The Third Book of Moses Leviticus

• Author: Moses
• Place Written: Wilderness
• When Written: c. 1500 B.C.E.

CHAPTER 1

The Burnt Offering

1 And Jehovah called to Moses and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When any man of you brings an offering to Jehovah, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. 

³ “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before Jehovah. ⁴ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 

⁵ “‘He shall slaughter the young bull before Jehovah; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood all around the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁶ He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷ And the sons of Aaron the priest[1] shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ And Aaron’s sons the priests[2] shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat,[3] on the wood that is on the fire that is on the altar. ⁹ But its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire,[4] with a restful aroma[5] to Jehovah.

¹⁰ “But if his offering is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats for a burnt offering, he shall offer it a male without blemish. ¹¹ And he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before Jehovah, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood all around the altar. ¹² And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat,[6] and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar, ¹³ but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering made by fire, a food offering with a restful[7] aroma to Jehovah.

¹⁴ “But if his offering for Jehovah is a burnt offering from the birds, then he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons.[8] ¹⁵ And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar, and the blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ And he must remove its crop with its feathers[9] and throw it beside the altar, to the east, to the place for the fatty ashes.[10] ¹⁷ Then he shall tear it by its wings but shall not sever it. And the priest shall make it smoke on the altar over the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a restful[11] aroma to Jehovah.

CHAPTER 2

The Grain Offering

2 “Now when a soul presents a grain offering as an offering to Jehovah, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it. ² And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests, and he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour, and of the oil, with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as the memorial offering on the altar, an offering made by fire, a restful[12] aroma to Jehovah ³ And that which is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to Jehovah made by fire.

⁴ “And when you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened ring-shaped loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. 

⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. ⁶ You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 

⁷ And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ And you shall bring[13] the grain offering that is made of these things to Jehovah, and it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹ And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial offering and shall burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, a restful[14] aroma to Jehovah. ¹⁰ And what is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, it is a most holy part of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire.

¹¹ “No grain offering, which you shall offer to Jehovah, shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no[15] leaven, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire to Jehovah. 

¹² As an offering of firstfruits you shall offer them to Jehovah, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a restful[16] aroma. 

¹³ And all your grain offerings you shall season with salt; and you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ “And if you offer the grain offering of the first fruits to Jehovah, you shall offer fresh ears roasted with fire, crushed new grains, as the grain offering of your first ripe fruits. ¹⁵ And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn as its memorial offering some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to Jehovah.

CHAPTER 3

The Peace Offering

3 “And if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he is offering it from the herd, whether a male or a female, he shall offer it without blemish before Jehovah. ² And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on the altar all around. ³ And he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offerings an offering made by fire to Jehovah; the fat that covers the inward organs, and all the fat that is on the inward organs, ⁴ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the appendage[17] of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is an offering made by fire, a restful[18] aroma to Jehovah. 

⁶ “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to Jehovah is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. ⁷ If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before Jehovah, ⁸ and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. ⁹ And he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to Jehovah; the fat, the entire fat tail, close to the backbone; and the fat that covers the inward organs, and all the fat that is on the inward organs, ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long appendage of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering made by fire to Jehovah.

¹² “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before Jehovah, ¹³ and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around. ¹⁴ Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to Jehovah, the fat covering the inward organs and all the fat that is on the inward organs, ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering made by fire, for a restful[19] aroma. All fat is Jehovah’s. 

¹⁷ It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”

CHAPTER 4

The Sin Offering

4 And Jehovah spoke unto Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin unwittingly, in any of the things which Jehovah has commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of them, ³ if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish to Jehovah for a sin offering.[20] ⁴ And he shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before Jehovah. ⁵ And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, ⁶ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah, before the curtain of the sanctuary. ⁷ And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Jehovah that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 

⁸ And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the inward organs and all the fat that is on the inward organs, ⁹ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys, ¹⁰ (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 

¹¹ But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its inward organs and its dung, ¹² even the whole bull shall he carry outside the camp to a clean place, where the fatty ashes[21] are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the fatty ashes[22] are poured out shall it be burned.

¹³ “If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally[23] and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things which Jehovah has commanded which ought not to be done, and are guilty, ¹⁴ when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before Jehovah, and the bull shall be slaughtered before Jehovah. 

¹⁶ Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, ¹⁷ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Jehovah, before the curtain.[24] ¹⁸ And he shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before Jehovah, that is in the tent of meeting; and all the blood shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ And all the fat shall he take from it and burn it on the altar. ²⁰ He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; thus, he shall do with it. So, the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. ²¹ And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

²² “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things which Jehovah his God has commanded not to be done, and is guilty, ²³ if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without blemish. ²⁴ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering before Jehovah; it is a sin offering. ²⁵ And the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the blood shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So, the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

²⁷ “If any soul of the people of the land sins unintentionally and becomes guilty by doing one of the things that Jehovah commands should not be done, ²⁸ or if the sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. ²⁹ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. ³⁰ And the priest shall take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the blood shall he pour out at the base of the altar. ³¹ And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a restful[25] aroma to Jehovah. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

³² “And if he brings a lamb[26] as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish ³³ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and slaughter it for a sin offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering. ³⁴ And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the blood shall he pour out at the base of the altar. ³⁵ And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, on the offerings of Jehovah made by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin that he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven.

CHAPTER 5

Specific Sins and Sin Offerings

5 “If a soul sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he will bear his error;[27] 

² or if any soul touches an unclean thing, whether a dead body of an unclean wild animal or a dead body of unclean livestock or a dead body of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he be unclean, then he shall be guilty. ³ Or if he touches the uncleanness of a man of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and he himself has come to know it, then he shall be guilty. 

⁴ Or if a soul swears speaking rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good as regards anything at all that the man might speak rashly in a sworn oath, and it is hidden from him, and he comes to know it, he shall be guilty of one of these things. 

⁵ When a man is guilty in any of these, then he shall confess the sin he has committed. ⁶ And he shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah for the sin that he committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. Then the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

Sin Offerings for the Poor

⁷ “If he cannot afford[28] a lamb, then he shall bring as his guilt offering for the sin that he has committed two turtledoves or two young pigeons to Jehovah, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. ⁸ He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck but shall not sever it. ⁹ He shall also sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar: it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the ordinance. And the priest shall make atonement[29] for him for the sin that he has committed,[30] and he will be forgiven.

¹¹ “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah[31] of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹² And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial offering and burn this on the altar, on top of Jehovah’s offerings made by fire. It is a sin offering. ¹³ Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.”

The Guilt Offering for Unintentional Sins

¹⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁵ “If a soul acts unfaithfully in that he sins unintentionally against the holy things of Jehovah, then he shall bring as his guilt offering to Jehovah a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels,[32] by the shekel of the sanctuary, as a guilt offering. ¹⁶ And he shall make restitution for the sin he has committed against the holy place and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

¹⁷ “And if a soul sins in that he does do any of the things that Jehovah commands should not be done, although he did not know it, he shall bear his error. ¹⁸ And he shall bring a ram without blemish from the flock according to the estimated value, for a guilt offering to the priest. And the priest shall make an atonement for him for his mistake that he committed unintentionally, although he himself did not know it, and he shall be forgiven. ¹⁹ It is a guilt offering; he is certainly guilty before Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 6

Additional Laws for Guilt Offering

6 [33]And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “If a soul sins in that he does act unfaithfully against Jehovah by deceiving his neighbor regarding something entrusted to him, or something deposited or security,[34] or a robbery or he defrauds his neighbor, ³ or has found that which was lost, and lied about it, swearing falsely; in any of all these things that a man does, thereby sinning; ⁴ then it shall be, if he had sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit that was committed to him, or the lost thing that he found, ⁵ or anything about which he swore falsely, and he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day of his being found guilty. ⁶ And he shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock, according to your estimation, for a guilt offering to the priest. ⁷ And the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah; and he shall be forgiven concerning any of the things that he may have done and thereby incur guilt.”

The Burnt Offering

⁸ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁹ “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering[35] must remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar must be kept burning on it. ¹⁰ And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the fatty ashes[36] to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. ¹² And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. ¹³ Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

The Grain Offering

¹⁴ “And this is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before Jehovah in front of the altar. ¹⁵ And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and shall burn it on the altar for a restful aroma, as the memorial offering to Jehovah. ¹⁶ And that which is left shall Aaron and his sons eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. ¹⁷ It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ¹⁸ Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as his portion forever throughout your generations, from the offerings of Jehovah made by fire: whoever touches them shall be holy.”

