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Summary

Leviticus 19:1–8 – Be holy; parents, Sabbath, idols, peace offerings

What happens: God calls Israel to be holy. They must revere parents, keep Sabbaths, avoid idols, and handle peace offerings as commanded.

What it means: Holiness shapes worship and home life. God’s people honor him in time, family order, and offerings.

Leviticus 19:9–10 – Gleaning for the poor and the sojourner

What happens: Fields and vineyards must leave edges and leftovers for the poor and foreigner.

What it means: God’s holiness includes generosity and justice. He cares for the vulnerable through our open hands.

Leviticus 19:11–12 – Honesty and God’s name

What happens: Do not steal, lie, or swear falsely by God’s name.

What it means: Truth and integrity reflect God’s character. Bearing his name means clean speech and actions.

Leviticus 19:13–14 – Wage justice and care for the disabled

What happens: Do not oppress workers, curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block before the blind.

What it means: God defends the weak. Love acts with fairness and kindness.

Leviticus 19:15–16 – Impartial justice and no slander

What happens: Judges must not favor the rich or poor. Do not slander or endanger your neighbor’s life.

What it means: Justice is even-handed. Words and actions must protect life.

Leviticus 19:17–18 – Love your neighbor

What happens: Do not hate your brother; rebuke frankly and do not take revenge. Love your neighbor as yourself.

What it means: God commands active, wise love. Confrontation aims at good; vengeance belongs to God.

Leviticus 19:19 – Mixed kinds and boundaries

What happens: Do not breed different kinds, sow mixed seed, or wear mixed fabrics.

What it means: God teaches separation and order. Symbols in daily life reinforce holy distinctness.

Leviticus 19:20–22 – Case of a slave woman

What happens: A man who lies with a betrothed slave brings a guilt offering; punishment is adjusted to status.

What it means: God addresses complex situations with justice and mercy. Sin still requires atonement.

Leviticus 19:23–25 – First fruit of trees

What happens: Tree fruit is forbidden for three years, holy in the fourth, and free in the fifth.

What it means: Patience and firstfruits honor God as provider. Discipline precedes enjoyment.

Leviticus 19:26–31 – Occult, cutting, tattoos, and reverence

What happens: Israel must avoid occult practices, eating blood, cutting the hair’s edges, body cuttings and tattoos for the dead, and prostitution. Keep Sabbaths and revere the sanctuary.

What it means: God rejects death-centered and pagan practices. Worship belongs to him alone with bodies kept for his honor.

Leviticus 19:32 – Honor the aged

What happens: Stand before the gray head and fear your God.

What it means: Respect for elders shows fear of the Lord. Wisdom and honor go together.

Leviticus 19:33–34 – Love the sojourner

What happens: Treat the foreigner as the native and love him as yourself, remembering Egypt.

What it means: God’s mercy shapes our welcome. Covenant love crosses borders.

Leviticus 19:35–37 – Honest weights and obedience

What happens: Use just scales and measures and keep all statutes.

What it means: Integrity in trade is worship. God’s holiness reaches business and law.

Application

  • Practice holy love: truthful speech, fair pay, and impartial justice.
  • Build rhythms of generosity to the poor and the foreigner.
  • Keep your body and habits free from occult or death-centered practices.
  • Honor parents, elders, and the Sabbath to reflect God’s order.

Bible

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

5And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.

6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.

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

8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

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

10And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

11Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

12And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

13Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

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

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

17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

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

19Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

20And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

21And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.

22And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.

23And 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 uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

24But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.

25And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.

26Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

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

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

29Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

30Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

32Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

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

34But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

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

36Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

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