1
The LORD spoke to Moses:
2
“Speak to all the congregation of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
3
Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.
4
Do not turn to idols, and do not make for yourselves cast gods; I am the LORD your God.
5
When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
6
It shall be eaten on the day you offer it, or on the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned up.
7
If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be accepted.
8
Whoever eats it shall bear his own guilt, because he has profaned the holy offering to the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.
9
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, and you shall not gather what is left of your harvest.
10
You shall not pick your vineyard a second time, nor gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
11
You shall not steal; you shall not lie; and you shall not deceive one another.
12
You shall not swear falsely by My name, so that you do not profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
13
You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him; the wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you until morning.
14
You shall not curse the deaf, and before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block, but you shall fear your God; I am the LORD.
15
You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not favor the poor unfairly, nor show partiality to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16
You shall not go about spreading slander among your people; you shall not endanger your neighbor’s life; I am the LORD.
17
You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall openly rebuke your neighbor, and not bring sin upon yourself because of him.
18
You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
19
You shall keep My statutes. You shall not breed two kinds of livestock together; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
20
If a man lies with a woman who is a slave girl betrothed to another man, but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there shall be punishment; yet they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21
He shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, a ram as a guilt offering.
22
The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD, for the sin he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin he has committed.
23
When you come into the land and plant all kinds of fruit trees, you shall regard their fruit as forbidden for three years; it shall not be eaten.
24
But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.
25
Then in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that its yield may increase for you; I am the LORD your God.
26
You shall not eat anything with the blood still in it. You shall not practice divination or seek omens.
27
You shall not round off the hair on the sides of your head, nor mar the edges of your beard.
28
You shall not make cuts in your body for the dead, nor tattoo marks upon yourselves; I am the LORD.
29
Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of lewdness.
30
You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the LORD.
31
Do not turn to mediums or to spiritists; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them; I am the LORD your God.
32
You shall rise before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God; I am the LORD.
33
When a stranger lives with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.
34
The stranger who lives with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.
35
You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measures of length, weight, or quantity.
36
A just balance, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin you shall have; I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37
Therefore you shall keep all my statutes and all my rules, and do them; I am the LORD.”
🕊️⚖️💛 Summary of Leviticus 19 – Holy Living and Love as a Way of Life
Leviticus 19 is a rich chapter containing various moral, social, and spiritual laws that touch nearly every aspect of the life of the people of Israel. The heart of it all is “You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy” (verse 2).
It is like a summary of the Ten Commandments applied in daily life, and full of principles that remain relevant even today.
1. Holiness, Honor, and True Worship (verses 1–8)
- Honor your parents.
- Do not worship idols or make cast images.
- Thank offerings must be made properly and sincerely.
2. Social Justice and Love for Others (verses 9–18)
- Leave part of the harvest for the poor and the foreigner.
- Do not steal, deceive, lie, or swear falsely.
- Do not withhold wages from a worker.
- Do not show partiality to the disabled or the foreigner.
- Do not slander, harbor resentment, or repay evil.
- “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (verse 18) → this is the heart of the whole law!
3. Other Social and Ritual Laws (verses 19–37)
- Do not mix kinds of livestock, seed, or cloth (a symbol of holiness and separation from the world).
- Prohibitions against prostitution and idolatry.
- Honor parents and the elderly.
- Treat the foreigner as a native-born citizen, because “you too were once foreigners in Egypt.”
📜 Verse 37 closes with a reminder: “Keep all My statutes and ordinances…”
📖 Main Lessons
- Holiness is not only ritual—it is about character, actions, and love.
- Love for one’s neighbor is the proof of a life that is right before God.
- The Lord cares about social justice and the treatment of the weak.
- Personal and public integrity cannot be separated.
- God’s statutes are comprehensive—they touch home, field, business, and worship.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18 as the second greatest commandment after love for God (Matthew 22:39).
- True holiness is not only avoiding sin, but actively showing love and justice.
- Leaving part of the harvest → a call to generosity and sensitivity to the needs of others.
- Treatment of the foreigner → reminds us that true faith welcomes, not excludes.
- In Christ, love fulfills the law (Romans 13:10).