The Sin Offering

¹⁹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁰ “This is the offering which Aaron, and his sons shall offer to Jehovah on the day when he is anointed; the tenth of an ephah[37] of fine flour as a grain offering continually,[38] half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. ²¹ It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces shall you offer the grain offering for a restful aroma[39] to Jehovah. ²² And the anointed priest who succeeds him from among his sons shall offer it: by a statute forever it shall be completely burned to Jehovah. ²³ And every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

²⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁵ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before Jehovah; it is most holy. ²⁶ The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. ²⁷ Anyone who shall touch the flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is spattered on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was spattered in a holy place. ²⁸ And the earthenware vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. But if it was boiled in a copper vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water. ²⁹ Every male among the priests shall eat it; it is most holy. ³⁰ And no sin offering, from which any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire.

CHAPTER 7

Instructions on Offerings

7 “And this is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. ² In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering shall they slaughter the guilt offering; and the blood shall he spattered upon the altar all around. ³ And he shall offer of it all the fat, the fat tail, and the fat that covers the inward organs, ⁴ and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the appendage upon the liver, with the kidneys, he shall remove. ⁵ and the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to Jehovah; it is a guilt offering. ⁶ Every male among the priests shall eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. ⁷ The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it, he shall have it. ⁸ And the priest who offered any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered. ⁹ And every grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is prepared on a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who offers it. ¹⁰ And every grain offering, mixed with oil, or dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as well as another.[40]

¹¹ “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which one shall offer to Jehovah. ¹² If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened ring-shaped loaves mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and ring-shaped loaves made with fine flour, well-mixed and spread with oil. ¹³ With ring-shaped loaves of leavened bread he shall bring his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving. ¹⁴ And of this he shall offer one of every offering as a contribution to Jehovah; it shall belong to the priest who spatters the blood of the peace offerings.

¹⁵ And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. ¹⁶ But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten. ¹⁷ But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire. ¹⁸ And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him that offered it. It shall be an offensive thing, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his error.

¹⁹ “And the flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. And as for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat flesh. ²⁰ But the soul that eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Jehovah, while an uncleanness is on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. ²¹ And if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean detestable thing,[41] and then eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belongs to Jehovah, that soul shall be cut off from his people.”

²² And Jehovah spoke unto Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. ²⁴ And the fat of the one that dies of itself, and the fat of the one that is torn by beasts, may be put to any other use; but on no account shall you eat it. ²⁵ For whosoever eats the fat of an animal, from which men offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah, even the soul that eats it shall be cut off from his people. ²⁶ And you shall not eat any blood, whether it be of bird or of animal, in any of your dwellings. ²⁷ Whoever eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.’”

²⁸ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁹ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to Jehovah shall bring his offering to Jehovah from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. ³⁰ His own hands shall bring the offerings of Jehovah made by fire. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before Jehovah. ³¹ The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. ³² And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. ³³ He among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right thigh for a portion. ³⁴ For the breast that is waved, and the thigh have I taken from the sons of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their portion forever from the sons of Israel.

³⁵ This is the portion of Aaron, and the portion of his sons, from the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, on the day he presented them to serve as priests to Jehovah. ³⁶ Jehovah commanded this to be given them from the sons of Israel, on the day that he anointed them. It is their portion forever throughout their generations.”

³⁷ This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, and of the sin offering, and of the guilt offering, and of the ordination offering, and of the sacrifice of peace offerings, ³⁸ which Jehovah commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai.

CHAPTER 8

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “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 unleavened bread. ³ And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” 

⁴ And Moses did as Jehovah commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁵ And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that Jehovah has commanded to be done.” ⁶ And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. ⁷ And he put the tunic on him, and girded him with the sash,[42] and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod, binding it to him. ⁸ And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹ And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

¹⁰ And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and sanctified them. ¹¹ And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to sanctify them. ¹² And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. 

¹³ And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes, and bound headbands on them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

¹⁴ Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. ¹⁵ And he slaughtered it, and Moses took the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ And he took all the fat that was on the inward organs, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung he burned up with fire outside the camp, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

¹⁸ Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹ And he slaughtered it, and Moses spattered the blood on the altar all around. ²⁰ And when he cut the ram into pieces, Moses burned the head and the pieces and the fat. ²¹ He washed the inward organs and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a restful[43] aroma, it was an offering made by fire to Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

²² And he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination,[44] and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ And he slaughtered it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. And Moses spattered the blood on the altar all around. 

²⁵ Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the inward organs and the long appendage of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh, ²⁶ and out of the basket of the unleavened bread that was before Jehovah he took one unleavened ring-shaped loaf and one ring-shaped loaf with oil and one wafer, and he placed them on the fat parts and on the right thigh. ²⁷ And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before Jehovah. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering with a restful aroma, an offering made by fire to Jehovah. ²⁹ And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before Jehovah: it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

³⁰ And Moses took some of the anointing oil, and some of the blood, which was upon the altar, and spattered it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

³¹ And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination, just as I have commanded,[45] saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ ³² And what remains of the flesh and of the bread shall you burn with fire. ³³ And you shall not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination is fulfilled: for he shall fill your hand with power[46] seven days.[47] ³⁴ As has been done this day, so Jehovah has commanded to be done, to make atonement for you. ³⁵ And at the entrance of the tent of meeting shall you remain day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Jehovah, that you die not, for so I am commanded.” 

³⁶ And Aaron and his sons did all the things which Jehovah commanded by Moses.

CHAPTER 9

Aaron Offers Sacrifices

9 And it happened on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel, ² and he said to Aaron, “Take you a young calf of the herd for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before Jehovah. ³ And to the sons[48] of Israel you shall speak, saying, Take you a young goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a year old, without blemish, for a burnt offering, ⁴ and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before Jehovah; and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today Jehovah will appear to you.” ⁵ And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before Jehovah. ⁶ And Moses said, “This is the thing that Jehovah commanded you to do, that the glory of Jehovah may appear to you.” ⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people,[49] and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as Jehovah has commanded.”

⁸ So Aaron drew near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. ⁹ And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ But the fat and the kidneys and the long appendage of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as Jehovah commanded Moses. ¹¹ The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

¹² And he slaughtered the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons delivered to him the blood, and he spattered it on the altar all around. ¹³ And they delivered the burnt offering unto him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴ And he washed the inward organs and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵ And he presented the people’s offering, and took the goat of the sin offering, which was for the people, and slaughtered it, and offered it for sin, like the first. ¹⁶ And he presented the burnt offering and offered[50] it according to the regulation. ¹⁷ And he presented the grain offering, and filled his palm with some of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸ Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people, and Aaron’s sons delivered the blood to him, which he spattered on the altar all around. ¹⁹ And the fat of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail, and that which covers the inward organs, and the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver, ²⁰ and they[51] put the fat on the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar, ²¹ but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before Jehovah, as Moses commanded.

²² Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings ²³ And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people. ²⁴ And there came forth fire from before Jehovah and consumed on the altar the burnt offering and the fat, and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

CHAPTER 10

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his fire holder, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange[52] fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them. ² And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and consumed them, and they died before Jehovah. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is it that Jehovah spoke, saying, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

⁴ And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” ⁵ So they came near and carried them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your garments, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning, which Jehovah has kindled. ⁷ And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of Jehovah is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

⁸ And Jehovah spoke to Aaron, saying, ⁹ “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ And you shall make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹ and you shall teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which Jehovah has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹² And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons that were left, “Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. ¹³ And you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion and your sons’ portion, from the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, for so I am commanded. ¹⁴ And you shall eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the sacred portion in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your portion and the portion of your sons from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. ¹⁵ They shall bring the thigh of the sacred portion and the breast of the wave offering along with the offerings made by fire, of the fat pieces, in order to wave the wave offering before Jehovah; and it shall be a portion forever for you and your sons with you, as Jehovah has commanded.”

¹⁶ Now Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, look, it was burned, and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron that were left, saying, ¹⁷ “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the place that is holy, since it is something most holy and he has given it to you that you may bear the error of the assembly so as to make atonement for them before Jehovah? ¹⁸ Look, the blood of it was not brought inside the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” ¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before Jehovah, and yet such things as these have happened to me, and if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been well-pleasing in the eyes of Jehovah?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, it was well-pleasing in his sight.

CHAPTER 11

Laws about Animals for Food

11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Every animal that has splits hoof and forms a cleft in the hoofs and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or split the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not split the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁵ And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not split the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁶ And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not split the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁷ Also the pig, because it has a split hoof and a cleft in the hoof but does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. ⁸ You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their dead bodies; they are unclean to you.

⁹ “This is what you may eat of everything in the waters: Anything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰ But anything in the seas and in the rivers that has no fins and scales, among all the swarming creatures and of every other living soul[53] that is in the waters, it is an detestable thing for you. ¹¹ You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their dead bodies. ¹² Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Avoid the Unclean

¹³ “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ and the kite and the falcon according to its kind, ¹⁵ every raven according to its kind, ¹⁶ and the ostrich and the owl[54] and the sea gull and the hawk according to its kind, ¹⁷ and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, ¹⁸ and the barn owl[55] and the desert owl and the carrion vulture, ¹⁹ and the stork, the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat.

