1And the Lord said to Moses, 2Say to all the people of Israel, You are to be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. 3Let every man give honour to his mother and to his father and keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4Do not go after false gods, and do not make metal images of gods for yourselves: I am the Lord your God. 5And when you give a peace offering to the Lord, do it in the way which is pleasing to the Lord. 6Let it be used for food on the same day on which it is offered, or on the day after; and whatever is over on the third day is to be burned with fire. 7If any of it is used for food on the third day, it is a disgusting thing and will not be pleasing to the Lord. 8And as for anyone who takes it for food, his sin will be on him, for he has put shame on the holy thing of the Lord: he will be cut off from his people. 9And when you get in the grain from your land, do not let all the grain be cut from the edges of the field, or take up what has been dropped on the earth after the getting in of the grain. 10And do not take all the grapes from your vine-garden, or the fruit dropped on the earth; let the poor man, and the man from another country, have these: I am the Lord your God. 11Do not take anyone's property or be false in act or word to another. 12And do not take an oath in my name falsely, putting shame on the name of your God: I am the Lord. 13Do not be cruel to your neighbour or take what is his; do not keep back a servant's payment from him all night till the morning. 14Do not put a curse on those who have no hearing, or put a cause of falling in the way of the blind, but keep the fear of your God before you: I am the Lord. 15Do no wrong in your judging: do not give thought to the position of the poor, or honour to the position of the great; but be a judge to your neighbour in righteousness. 16Do not go about saying untrue things among your people, or take away the life of your neighbour by false witness: I am the Lord. 17Let there be no hate in your heart for your brother; but you may make a protest to your neighbour, so that he may be stopped from doing evil. 18Do not make attempts to get equal with one who has done you wrong, or keep hard feelings against the children of your people, but have love for your neighbour as for yourself: I am the Lord. 19Keep my laws. Do not let your cattle have offspring by those of a different sort; do not put mixed seed into your field; do not put on a robe made of two sorts of cloth. 20If any man has sex relations with a servant-woman who has given her word to be married to a man, and has not been made free for a price or in any other way, the thing will be looked into; but they will not be put to death because she was not a free woman. 21Let him take his offering for wrongdoing to the Lord, to the door of the Tent of meeting; let him give a male sheep as an offering for wrongdoing. 22And the priest will take away his sin before the Lord with the sheep which is offered for his wrongdoing, and he will have forgiveness for the sin which he has done. 23And when you have come into the land, and have put in all sorts of fruit-trees, their fruit will be as if they had not had circumcision, and for three years their fruit may not be used for food. 24And in the fourth year all the fruit will be holy as a praise-offering to the Lord. 25But in the fifth year you may take the fruit and the increase of it for your food: I am the Lord your God. 26Nothing may be used for food with its blood in it; you may not make use of strange arts, or go in search of signs and wonders. 27The ends of the hair round your face and on your chin may not be cut off. 28You may not make cuts in your flesh in respect for the dead, or have marks printed on your bodies: I am the Lord. 29Do not make your daughter common by letting her become a loose woman, for fear that the land may become full of shame. 30Keep my Sabbaths and have respect for my holy place: I am the Lord. 31Do not go after those who make use of spirits, or wonder-workers; do not go in their ways or become unclean through them: I am the Lord your God. 32Get up from your seats before the white-haired, and give honour to the old, and let the fear of your God be before you: I am the Lord. 33And if a man from another country is living in your land with you, do not make life hard for him; 34Let him be to you as one of your countrymen and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange land, in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 35Do not make false decisions in questions of yard-sticks and weights and measures. 36Have true scales, true weights and measures for all things: I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt; 37You are to keep all my rules and my decisions and do them: I am the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
laws. - There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the ten commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, ver. #2|. To teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it! Children are to be obedient to their parents, ver. #3|. The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem, outward respect and obedience, care to please them and to make them easy. God only is to be worshipped, ver. #4|. Turn not from the true God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you, and make you for ever miserable. Turn not your eyes to them, much less your heart. They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor, ver. #9|. Works of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of every thing we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings, ver. #11|. Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not so. Reverence to the sacred name of God must be shown, ver. #12|. We must not detain what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, ver. #13|. We must be tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, ver. #14|. Do no hurt to any, because they are unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall. The fear of God should keep us from doing wrong things, though they will not expose us to men's anger. Judges, and all in authority, are commanded to give judgment without partiality, ver. #15|. To be a tale-bearer, and to sow discord among neighbours, is as bad an office as a man can put himself into. We are to rebuke our neighbour in love, ver. #17|. Rather rebuke him than hate him, for an injury done to thyself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother. We should say, I will do him the kindness to tell him of his faults. We are to put off all malice, and to put on brotherly love, ver. #18|. We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love to ourselves; in like manner we should love our neighbour. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbour. Ver. #31|: For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or the like, is a sad affront to God. They must be grossly ignorant who ask, "What harm is there in these things?" Here is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged, ver. #32|. Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to honour those to whom honour is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very tender of strangers, ver. #33|. Strangers, and the widows and fatherless, are God's particular care. It is at our peril, if we do them any wrong. Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to recommend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures is commanded, ver. #35|. We must make conscience of obeying God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives and tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, and the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we adorn the gospel.