he was sold to him, until the Year of the Jubilee. And the price of his release shall be according to the number of years; it is according to the time of a hireling for him. If yet there are many years according to them, he shall repay the price of his redemption from the silver with which he was bought. And if but a few years remain until the Year of the Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him according to his years; he shall repay him the price of his redemption. As a hireling year by year he shall be with him. He shall not rule over him with rigor in your eyes. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of the Jubilee—he and his children with him. For the sons of Israel are servants to Me. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am YHWH your⁺ God. Additional Blessings of Obedience “ You⁺ shall not make for yourselves idols, and you⁺ shall not rear up for yourselves a graven image or standing image, and you⁺ shall not set up an engraved stone in your⁺ land to bow down to it. For I am YHWH your⁺ God. You⁺ shall keep My Sabbaths and you⁺ shall revere My sanctuary. I am YHWH. If you⁺ walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give to you⁺ rain in its season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and your⁺ threshing shall last until the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last until the time of sowing, and you⁺ shall eat your⁺ bread to the full and dwell safely in your⁺ land. And I will give peace in the land, and you⁺ shall lie down, and nothing will make you afraid. And evil beasts I will cause to cease from the land, and the sword will not go into your⁺ land. And you⁺ will pursue your⁺ enemies, and they shall fall before you⁺ by the sword. And five of you⁺ shall pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you⁺ shall pursue a myriad, and your⁺ enemies shall fall before you⁺ by the sword. And I will turn to you⁺ and make you fruitful and multiply you⁺, and I will establish My covenant with you⁺. And you⁺ shall eat the old store a long time, and you⁺ will move out the old store because of the new. And I will set My tabernacle26.11 Or My dwelling place in your⁺ midst, and My soul shall not abhor26.11 Or reject; also in verse 30 you⁺. And I will walk in your⁺ midst, and I will be unto you⁺ God, and you⁺ will be unto Me for a people. 26.12 Cited in 2 Corinthians 6:16 I am YHWH your⁺ God, who brought you⁺ out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bands of your⁺ yoke and made you walk upright. Punishments for Disobedience (Leviticus 20:1–9; Deuteronomy 28:15–68) But if you⁺ do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments, and if you⁺ despise My statutes, and if your⁺ soul abhors My ordinances so as not to perform all My commandments to your⁺ breaking My covenant, then I also will do this to you⁺: I will appoint over you⁺ terror, wasting disease, and fever, which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart, and you⁺ shall sow your⁺ seed in vain, and your⁺ enemies shall eat it. And I will set My face against you⁺, and you⁺ shall be defeated by your⁺ enemies. And those who hate you⁺ shall reign over you⁺, and you⁺ shall flee when none pursues you⁺. And if after these things you⁺ do not obey Me, then I will add to punish you⁺ sevenfold for your⁺ sins. And I will break the pride of your⁺ power, and I will make your⁺ heavens like iron and your⁺ earth like bronze. And your⁺ power shall be spent in vain, and your⁺ land shall not yield its produce, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. And if you⁺ walk contrary to Me and are not willing to obey Me, then I will add to you⁺ a plague sevenfold, according to your⁺ sins. And I will send among you⁺ the wild beast, and it shall rob you of your⁺ children and destroy your⁺ livestock and make you⁺ few in number, and your⁺ highways shall be desolate. And if by these things you⁺ are not reformed by Me, and you⁺ walk contrary to Me, then I will also walk contrary to you⁺, and I will punish you⁺—even I—sevenfold for your⁺ sins. And I will bring against you⁺ a sword that will kill the vengeance of the covenant. And when you⁺ are gathered together within your⁺ cities, then I will send pestilence in your⁺ midst, and you⁺ shall be given into the hand of the enemy. In My breaking your⁺ staff26.26 Or supply of bread, then ten women shall bake your⁺ bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your⁺ bread by weight, and you⁺ shall eat and not be satisfied. And if after all this you⁺ do not obey Me, and if you⁺ walk contrary to Me, then I will also walk contrary to you⁺ in fury, and I will chastise you⁺—even I—sevenfold for your⁺ sins. And you⁺ shall eat the flesh of your⁺ sons; even the flesh of your⁺ daughters you⁺ shall eat. And I will destroy your⁺ high places and cut down your⁺ incense altars and cast your⁺ carcasses on the lifeless forms of your⁺ idols, and My soul will abhor you⁺. And I will lay waste your⁺ cities and bring to desolation your⁺ sanctuaries, and I will not smell your⁺ pleasing. aromas And I will bring to desolation the land, and your⁺ enemies who dwell in it will be astonished at it. And I will scatter you⁺ among the nations and draw out after you⁺ a sword. And your⁺ land will be desolate and your⁺ cities will become waste. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths, all the days of the desolation—and you⁺ are in the land of your⁺ enemies. Then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of the desolation it shall rest, for it did not rest in your⁺ Sabbaths, when you⁺ dwelt in it. And those remaining of you⁺, I will send faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a shaken leaf will cause them to flee, and they will flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they will fall when none pursues. And they will stumble over one another as it were before a sword, when none pursues. And you⁺ shall have no standing before the face of your⁺ enemies. And you⁺ shall perish among the nations, and the land of your⁺ enemies shall eat you⁺ up. And those who are left of you⁺ shall waste away in their iniquity in the lands of your⁺ enemies, and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall waste away with them. God Remembers Those Who Repent