²⁰ “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. ²¹ Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have[56] jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. ²² From these you may eat the locust according to its kind and the bald locust according to its kind and the cricket according to its kind and the grasshopper according to its kind. ²³ But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

²⁴ “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵ and whoever carries any part of their dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶ Every animal that splits the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. ²⁷ And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁸ The one who carries their dead bodies should wash his garments, and he will be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.

²⁹ “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard[57] according to its kind, ³⁰ and the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard,[58] the sand lizard, and the chameleon.[59] ³¹ These are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³² Now anything they fall on when they die will be unclean, whether it is an article of wood, a garment, a skin, or a piece of sackcloth. Any utensil that is used should be immersed in water, and it will be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean. ³³ And if any of them falls into an earthenware vessel, you are to smash it, and anything that was in it will be unclean. ³⁴ Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵ And everything on which any part of their dead body falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶ Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, but whoever touches a dead body in them shall be unclean. ³⁷ And if any part of their dead body falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean. ³⁸ But if water is put on the seed and any part of their dead body falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹ “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its dead body shall be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁰ And the one who eats of its dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹ “Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. ⁴² Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ⁴³ You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. ⁴⁴ For I am Jehovah your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make your souls unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the ground. ⁴⁵ For I am Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

⁴⁶ This is the law about beast and bird and every living soul that moves through the waters and every soul that swarms on the ground, ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

CHAPTER 12

Purification after Giving Birth

12 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³ And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She should not touch any holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the fulfilling of the days of her purification. 

⁵ But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. For sixty-six days more she will continue in the blood of purification. ⁶ When the days of her purification for a son or a daughter are completed, she will bring a young ram in its first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest. ⁷ And he shall offer it before Jehovah and make atonement for her, and she will be clean from her flow[60] of blood. This is the law for the woman who gives birth to either a male or a female. ⁸ But if she cannot afford[61] a lamb, she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons,[62] one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.”

CHAPTER 13

Regulations Concerning Leprosy

13 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ² “When a man shall have on the skin of his body[63] a swelling or a scab or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous[64] disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, ³ The priest shall examine the infection on the skin of his body.[65] When the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body,[66] it is the disease of leprosy. The priest shall examine it and pronounce him unclean. ⁴ But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, then the priest separates him who has the infection for seven days. ⁵ And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day: and look, if in his eyes the infection has not spread, and the infection has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall separate him seven days more. 

⁶ And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and, look, if the infection has faded, and the infection has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is an eruption: and he shall wash his garments, and be clean. ⁷ But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. ⁸ And the priest shall examine it; and look, if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

⁹ “When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest shall examine; and look, if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is an open sore in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a chronic[67] leprous infection in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not separate him, for he is unclean. ¹² And if the leprous infection breaks out in the skin, so that the leprous infection covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall examine, and look, if the leprous infection has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the infection; it has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴ But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, for it is leprosy. ¹⁶ Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, ¹⁷ and the priest shall examine him, and look, if the infection has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; he is clean.

¹⁸ “And when the body has a boil on its skin and it is healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest. ²⁰ and the priest shall examine, and look, if it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest examines it, and look, there are no white hairs in it and it is not lower than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall separate him for seven days. ²² And if it spreads further in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. ²³ But if the bright spot remains in its place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ “Or when the flesh has in the skin a burning by fire, and the raw flesh of the burning becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white, ²⁵ the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous infection. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous infection. ²⁶ But if the priest examines it, and, look, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it is no deeper than the skin, but is faded; then the priest shall separate him seven days, ²⁷ and the priest shall examine him the seventh day. If it is spreading in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous infection. ²⁸ But if the spot remains in its place and does not spread in the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn.

²⁹ “And when a man or woman has an infection on the head or the beard, ³⁰ the priest shall examine the disease; and look, if it appears deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous infection of the scalp,[68] the head or the beard. ³¹ And if the priest examines the scall[69] infection, and, look, it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall separate the person with the scalp infection for seven days, ³² and on the seventh day the priest shall examine the infection; and look, if the scalp infection has not spread, and there is in it no yellow hair, and the scalp infection appears to be no deeper than the skin, ³³ then he shall shave himself, but the scalp infection he shall not shave; and the priest shall separate the person with the scalp infection for another seven days. 

³⁴ And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the scalp, and if the infection has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. And he shall wash his garments and be clean. ³⁵ But if the scalp infection spreads in the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶ then the priest shall examine him; and look, if the scalp infection has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. ³⁷ But if in his eyes the scalp infection is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the scalp infection is healed and he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ “And when a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, white bright spots, ³⁹ then the priest shall examine; and look, if the spots on the skin of the body are of a faded white, it is a skin rash that has broken out in the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰ “And if a man loses the hair of his head and becomes bald, he is clean. ⁴¹ And if he loses the hair on the front[70] of his head and becomes bald there, he is clean. ⁴² But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white infected area, it is a leprous infection breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. ⁴³ Then the priest shall examine him; and look, and if the swelling from the infection is reddish white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprous infection in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.

⁴⁵ “As for the leper who has the infection, his garments should be torn and his head should be left ungroomed and he should cover over his upper lip and he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ ⁴⁶ He shall remain unclean all the days that he has the infection. He shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Leprosy on Clothing

⁴⁷ “When there is a case of leprous infection in a garment, whether a woolen or a linen garment, ⁴⁸ in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin, ⁴⁹ if the disease is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin or in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin, it is a case of leprous infection, and it shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ And the priest shall examine the infection and separate that which has the disease for seven days. ⁵¹ And he shall examine the infection on the seventh day. If the infection has spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, the disease is a malignant leprosy infection; it is unclean. ⁵² And he shall burn the garment, or the warp or the woof, the wool or the linen, or any article made of skin that is infected, for it is a malignant leprosy infection. It shall be burned in the fire.

⁵³ “And if the priest examines, and if the infection has not spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin, ⁵⁴ then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the infection, and he shall separate it for another seven days. ⁵⁵ And the priest shall examine the infected thing after it has been washed. And if the appearance of the infected area has not changed, though the infection has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire because it has been eaten away, either on the back or on the front.

⁵⁶ “But if the priest examines, and if the infected area has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or the skin or the warp or the woof. ⁵⁷ Then if it appears again in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire that which has the infection in it. ⁵⁸ But the garment, or the warp or the woof, or any article made of skin from which the infection has departed when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and be clean.”

⁵⁹ This is the law of the infection of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, to determine whether it is clean or unclean.

CHAPTER 14

Cleansing a Leper

14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, ³ and the priest shall go out of the camp; and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the leprous infection is healed in the leper, ⁴ then the priest shall command, and he[71] shall take two living, clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. ⁵ And the priest shall also give orders to slaughter the one bird[72] in an earthenware vessel over running water.[73] ⁶ As for the live bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the running water. ⁷ And he shall spatter on him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let go the living bird go into the open field. 

⁸ And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his garments, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. ⁹ And it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off, and he shall wash his garments, and he shall bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

¹⁰ “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs[74] without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and one log of oil. ¹¹ And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and these things, before Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹² And the priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a guilt offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Jehovah. ¹³ And he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter[75] the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 

¹⁴ And the priest shall take of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ And the priest shall take of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand; ¹⁶ and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and shall spatter some of the oil with his finger seven times before Jehovah. ¹⁷ And of the remaining oil that is in his hand shall the priest put on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and upon the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering. ¹⁸ And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah. 

¹⁹ And the priest shall offer the sin offering and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. ²⁰ And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar: and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

²¹ “But if he is poor, and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; ²² also two turtledoves or two pigeons, according to his means. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. ²³ And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah. 

²⁴ And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Jehovah. ²⁵ And he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, ²⁷ and the priest shall spatter with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Jehovah. ²⁸ And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. ²⁹ And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Jehovah. 

³⁰ And he shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, according to his means, ³¹ the one he can afford,[76] the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the grain offering: and the priest shall make atonement for him that is to be cleansed before Jehovah. 

³² This is the law for him in whom is an infection of leprosy, who does not have the means that pertains to his cleansing.”

Cleansing a Leprous House

³³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

³⁴ “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a case of leprous infection in a house in the land of your possession, ³⁵ then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be an infection in my house.’ ³⁶ Then the priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the infection, lest all that is in the house be declared unclean. And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house. ³⁷ And he shall examine the infection. And if the infection is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface of the wall, ³⁸ then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. 

³⁹ And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look; and look, if the infection has spread in the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the infection and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ Then he shall have the inside of the house thoroughly scraped,[77] and the plaster and mortar that they scraped off[78] shall be poured out in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and plaster the house.

⁴³ “But if the infection breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped[79] the house and plastered it, ⁴⁴ then the priest shall come in and take a look; and if the plague has spread in the house, it is malignant leprosy in the house; it is unclean. ⁴⁵ And he shall break down the house, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them out of the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶ Moreover, whoever goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁷ And he who lies in the house shall wash his garments; and he that eats in the house shall wash his garments.

