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The Book of Vayikra (Leviticus): Chapter 19

1 And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying:

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I HaShem your G-d am holy.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and ye shall keep My sabbaths: I am HaShem your G-d.

4 Turn ye not unto the idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am HaShem your G-d.

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

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

7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is a vile thing; it shall not be accepted.

8 But every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of HaShem; and that soul shall be cut off from his people.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am HaShem your G-d.

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

12 And ye shall not swear by My name falsely, so that thou profane the name of thy G-d: I am HaShem.

13 Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy G-d: I am HaShem.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favour the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour: I am HaShem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten.

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

25 But in the fifth year may ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you more richly the increase thereof: I am HaShem your G-d.

26 Ye shall not eat with the blood; neither shall ye practise divination nor soothsaying.

27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upon you: I am HaShem.

29 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of lewdness.

30 Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am HaShem.

31 Turn ye not unto the ghosts, nor unto familiar spirits; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am HaShem your G-d.

32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy G-d: I am HaShem.

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

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

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

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

37 And ye shall observe all My statutes, and all Mine ordinances, and do them: I am HaShem.


Sources: Portions copyright © 1997 by Benyamin Pilant, All Rights Reserved
JPS Electronic Edition, based on the 1917 JPS translation, Copyright © 1998 by Larry Nelson, All Rights Reserved
Jewish Bible