And if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and also that they have walked contrary to Me, and also that I have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and then they accept their guilt, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac, and I will remember My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. And the land shall be left empty by them, and it will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. And they will accept their guilt because, even because, they have despised My ordinances and their souls have abhorred My statutes. And also even this, in their being in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor will I abhor them to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them. For I am YHWH their God. And I will remember for their sake the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the eyes of the nations, that I might be their God. I am YHWH.” And these are the statutes and the ordinances and the laws that YHWH made between Himself and between the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. Rules about Valuations And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man makes a wonderful vow, in your valuation of his soul to YHWH, your valuation, if it is a male from a son of twenty years and up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver,27.3 50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver; also in verse 16. according to the shekel of the sanctuary.27.3 A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams; also in verse 25. And if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels;27.4 30 shekels is approximately 12 ounces or 342 grams of silver. and if from a son of five years and up to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels,27.5 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver. and for the female ten shekels;27.5 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver; also in verse 7. and if from a son of a month and up to five years old, then your valuation shall be for the male five shekels of silver,27.6 5 shekels is approximately 2 ounces or 57 grams of silver. and for the female your valuation is three shekels of silver;27.6 3 shekels is approximately 1.2 ounces or 34.2 grams of silver. and if from a son of sixty years and above, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels,27.7 15 shekels is approximately 6 ounces or 171 grams of silver. and for the female ten shekels. And if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall present him27.8 Or present himself before the face of the priest, and the priest shall value him according to mouth, after the reach of the hand who vowed, the priest shall value him. And if it is an animal that men may bring as an offering to YHWH, all that he gives of such to YHWH shall be holy. He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good. And if he actually substitutes animal for animal, then it shall be that it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy. And if it is any unclean animal, which they do not offer as a sacrifice to YHWH, then he shall present the animal before the face of the priest. And the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you value it, so the priest shall set it. But if he really redeems it, then he must add a fifth to your valuation. And when a man dedicates his house to be holy to YHWH, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest values it, so shall it stand. And if he who dedicated it would redeem his house, then he must add a fifth of the silver of your valuation to it, and it shall be his. And if a man dedicates to YHWH part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it—a homer of barley seed27.16 A homer is a dry measure of approximately 6.24 bushels or 220 liters (probably about 291 pounds or 132 kilograms of barley seed). at fifty shekels of silver. If he dedicates his field in the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon due to him the silver according to the years that remain until the Year of the Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. And if he who dedicates it really redeems the field, he must add a fifth of the silver of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. And the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy. As a field devoted to YHWH, it shall be the possession of the priest. And if one dedicates to YHWH a field which he has bought, which is not a field of his possession, then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation up to the Year of the Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy thing to YHWH. In the Year of the Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom is the possession of the land. And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs27.25 20 gerahs is equivalent to one shekel (approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams). shall be to the shekel. But the firstborn that is to YHWH firstborn of the animals, no man shall dedicate, whether it is an ox or a sheep; it belongs to YHWH. And if an animal is unclean, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation and shall add a fifth to it. Or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. Nevertheless any devoted thing that a man may devote27.28 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to YHWH; similarly in verse 29. to YHWH of all that is unto him, man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall not be sold and it shall not be redeemed. Every devoted thing is holy of holies27.28 Or most holy to YHWH. Any devoted thing that is devoted to destruction among men shall not be redeemed; it must surely be put to death. Instruction on Tithes (Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is to YHWH; it is holy to YHWH. And if a man really redeems of his tithes, he shall add a fifth to it. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, the tenth of whatever passes under the rod shall be holy to YHWH. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it. And if he actually substitutes, then it shall be that it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’” These are the commandments that YHWH commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.