⁴⁸ “And if the priest comes and looks, and if the infection has not spread in the house, after the house was plastered; then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the infection is healed. ⁴⁹ And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedarwood, and scarlet, and hyssop, ⁵⁰ and he shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over running water. ⁵¹ And he shall take the cedarwood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird, and in the running water, and spatter the house seven times. ⁵² And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the live bird, and with the cedarwood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet material. ⁵³ And he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the law for any case of leprous infection of the scalp or the beard,[80] ⁵⁵ and for leprous infection in a garment or in a house, ⁵⁶ and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, ⁵⁷ to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.

CHAPTER 15

Unclean Genital Discharges

15 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When any man[81] has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. ³ And this will become his uncleanness by his discharge: Whether his body has flowed with a running discharge, or his body is obstructed from his running discharge,[82] it is his uncleanness. 

⁴ Any bed upon which the one having a discharge may lie down will be unclean, and anything upon which he sits will be unclean. ⁵ And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁶ And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁷ And whoever touches the flesh of the one having a discharge shall wash his garments, and he must bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁸ And if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁹ And any saddle upon which the one having a discharge was riding will be unclean. ¹⁰ And anyone touching anything that was under him will be unclean until the evening; and he who carries them will wash his garments, and he must bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹¹ And anyone whom the one having a discharge might touch when he has not rinsed his hands in water must then wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹² And an earthenware vessel that the one having a running discharge might touch should be broken; and every wooden vessel should be rinsed with water.

¹³ “Now when the man having a discharge would become clean from his discharge, he must then count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and he must wash his garments and bathe his body in running water; and he must be clean. ¹⁴ And on the eighth day he should take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons,[83] and he must come before Jehovah to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. ¹⁵ And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah for his discharge.

¹⁶ “Now if a man has an emission of semen go out from him, he must then bathe all his body in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁷ And any garment and any skin upon which the emission of semen shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening 

¹⁸ “‘If a man lies with a woman with an emission of semen, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

¹⁹ “‘When a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her body is blood, she shall be seven days in her menstrual impurity, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁰ And everything on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean. Everything also on which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹ And whoever touches her bed shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ²² And whoever touches anything on which she sits shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ²³ Whether it is on the bed or anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁴ And if any man lies with her and her menstrual impurity comes upon him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵ “And if a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. ²⁶ Any bed upon which she may lie all the days of her discharge shall be for her as the bed of her menstrual impurity. And everything on which she may sit shall be unclean like the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. ²⁷ And whoever touches these things shall be unclean and shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. 

²⁸ “But if she is clean from her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean. ²⁹ And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and she shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ³⁰ And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before Jehovah for her unclean discharge.

³¹ “And you shall keep the sons of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” 

³² “This is the law about the man who has a discharge and the man from whom an emission of semen goes out so that he is unclean by it, ³³ and the menstruating woman in her uncleanness, and anyone who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who lies with an unclean woman.”

CHAPTER 16

The Day of Atonement

16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near[84] before Jehovah, and died. ² Jehovah said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. ³ This is what Aaron shall come into the holy place with: a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the holy linen tunic and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. ⁶ “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. ⁷ And he shall take the two goats and set them before Jehovah at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for Azazel.[85] ⁹ And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for Jehovah and use it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel[86] shall be presented alive before Jehovah to make atonement upon it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness for Azazel.

¹¹ “Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself[87] and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself. ¹² And he shall take a fire holder full of coals of fire from the altar before Jehovah, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the curtain. ¹³ And put the incense on the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. ¹⁴ And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and spatter it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall spatter some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, spattering it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. ¹⁶ He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ And he shall go out to the altar that is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bull, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar all round. ¹⁹ And he shall spatter some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and sanctify it from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.

²⁰ “And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. ²¹ And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the errors of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send it away by the hand of a man that is standing ready into the wilderness. ²² The goat shall bear on itself all their errors to a desolate land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.[88] ²⁵ And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. ²⁶ And the man who sends out the goat for Azazel[89] shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ 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 carried forth outside the camp, and their skins and their flesh and their dung shall be burned in the fire. ²⁸ And he that burns them shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

²⁹ “And it shall be a statute forever to you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls,[90] and shall do no manner of work, the native, or the stranger that sojourns among you. ³⁰ For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before Jehovah. ³¹ It is a sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls;[91] it is a statute forever. ³² And the priest who shall be anointed[92] and whose hand will be filled with power[93] to act as priest as successor of his father must make an atonement and must put on the linen garments. ³³ And make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴ Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so he did.

CHAPTER 17

Blood for Atonement

17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them: This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded, saying, ³ Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴ and has not brought it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to Jehovah in front of the tabernacle of Jehovah, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. ⁵ This is to the end that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to Jehovah, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to Jehovah. ⁶ And the priest shall spatter the blood on the altar of Jehovah at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a restful aroma to Jehovah. ⁷ And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goatlike demons,[94] with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.”

⁸ “And you shall say to them, Any man from the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹ and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to Jehovah, that man shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ “If any man of the house of Israel or any stranger who is sojourning in your[95] midst eats any sort of blood; I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the soul. ¹² Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel, ‘No soul among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.’

¹³ “Any man also of the sons of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust. ¹⁴ For as for the soul of all flesh is its blood because the soul in it.[96] Therefore, I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of all flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it shall be cut off.’ ¹⁵ And every soul who eats that which dies of itself or that which is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his error.”

CHAPTER 18

Laws on Immoral Relations

18 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, I am Jehovah your God. ³ You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You shall follow my judgment decisions and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am Jehovah your God. ⁵ You shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgment decisions, which if a man does them, he shall live by them: I am Jehovah.

⁶ “‘No man among you should approach any of his close relatives[97] to uncover nakedness.[98] I am Jehovah. ⁷ 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. ⁸ The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover: it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness you shall not uncover: for theirs is your own nakedness. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹² You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister: she is your father’s close relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister: for she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are close relatives; it is wickedness.[99] ¹⁸ And you shall not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.

¹⁹ “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual uncleanness. ²⁰ And you shall not lie sexually with your fellow man’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them[100] to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am Jehovah. ²² You shall not lie with a male as you lie down with a woman; it is a detestable thing. ²³ And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman stand before an animal to lie with it:[101] it is perversion.

²⁴ “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. ²⁵ and the land became unclean, so that I punished its error, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But you shall keep my statutes and my judgment decisions and do none of these detestable things, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. ²⁷ For all these detestable things were done by the men who dwelt in the land before you, and now the land is unclean; ²⁸ so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. ²⁹ For everyone who does any of these detestable things, the souls who do them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ Thus you shall keep your obligation never to practice any of these detestable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not make yourselves unclean by them. I am Jehovah your God.”

CHAPTER 19

Different Laws on Holiness

19 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

² “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I Jehovah your God am holy. ³ Every man shall fear[102] his mother and his father;[103] and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God. ⁴ Do not turn to gods[104] or make for yourselves any molten gods of cast metal: I am Jehovah your God.

⁵ “And when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. ⁶ It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the next day, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. ⁷ And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offensive thing; it will not be accepted, ⁸ and the one[105] who eats it shall bear his error, because he has profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Appropriate Harvesting

⁹ “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap the edges of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not glean your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.

¹¹ “You shall not steal; nor shall you deal falsely, and you shall not lie to one another. ¹² And you shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am Jehovah.

Concern for the Deaf and the Blind

¹³ “You shall not oppress your fellow man, nor rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am Jehovah.

Slander No One

¹⁵ “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your fellow man. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the blood[106] of your fellow man:[107] I am Jehovah.

Do not Seek Vengeance

¹⁷ “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall surely reprove your fellow man, so that you will not incur sin along with of him. ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your fellow man as yourself; I am Jehovah.

¹⁹ “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment made with two kinds of thread mixed together.

²⁰ “Now if a man lies down with a woman and has intercourse[108] with her and she is a slave who is designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there should be a punishment.[109] However, they[110] shall not be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹ He shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. ²² The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before Jehovah for the sin that he committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.

²³ “And when you come into the land and you plant any kind of tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[111] For three years it will be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. ²⁴ But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to Jehovah. ²⁵ And in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit to increase its yield for you; I am Jehovah your God.

No Magic, Tattoos, and Spiritism

²⁶ “You shall not eat anything with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or practice magic. ²⁷ You shall not cut the hair on the side of your head or trim the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You must not make cuts in your flesh for a dead person, and you must not make tattoo markings on yourselves. I am Jehovah.

²⁹ “You shall not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land be filled with depravity. ³⁰ You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.

³¹ “Do not turn to mediums[112] or diviners;[113] do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am Jehovah your God.

