Leviticus chapter 19
Righteous behavior.
RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOR
VERSE 1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
VERSE 2. “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
You shall be holy. The LORD God is holy. He calls us to be holy. Holy people apply themselves, and all their actions, to God. They imitate the LORD God. Read more »
VERSE 3. “ ‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
respect his mother and his father. This is a wonderful command. And in many families, it works for the best.
However, an abusive parent can use it for evil purposes.
VERSE 4. “ ‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
idols. The Hebrew word is הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ים (“hā·’ĕ·lî·lîm”). It means insufficiency, worthlessness, futility.
The tradition among Bible translators is to render it as “idols.” But the Hebrew doesn’t support that.
VERSE 5. “ ‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
offer it so that you may be accepted. The person’s motive is inherently selfish. They are doing it for personal benefit.
VERSE 6. It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.
VERSE 7. If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;
VERSE 8. but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of the LORD, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
VERSE 9. “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
VERSE 10. You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. Righteous Boaz did not glean his entire field. Instead, he left some for poor people and foreigners.
One of the poor foreigners who harvested the leftovers was Naomi. Later, she became his wife. And an ancestor of King David. And an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am the LORD your God. To be holy means to respect poor people. And foreigners.
VERSE 11. “ ‘You shall not steal. “ ‘You shall not lie. “ ‘You shall not deceive one another.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Leviticus and from the entire Bible.
VERSE 12. “ ‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
VERSE 13. “ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. “ ‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
The Bible forbids us from defrauding poor people and immigrants of their just wages. Read more »
VERSE 14. “ ‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
VERSE 15. “ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
do no injustice. To be holy means to do no injustice.
Yet today’s Christian culture is rife with injustices. And with the supporting of injustices by others.
VERSE 16. “ ‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. “ ‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
the life. Literally, “blood.”
VERSE 17. “ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
The Lord Jesus calls us to resolve conflicts by approaching the other person in private. This saves face for the other person and avoids public scandal. Read more »
VERSE 18. “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The Lord Jesus said this is the second greatest commandment of all. Read more »
VERSE 19. “ ‘You shall keep my statutes. “ ‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “ ‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “ ‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. In our day, many Christians cross-breed different kinds of animals.
VERSE 20. “ ‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
VERSE 21. He shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.
VERSE 22. The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.
VERSE 23. “ ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten.
forbidden. literally, “uncircumcised”
VERSE 24. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to the LORD.
VERSE 25. In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am the LORD your God.
VERSE 26. “ ‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
VERSE 27. “ ‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
VERSE 28. “ ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the LORD.
nor tattoo any marks. This refers to tattoo marks that were part of pagan mourning rites.
VERSE 29. “ ‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
VERSE 30. “ ‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am the LORD.
VERSE 31. “ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
New English Version. Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.
Don’t turn to those who are mediums. In ancient times, the Jewish people were forbidden from going to a Medium or a Necromancer. Why was that? Read more »
VERSE 32. “ ‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
In the Bible, gray-haired people are considered wise. If you have not yet had gray hair, you are not considered wise. Read more »
VERSE 33. “ ‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
a foreigner with you in your land. To be holy means to respect immigrants.
The Bible is quite clear. We believers are to welcome immigrants. The Bible commands us to love them as ourselves. Read more »
In the Bible, Racists are the bad guys. A racist believes one particular race is superior to others. Some Christians tolerate and even celebrate racism. But the Bible forbids racism. Read more »
VERSE 34. The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
you shall love him as yourself. The Bible is clear. We believers are to welcome immigrants. The Bible commands us to love them as ourselves. Read more »
In the Bible, Racists are the bad guys. A racist believes one particular race is superior to others. Some Christians tolerate and even celebrate racism. But the Bible forbids racism. Read more »
VERSE 35. “ ‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
VERSE 36. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just efah, and a just hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
a just efah. An efah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
a just hin. A hin is about 6.5 liters or 1.7 gallons.
VERSE 37. “ ‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am the LORD.’ ”
LEVITICUS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, The Scapegoat, Female Sacrificial Animals
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.