The Sanctity of Blood

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who akills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be bimputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be 1cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices cwhich they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest dshall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eburn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices fto 2demons, after whom they ghave played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, hwho offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not ibring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be 3cut off from among his people.

10 j‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, kI will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the llife of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar mto make atonement for your souls; for nit is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ohunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall ppour out its blood and qcover it with dust; 14 rfor it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 s“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, the shall both wash his clothes and ubathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then vhe shall bear his 4guilt.”

Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘I am the Lord your God. 3 bAccording to 1the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and caccording to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their 2ordinances. 4 dYou shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your efather’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 fThe nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 gYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 hYou 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 her idaughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman jas a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as klong as she is in her lcustomary impurity. 20 mMoreover you shall not lie carnally with your nneighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not let any of your descendants opass through pthe fire to qMolech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with ra male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any sanimal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 t‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ufor by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For vthe land is defiled; therefore I wvisit 3the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land xvomits out its inhabitants. 26 yYou shall therefore 4keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest zthe land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be 5cut off from among their people.

30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My 6ordinance, so athat you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: bI am the Lord your God.’ ”

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

3 b‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and ckeep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

4 d‘Do not turn to idols, enor make for yourselves 1molded gods: I am the Lord your God.

5 ‘And fif you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

9 g‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

11 h‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, inor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not jswear by My name falsely, knor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 l‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. mThe wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nnor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in ojudgment. You shall not pbe partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a qtalebearer among your people; nor shall you rtake a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

17 s‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. tYou shall surely 2rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 uYou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, vbut you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is wbetrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be 3scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make 4atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as 5uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.

26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not xmake any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.

29 y‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.

30 ‘You shall 6keep My Sabbaths and zreverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.

31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after athem, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

32 b‘You shall 7rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and cfear your God: I am the Lord.

33 ‘And dif a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 eThe stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as 8one born among you, and fyou shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have ghonest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 h‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord.’ ”

Penalties for Breaking the Law

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 a“Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: b‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who 1dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall cstone him with stones. 3 dI will set My face against that man, and will 2cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land should in any way 3hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.

6 ‘And ethe person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 fConsecrate 4yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 And you shall keep gMy statutes, and perform them: hI am the Lord who 5sanctifies you.

9 ‘For ieveryone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. jHis blood shall be upon him.

10 k‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his lfather’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 If a man lies with his mdaughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. 13 nIf a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her omother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an panimal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

17 ‘If a man takes his qsister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be 6cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his 7guilt. 18 rIf a man lies with a woman during her 8sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has 9exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be 1cut off from their people.

19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your smother’s sister nor of your tfather’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 If a man lies with his uuncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his vbrother’s wife, it is an 2unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.

22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My wstatutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell xmay not vomit you out. 23 yAnd you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and ztherefore I abhor them. 24 But aI have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, bwho has separated you from the peoples. 25 cYou shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, dand you shall not make yourselves 3abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as 4unclean. 26 And you shall be holy to Me, efor I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

27 f‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’ ”

Regulations for Conduct of Priests

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: a‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a 1chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 b‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be choly to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the dbread of their God; etherefore they shall be holy. 7 fThey shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman gdivorced from her husband; for 2the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall 3consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for hI the Lord, who isanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be jburned with fire.

10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was kpoured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not luncover 4his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go mnear any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nnor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the oconsecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a pdefect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb qtoo long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the rveil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest she profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”

24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.