Regard for the Elderly

³² “Before gray hair you shall rise up, and you shall honor the face of the old man, and you must be in fear of your God. I am Jehovah.

How to Treat of Foreigners

³³ “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were sojourners[114] in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

³⁵ “You shall not commit injustice in measures of length or weight or volume. ³⁶ You shall have just scales, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land from Egypt. ³⁷ And you shall observe all my statutes, and all my judgment decisions, and do them: I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 20

On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities

20 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “You shall also say to the sons of Israel, Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech,[115] shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. ³ I also will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people; because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. ⁴ And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes from that man, when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and do not put him to death, ⁵ then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him, to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.

Be Holy and Respect Parents

⁶ “And the soul who turns to the mediums[116] and the diviners,[117] to play the prostitute after them, I will also set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. ⁷ Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am Jehovah your God. ⁸ And you shall keep my statutes and practice them: I am Jehovah who sanctifies you. ⁹ If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

Death for Sexual offences

¹⁰ “And the man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his fellow man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. ¹¹ And the man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. ¹² And if a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have committed disgracefulness;[118] their blood shall be upon them. ¹³ If a man lies with a male as one lies down with a woman, both of them have committed a  detestable thing; they shall surely be put to death; their own blood is upon them. ¹⁴ And if a man takes a woman and her mother, it is shameful behavior:[119] they shall be burned with fire, both he and they; that there be no shameful behavior among you. ¹⁵ And if a man lies with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and you shall slaughter the beast. ¹⁶ And if a woman approaches any beast, and lies with it, you shall kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

¹⁷ “And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a shameful thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people: he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his error. ¹⁸ And if a man shall lie with a woman having her menstruation and shall uncover her nakedness; he has made naked her flow[120] of blood, and she hath uncovered the flow of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. ¹⁹ And you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister; for he has made naked his blood relative: they shall bear their error. ²⁰ And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. ²¹ And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is impurity: he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be[121] childless.

Be Holy in the Land

²² “You shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgment decisions, and do them; so that the land where I am bringing you to dwell will not vomit you out. ²³ And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. ²⁴ But I have said to you, ‘you shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am Jehovah your God, who has separated you from the peoples. ²⁵ You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean: and you shall not make your souls detestable with the beast, or with the bird, or by anything which crawls on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. ²⁶ And you shall be holy to me: for I, Jehovah, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.

²⁷ “A man or a woman who is a spirit medium or a diviner[122] shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”

CHAPTER 21

Priests Shall Be Holy

21 And Jehovah said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall defile himself for a dead soul^[123] among his people, ² except for a close blood relative, that is near to him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, ³ and for his sister a virgin, that is near to him, that has had no husband; for her[124] he may defile himself. ⁴ He shall not defile himself as a husband[125] among his people and so profane himself. ⁵ They shall not make baldness on their heads, nor the edges of their beard they shall not shave, and on their flesh, they shall not make any cuts. ⁶ They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings made by fire to Jehovah, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore, they shall be holy.[126] ⁷ They shall not take a woman that is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband: for he is holy to his God. ⁸ You shall sanctify him; therefore, for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy to you: for I Jehovah, who sanctify you, am holy. ⁹ And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father: she shall be burned with fire.

High Priest Shall Not Defile Himself

¹⁰ “And he that is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and whose hand was filled[127] to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head go loose, nor tear his garments. ¹¹ He shall not go near any dead soul nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. ¹² He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am Jehovah. ¹³ And he shall take a wife in her virginity. ¹⁴ A widow, or one divorced, or a defiled woman, a prostitute, these he shall not take: but a virgin of his own people he shall take as his wife, ¹⁵ and he shall not profane his offspring among his people: for I am Jehovah who sanctifies him.”

Priests Shall have No Physical Defects

¹⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. ¹⁸ For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a slit nose[128] or a limb too long, ¹⁹ or a man who has a broken foot or a broken hand, ²⁰ or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his eye or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. ²¹ No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest, who has a blemish, shall come near to offer the offerings of Jehovah made by fire: he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. ²² He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy, ²³ only he shall not go in to the curtain, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he may not profane sanctuaries: for I am Jehovah who sanctifies them.” ²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel.

CHAPTER 22

Purity Rules for Priests

22 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to me, and that they do not profane my holy name: I am Jehovah. ³ Say to them, ‘If any man of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the sons of Israel dedicate to Jehovah, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am Jehovah. ⁴ No man of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous infection, or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean, neither the man who touches someone who became unclean by a dead soul, nor a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵ nor a man who touches an unclean swarming creature or who touches a man who is unclean and who can make him unclean, whatever his uncleanness; ⁶ the soul who touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he has bathed his flesh in water. ⁷ And when the sun goes down, he shall be clean; and afterward, he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his food. ⁸ That which dies of itself, or is torn by beasts, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it: I am Jehovah. ⁹ They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it, and die thereby[129] because they have profaned it: I am Jehovah who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ “No stranger[130] shall eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of anything holy. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a soul[131] as his property with his money, he may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.[132] ¹² If the daughter of a priest should marry a stranger who is not a priest, she shall not eat of the offering of the holy things. ¹³ But if the daughter of a priest should become a widow or is divorced and she has no child and she returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s food; but no stranger[133] shall eat it. ¹⁴ Now if a man eats a holy thing unintentionally, he must add a fifth of its value and give the holy offering to the priest. ¹⁵ And they shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they offer to Jehovah, ¹⁶ and so cause them to bear the punishment for their guilt because of eating their holy things; for I am Jehovah, who sanctifies them.”

Flawless Offerings Acceptable

¹⁷ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to Jehovah, ¹⁹ for your acceptance, you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls, or the sheep, or the goats. ²⁰ But whatever has a blemish, that you shall not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. ²¹ And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Jehovah to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. ²² The blind or the injured or the maimed, or warts, or itching skin, or scabs; you shall not offer any of these to Jehovah or make such an offering  by fire on the altar for Jehovah. ²³ You shall offer a bull or a sheep with a limb that is too long or too short as a voluntary offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. ²⁴ And anything that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to Jehovah; you shall not do it in your land, ²⁵ neither from the hand of a foreigner shall you offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, there is a blemish in them: they shall not be accepted for you.”

²⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be accepted as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to Jehovah. ²⁸ And you shall not slaughter a bull or a sheep and its young on the same day.[134] ²⁹ And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Jehovah, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am Jehovah. 

³¹ “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am Jehovah. ³² And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the sons of Israel. I am Jehovah who sanctifies you, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 23

Laws of Holy Days and Festivals

23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of Jehovah that you shall proclaim as holy assemblies; they are my appointed feasts.

The Sabbath

³ “Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy assembly; you shall do no manner of work: it is a sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings.

The Passover

⁴ “These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy assemblies, which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. ⁵ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month between the two evenings,[135] is Jehovah’s Passover. ⁶ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Jehovah: seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you shall have a holy assembly: you shall do no laborious work. ⁸ But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah seven days: on the seventh day is a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work.”

The Feast of Firstfruits

⁹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹ and he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to Jehovah. ¹³ And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah[136] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to Jehovah with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.[137] ¹⁴ And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

¹⁵ “And you shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; seven full Sabbaths shall they be. ¹⁶ You will count fifty days until the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you should present a new grain offering to Jehovah. ¹⁷ You should bring from your dwelling places two loaves as a wave offering. These should be made of two tenths of an ephah[138] of fine flour. They should be baked with leaven, as first ripe fruits to Jehovah. ¹⁸ And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Jehovah, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a restful aroma to Jehovah. ¹⁹ And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰ And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Jehovah, with the two lambs; they shall be holy to Jehovah for the priest. ²¹ And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy assembly. You shall not do any laborious work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

²² “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor[139] and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy assembly. ²⁵ You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to Jehovah.”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “However, on the tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.[140] You should observe a holy assembly, and you must afflict your souls[141] and present an offering made by fire to Jehovah. ²⁸ And you shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Jehovah your God. ²⁹ For whatever soul is not afflicted[142] in that same day; he shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ As for any soul who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. ³¹ You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. ³² It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to Jehovah. ³⁵ On the first day shall be a holy assembly; you shall not do any laborious work. ³⁶ For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to Jehovah. On the eighth day you shall have a holy assembly and present an offering by fire to Jehovah; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

³⁷ “These are the appointed feasts of Jehovah, which you shall proclaim as times of holy assembly, for presenting to Jehovah food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day, ³⁸ besides the sabbaths of Jehovah, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Jehovah.

³⁹ “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of Jehovah seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. ⁴⁰ And you shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days. ⁴¹ And you shall celebrate it as a feast to Jehovah for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You should dwell in the booths for seven days. All the natives in Israel should dwell in the booths, ⁴³ that your generations may know that I made the sons of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.” 

⁴⁴ Thus Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed feasts of Jehovah.

CHAPTER 24

Oil for the Tabernacle Lamps

24 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel, that they bring you pure olive oil beaten for the lamp, to keep a lamp burning continually. ³ Outside the curtain of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before Jehovah continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ⁴ He shall set the lamps in order on the lampstand of pure gold before Jehovah continually.

The Bread of the Sanctuary

⁵ “And you shall take fine flour, and you shall bake with it twelve ring-shaped loaves: each one shall be two-tenths of an ephah.[143] ⁶ And you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before Jehovah. ⁷ You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to Jehovah. ⁸ Every sabbath day he shall arrange it before Jehovah continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel. ⁹ It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they will eat it in a holy place, because it is something most holy for him from Jehovah’s offerings made by fire, a perpetual due.”

Blasphemers of God’s Name Stoned

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought with each other in the camp. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. ¹² And they put him in custody, that it might be declared to them at the mouth of Jehovah.

¹³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴ “Bring the one who cursed outside of the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵ And speak to the sons of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. ¹⁶ Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of Jehovah shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name,[144] shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

¹⁷ “If a man fatally strikes any human soul, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ And he who fatally strikes the soul of an animal should make restitution for it, soul for soul. ¹⁹ If any man injures his fellow man, as he has done it shall be done to him, ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be given to him. ²¹ The man who strikes and kills an animal should make restitution for it, but the one who strikes and kills a man should be put to death. ²² You shall have the same regulation for the sojourner and for the native, for I am Jehovah your God.” ²³ So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus, the sons of Israel did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

CHAPTER 25

The Sabbath Year

25 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to Jehovah. ³ For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, ⁴ but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to Jehovah: you shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. ⁵ What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your undressed vine you shall not gather: it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. ⁶ And the sabbath of the land shall be food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who dwells with you, ⁷ and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its produce shall be for food.

The Jubilee Year

⁸ “And you shall number seven sabbaths of years to you, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty-nine years. ⁹ Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement, you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. ¹⁰ And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and you shall return every man to his property and each of you shall return every man to his family. ¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. ¹² For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

¹³ “In this year of jubilee each of you shall return every man to his property. ¹⁴ And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your fellow man’s hand, you shall not wrong one another. ¹⁵ You shall buy from your fellow man according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. ¹⁶ If there are many years remaining, you shall increase the price, and when there are few years left, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. ¹⁷ You shall not wrong your fellow man, but you shall fear your God, for I am Jehovah your God.

¹⁸ “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my judgment decisions and perform them, and then you shall dwell in the land securely. ¹⁹ And the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. ²⁰ And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we do not sow or gather in our crop?’ ²¹ Then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. ²² When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating old produce; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old.

Redemption of the Land

²³ “And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. ²⁴ And in all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption of the land.

²⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. ²⁶ And if a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, ²⁷ then let him calculate the years since the sale and restore the overpayment to the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return to his property. ²⁸ But if his hand has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then that which he has sold shall remain in the hand of him that has bought it until the year of Jubilee: and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.

²⁹ “Then if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it[145] until the end of the year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. ³⁰ If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall belong to the buyer in perpetuity throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the Jubilee. ³¹ But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be considered with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the Jubilee. ³² Nevertheless, the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. ³³ And if one of the Levites redeem,[146] then the house that was sold in the city of his possession, shall go out in the Jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. ³⁴ But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.

Treatment of the Poor

³⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and his hand slips with you,[147] you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. ³⁶ Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. ³⁷ You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. ³⁸ I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

Laws on Slavery

³⁹ “If your brother becomes poor alongside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: ⁴⁰ he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of the Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then he shall go out from you, he and his sons with him, and go back to his own family and return to the possession of his forefathers. ⁴² For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as slaves. ⁴³ You shall not rule over him with ruthlessness, but you shall fear your God. ⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves, which you may have from among the nations that are round about you: from them you may buy male or female slaves. ⁴⁵ And also from among the strangers who sojourn with you, you may buy from them and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. ⁴⁶ You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the sons of Israel you shall not rule with ruthlessness over one another.

Redeeming a Poor Man

⁴⁷ “If the hand of a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother alongside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner[148] with you or to a member of the stranger’s family, ⁴⁸ then after he is sold, he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹ or his uncle or the son of his uncle, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if his own hand has become wealthy,[149] he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of Jubilee, and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years; according to the day of a hired slave shall be with him. ⁵¹ If there are many years remaining, he shall pay his redemption in proportion out of the price of his purchase. ⁵² And if there remain but few years until the year of Jubilee, then he shall calculate with him. According to his years he shall refund price of his redemption. ⁵³ As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule over him with ruthlessness in your sight. ⁵⁴ And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he shall go out in the year of Jubilee, he, and his sons with him. ⁵⁵ For it is to me the sons of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

CHAPTER 26

Stay Away from Idolatry

26 “You must not make idols[150] for yourselves, and you must not set up a carved image or a sacred pillar for yourselves, and you must not put a stone figure in your land to bow down to it; for I am Jehovah your God. ² You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.

Obedience Brings Blessings

³ If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them, ⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ And your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. ⁶ And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove evil beasts from the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. ⁷ And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸ And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹ And I will have regard for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and will establish my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You shall eat old store[151] long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. ¹¹ And I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. ¹² And I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people. ¹³ I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you walk upright.

Disobedience Brings Punishment

¹⁴ “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, ¹⁵ and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your souls abhor my judgment decisions, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, ¹⁶ I also will do this to you: I will bring on you distress, even wasting disease[152] and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to waste away. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷ And I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none is pursuing you. ¹⁸ And if despite these things you will not listen to me, then I will chastise you again seven times for your sins, ¹⁹ and I will break the pride of your power: and I will make your heavens like iron, and your earth like copper. ²⁰ And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

²¹ “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, seven times for your sins. ²² And I will send the wild beasts of the field among you, and they will bereave you of children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted.

²³ “And if despite these things you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, ²⁴ then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and you shall be gathered within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. ²⁶ When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall deliver your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ “If in spite of this you will not listen to me and you walk contrary to me, ²⁸ then I will walk contrary to you in wrath; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat. ³⁰ And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul shall abhor you. ³¹ And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries[153] to desolation, and I will not smell your restful aroma. ³² And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies who dwell there shall be appalled at it. ³³ And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

³⁴ “Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you are in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it did not have in your sabbaths, when you were dwelling in it. ³⁶ And as for them who are left of you, I will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursues. ³⁷ And they shall stumble one upon another, as if it were before the sword, when none pursues: and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. ³⁹ And those of you who are left of you shall rot away in their errors in your enemies’ lands; and also, in the errors of their fathers they shall rot away with them.

⁴⁰ “And they shall confess their errors, and the errors of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me, ⁴¹ I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they make amends for their errors, ⁴² then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham I will remember; and I will remember the land. ⁴³ The land shall also be abandoned by them, and shall enjoy its sabbaths, while it lies desolate without them: and they shall make amends for their errors; because even because they rejected my judgment decisions, and their soul abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Jehovah their God. ⁴⁵ but I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am Jehovah.”

⁴⁶ These are the statutes and judgment decisions and laws, which Jehovah made between himself and the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai by Moses.

CHAPTER 27

Redemption of Vows

27 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak unto the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man makes a special vow, to offer the estimated value of a soul to Jehovah. ³ If your estimated value shall be of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old, then your estimated value shall be fifty shekels[154] of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴ But if it is a female, the estimated value shall be thirty shekels. ⁵ And if the age is from five years old to twenty years old, the estimated value of the male shall be twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. ⁶ And if the age is from a month old to five years old, the estimated value of the male shall be five shekels of silver and for the female the estimated value shall be three shekels of silver. ⁷ And if the age is from sixty years old upward, if it is a male, the estimated value shall be fifteen shekels and for the female ten shekels. ⁸ But if a man is too poor for the estimated value, then he shall stand him before the priest, and the priest shall value him. According to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.

⁹ “And if it is a beast such as men offer[155] in offering to Jehovah, all of such that any man gives to Jehovah shall be something holy. ¹⁰ He may not substitute it, and he may not exchange it with good for bad or with bad for good. But if he makes any exchange beast for beast, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy. ¹¹ And if it is any unclean beast such as is not offered in offering to Jehovah, then he shall stand the beast before the priest. ¹² And the priest shall value it[156] whether it is good or bad. As you, the priest value it, so it shall be. ¹³ But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to your estimation.

¹⁴ “Now if a man sanctifies his house as holy to Jehovah, then the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. ¹⁵ And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of the valuation in money to it, and it shall be his.

¹⁶ “If a man sanctifies to Jehovah some of the field that he possesses, the value will be estimated in proportion to the seed needed to sow it: a homer[157] of barley seed shall be fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷ If he sanctifies his field from the year of jubilee, according to your estimated value it shall stand. ¹⁸ But if he sanctifies his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate for him the price in proportion to the years that remain until the year of jubilee; and a deduction shall be made from the estimated value. ¹⁹ And if he that sanctified the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of the money of your estimated value to it, and it shall remain his. ²⁰ Now if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. ²¹ But the field when it is released in the Jubilee, it shall become something holy to Jehovah, as a field that is devoted to him. It shall become the property of the priests. ²² And if he sanctifies to Jehovah a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his possession, ²³ then the priest shall calculate to him the amount of your valuation to the year of jubilee: and he shall give your estimated value in that day, as a holy thing to Jehovah. ²⁴ In the year of jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs. ²⁵ And all your estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs[158] shall make a shekel.

²⁶ ‘However, no one should sanctify the firstborn among beasts, which as a firstborn belongs to Jehovah, whether ox or sheep, it belongs to Jehovah. ²⁷ And if it is an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to your estimated value, and he shall add to it a fifth: and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your estimated value.

²⁸ “But no devoted thing that a man devotes to Jehovah, of anything that he has, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah. ²⁹ No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction among mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

³⁰ ‘Every tenth part[159] of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, belongs to Jehovah. It is something holy to Jehovah. ³¹ If a man wishes to redeem some of his tenth part, he shall add a fifth to it. ³² For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one[160] shall be holy to Jehovah. ³³ He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; or if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

³⁴ These are the commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.

[1] MT “priest” LXX SP SYR AT and five Hebrew MSS “priests” Compare vss 5, 8.

[2] MT LXX SYR “priests”

[3] That is the (suet) hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals.

[4] (Heb. אִשֶּׁה ishsheh) “An offering made by fire” derived from ʼesh, “fire.”  The meaning can be how one can set up a close connection with God, derived it from ʼnsh.

[5] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[6] That is the (suet) hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals.

[7] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[8] Lit sons of the pigeon

[9] LXX “Its feathers” SYM TH “its fine feathers (down)”

[10] That is the ashes from the burnt wood of the altar fire, which were soaked with the fat of the animal sacrifices.

[11] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[12] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[13] MT “and you shall bring” DSS LXX “and he shall bring”

[14] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[15] MT “you shall not burn” LXX SP AT and some Hebrew MSS “present”

[16] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[17] Appendage; lobe; caul: (יֹתֶרֶת yothereth) This was the fatty mass on the opening of the liver, frequently identified as lobus caudatus as an appendage of the liver. – Ex 29:13, 22; Lev 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; 8:16, 25; 9:10, 19.

[18] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[19] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[20] MT “for a sin offering” LXX SYR “concerning his sin”

[21] That is the ashes from the burnt wood of the altar fire, which were soaked with the fat of the animal sacrifices.

[22] That is the ashes from the burnt wood of the altar fire, which were soaked with the fat of the animal sacrifices.

[23] The Hebrew (שָׁגָה shagah) can mean to sin, err either intentionally or unintentionally by being led astray due to the wicked one’s influence or one’s own lack of self-discipline or self-control. – Lev 4:13; Nu 15:22; 1Sa 26:21; Job 6:24; 19:4; Ps 119:21,118; Eze 45:20.

[24] SP LXX and one Heb. MS. “veil of the sanctuary”

[25] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[26] MT “a lamb” SP “a female lamb”

[27] Error: (עָווֹן avon) The Hebrew word avon essentially relates to erring, acting illegally or wrongly. This aspect of sin refers to committing a perverseness, wrongness, lawlessness, law breaking, which can also include the rejection of the sovereignty of God. It also focuses on the liability or guilt of one’s wicked, wrongful act. This error may be deliberate or accidental; either willful deviation of what is right or unknowingly making a mistake. (Lev. 4:13-35; 5:1-6, 14-19; Num. 15:22-29; Ps 19:12-13) Of course, if it is intentional; then, the consequence is far more serious. (Num. 15:30-31) Error is in opposition to the truth, and those willfully sinning corrupt the truth, a course that only brings forth flagrant sin. (Isa 5:18-23) We can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. – Ex 9:27, 34-35; Heb. 3:13-15.

[28] Lit If his hand cannot reach

[29] Atonement, Reconciliation: (Heb. כָּפַר kaphar; Gr. καταλλαγή katallagē; καταλλάσσω katallassō) The sense in both the OT Hebrew and NT Greek Scriptures is that of making amends (cleansing oneself from a sin or one’s sinful condition). That is, falling short (be it intentional, ignorance, or negligence) and restoring a previously harmonious relationship with God. This would then allow the person to approach God and worship him in an approved condition regardless of his human imperfection. In the Hebrew Scriptures, different types of sacrifices were offered, especially on the annual Day of Atonement. This was to bring about reconciliation with God regardless of the sins of individuals and the whole nation. The sacrifices of the Hebrew OT pointed to the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This was the sacrifice once for all time that atoned for anyone who accepts Jesus and evidence faith in that sacrifice, which reconciles that one to God. – Lev. 5:10; 23:28; Eph. 2:16; Col 1:20, 22; Heb. 9:12.

[30] Lit sinned

[31] A tenth of an ephah equaled 2.2 L (2 dry qt).

[32] A shekel equaled 11.4 g (0.367 oz t).

[33] SYR VG begin chapter 6 here; MT LXX continue for seven more vss.

[34] Lit in hand

[35] Burnt offering: (עֹלָה olah) A sacrifice that was clean and acceptable in which the entire animal (bull, ram, a male goat, turtledove, or young pigeon), was consumed on the altar, as a total offering to God. The worshipper kept no part of the sacrifice for himself. – Ex. 29:18; Lev. 6:9.

[36] That is the ashes from the burnt wood of the altar fire, which were soaked with the fat of the animal sacrifices.

[37] A tenth of an ephah equaled 2.2 L (2 dry qt).

[38] That is, a regular grain offering

[39] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[40] Lit one as his brother

[41]  MT “detestable thing” SP SYR AT and some Hebrew MSS “swarming thing”

[42] To “gird up the loins” or “gird up your hips” is an idiom that means to cause oneself to be in a state of readiness: ‘to get ready,’ ‘to prepare oneself.’ It refers to a person gathering up the ends of the garments between his legs and then tucking them under the sash (כֻּתֹּנֶת kuttoneth) worn around their hips to expedite physical activity. They often wore a sash over the inner or outer garments. This girding up the loins would include any physical labor and getting ready to do battle. It also came to be used as an expression meaning to equip oneself for vigorous mental or spiritual activity. There are times when it also has a sense of strengthening.

[43] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[44] Lit (מִלֻּאִים milluîm) a filling, that is, filling of the hand with power, an empowering.

[45] MT “just as I have commanded” LXX SYR AT^o “just as I was commanded” VG^c “just as Jehovah instructed me”

[46]  LXX “he will consecrate your hands,” Septuagint translated by C. Thomson, 1904.

[47] Or for he shall install you seven days.

[48] MT SYR VG “sons” LXX “to the elders of Israel” SP “to the elders of the Sons of Yishraael”

[49] MT SP SYR VG “and for the people” LXX “and for your household” (compare 16:17)

[50] Lit made

[51] MT VG “They” SP LXX SYR “he”

[52] That is, unauthorized fire

[53] Or creature

[54] LXX VG “night owl”

[55] VG “Swan” LXX “red-bill”

[56] LXX SYR VG “that have” MT “which do not have (bending) legs” Compare vs 23.

[57] MT “Lizard” LXX “lizard” or “land crocodile” VG “crocodile”

[58] VG “Newt”

[59] LXX VG “Mole”

[60] Lit fountain

[61] Lit if her hand cannot reach

[62] Lit sons of a pigeon

[63] Lit in the skin of his flesh

[64] Leprosy: (צָרַעַת tsaraath; λεπρός lepros) is a disease mainly affecting the skin and nerves that can cause tissue change and, in severe cases, loss of sensation and disfigurement. In Bible times, it could affect homes and clothing as well as humans. It is transmitted following close personal contact and has an incubation period of 1-30 years. – Lev. 13:1-46; Deut. 24:8; 2 Ki 5:3, 6, 7, 27; 2 Ch. 26:19; Matt. 8:2; 10:8; 11:5; 26:6; Mark 1:40; 14:3; Lu 4:27; 7:22; 17:12.

[65] Lit flesh

[66] Lit flesh

[67] Lit aging

[68] Lit scall: The Hebrew term (נֶגַע nega) rendered “scall” is a skin disease with scabs or scales, scurf or scabby disorder (of the scalp)

[69] Scall: The Hebrew term (נֶגַע nega) rendered “scall” is a skin disease with scabs or scales, a scurf or scabby disorder (of the scalp)

[70] Lit bald from the border of his face

[71] MT VG “He” SP LXX SYR “they”

[72] M “and he must kill the one bird,” Sam. LXX Syr. “and they must kill the one bird.”

[73] Lit living water

[74] SP LXX add “a year old”

[75] MT Lit “where he regularly slaughters the … offering,” SP LXX “where they regularly slaughter the … offering”

[76] LXX SYR VG exclude “such as he can afford”

[77] SP LXX SYR “And they will scrape the house off”

[78] MT SP AT^O SYR “scrape off”

[79] MT SP AT^O SYR “scrape”

[80] Literally scall (of leprosy), which is an infected area of the skin

[81] MT LXX “man”

[82] LXX includes “he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge, by which his body is affected by the flow” after “obstructed from his running discharge.” SP includes “he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge, or his body blocks his discharge” after the phrase “obstructed from his running discharge.” DSS “all the days of the disc[harge.”

[83] Lit sons of a pigeon

[84] MT SP “For their approaching,” LXX SYR VG “for their bringing strange fire”

[85] Azazel: Two goats were acquired from the assembly of the sons of Israel for use on the Day of Atonement. They would cast lots, selecting one goat “for Jehovah” and the other “for Azazel.” Both goats were unblemished (perfect). Both goats were referred to as a single sin offering. (Lev 16:5) The first goat was sacrificed as a sin offering for Jehovah. The second had the people’s sins confessed over it and was sent to an isolated place in the wilderness. The purpose here was to stress what was achieved by this sacrifice to atone for the people’s sins. The word “Azazel” has had four different major interpretations: (1) “Azazel” describes the goat’s function “the goat that departs,” (2) an abstract noun meaning “entire removal,” meaning sins removed never to be seen again, (3) “Azazel” is a name for the location where the goat departed (favored by Jewish scholars), and (4) “Azazel” is a demon purportedly in the wilderness (poplar view), which some identify with Satan. The word “Azazel” (עֲזָאזֵל azazel) occurs four times in the Bible, in judgment decisions that pertained to Atonement Day. On this, the Psalmist tells us, “For you, O Jehovah, are good, and ready to forgive.” (Psa 86:5) We have several vivid expressions that describe Jehovah’s forgiveness. King David says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psa. 103:12) God puts sins as far away as can be imagined. Isaiah 38:17 says, “for you [Jehovah] have cast all my sins behind your back.” This means that God can no longer see them, nor does he call them to mind anymore; they are as though they never happened. Micah tells us that God “will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19) In ancient times, something that was dropped into the depths of the search could never be recovered. This means that when God forgives, he removes sins forever. We have the same kind of expression with Azazel being released into the wilderness, symbolically releasing the past year’s sins, causing them to disappear into the wilderness. The Hebrew name of the “scapegoat” that was released into the wilderness on atonement day symbolizes the release of the past year’s sins of the Israelite community into an isolated place. (Lev. 16:8, 10^(2x), 26) MT SP “For Azazel,” (Heb. (לַעֲזָאזֵל) laAzazel) LXX “scape-goat” SYR “for the strong one against God” VG “the emissary goat; the scapegoat.”

[86] See 16:8 fn.

[87] LXX adds “and for his house alone”

[88] LXX “for himself and the whole-burnt-offering for the people: and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and for the people, as for the priests”

[89] See 16:8 fn.

[90] This is generally understood to involve different kinds of self-denial, which would include fasting.

[91] This is generally understood to involve different kinds of self-denial, which would include fasting.

[92] SYR VG “who will be anointed” MT “whom he will anoint” LXX “whom they will anoint”

[93] VG “whose hand will be filled with power” MT “he will fill with power” LXX “they will fill with power.”

[94] Or “to the satyrs” MT “to the goats” SP “demon goats VG “to the demons” LXX “to the senseless beings”

[95] LXX SYR “Your”

[96] MT (בְנַפְשׁוֹ הוּא) “is in its soul” LXX SYR VG  lack.

[97] Lit flesh of his flesh

[98] That is, to have sexual relations here and in the following occurrences

[99] Or shameful conduct; lewdness

[100] Lit cause to pass over; allow the passing through, that is, children devoted to or sacrifices in the fire to Molech

[101] That is, to have intercourse with it

[102] That is, respect

[103] MT VG “his mother and his father” LXX SYR VG^c “his father and his mother”

[104] LXX VG “to idols”

[105] MT “ones” SP LXX SYR “one”

[106] That is, life

[107] That is, “You shall not stand by while your fellow man’s life is in danger.”

[108] Lit a lying of seed

[109] SP adds “for him”

[110] MT LXX “they” SP “he”

[111] Lit as its foreskin

[112] MT “mediums” (the supposed communication between spirits of the dead and the living, which at times was demonic communication) LXX “divining spirits” VG “astrologers”

[113] One who supposedly has the power to contact and gain information from supposed dead spirits.

[114] Sojourner: The Hebrew term (גֵּר ger) refers to a person who comes from a foreign country (or a different geographical or cultural group), and so they are a foreign resident, who has no allegiance to the other country and usually does not speak the language. The sojourner has fewer rights than the citizens of the land.

[115] MT “Molech” VG “the idol Moloch” LXX “the ruler”

[116] The supposed communication between spirits of the dead and the living, which at times was demonic communication

[117] One who supposedly has the power to contact and gain information from supposed dead spirits.

[118] That is, an aberrant perverted sexual practice

[119] The Hebrew (זִמָּה zimmah) is wickedness, with the focus on sexual behavior that is lewd and shameless.

[120] Lit (מָקוֹר maqor) a spring, fountain, well

[121] MT “be” childless LXX “die” childless

[122] A person supposed to be able to foresee the future: seer, oracle, fortune-teller.

[123] Or person

[124] MT “her” LXX “them”

[125] MT “He shall not defile himself as a husband.” Lev. 21:4 is exceedingly difficult to translate because we are not certain what the words mean. The Hebrew word (בַּעַל baal) translated “husband” may also be rendered “kinsman,” “relative,” “master,” “chief,” or “leader.” Even the early versions were uncertain how to translate this text. LXX “He must not defile himself suddenly” VG “He must not defile himself for a prince” SP “He shall not defile himself, being a chief man”

[126] SP LXX SYR VG “holy ones” MT “holy”

[127] That is, and who has been sanctified

[128] That is, one who has a mutilated face

[129] MT SP “and die thereby” VG “die in the sanctuary”

[130] That is, a man not of the family of Aaron

[131] That is, slave

[132] Lit bread

[133] That is, a man not of the family of Aaron

[134] Lit in one day

[135] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[136] Two tenths of an ephah equaled 4.4 L (4 dry qt).

[137] A hin equaled 3.67 L (7.75 pt).

[138] Two tenths of an ephah equaled 4.4 L (4 dry qt).

[139] Or afflicted

[140] Atonement, Reconciliation: (Heb. כָּפַר kaphar; Gr. καταλλαγή katallagē; καταλλάσσω katallassō) The sense in both the OT Hebrew and NT Greek Scriptures is that of making amends (cleansing oneself from a sin or one’s sinful condition). That is, falling short (be it intentional, ignorance, or negligence) and restoring a previously harmonious relationship with God. This would then allow the person to approach God and worship him in an approved condition regardless of his human imperfection. In the Hebrew Scriptures, different types of sacrifices were offered, especially on the annual Day of Atonement. This was to bring about reconciliation with God regardless of the sins of individuals and the whole nation. The sacrifices of the Hebrew OT pointed to the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This was the sacrifice once for all time that atoned for anyone who accepts Jesus and evidence faith in that sacrifice, which reconciles that one to God. – Lev. 5:10; 23:28; Eph. 2:16; Col 1:20, 22; Heb. 9:12.

[141] This is generally understood to involve different kinds of self-denial, which would include fasting.

[142] This is generally understood to involve different kinds of self-denial, which would include fasting.

[143] Two tenths of an ephah equaled 4.4 L (4 dry qt).

[144] SP “the Name” MT “a name” LXX VG “the name of Jehovah”

[145] Lit and his redemption may be

[146] MT SP lack “not” VG “not redeemed”

[147] That is, he cannot financially support himself

[148] SP LXX SYR and 10 Heb. MSS “the stranger or sojourner” MT lacks “or”

[149] LXX SYR “if he should be rich” MT lacks “if”

[150] VG “Make an idol”

[151] This pertains to eating the old produce of the preceding year as compared to the new year.

[152] A disease that causes an emaciating of the body so that it is weak and thin, such as consumption, especially tuberculosis, and diarrhea.

[153] MT LXX VG “Sanctuaries” SP SYR and 53 Heb. MSS “sanctuary”

[154] A shekel equaled 11.4 g (0.367 oz t).

[155] SP VG and 14 Heb. MSS “men offer” MT SYR “they offer”

[156] LXX SYR “the priest will determine a valuation for it” MT SP “the priest shall value it”

[157] A homer equaled 220 L (200 dry qt).

[158] A gerah equaled 0.57 g (0.01835 oz t).

[159] Or Every tithe

[160] Lit tenth head