Leviticus

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 1

LEVITICUS

I. THE RITUAL OF SACRIFICE

Holocaust[*a]

1:1 Yahweh called Moses, and from the Tent of Meeting addressed him, saying,

1:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel; say to them, “When any of you brings an offering to Yahweh, he can offer an animal from either herd or flock.

1:3 “If his offering is a holocaust of an animal out of the herd, he is to offer a male without blemish; it is to be offered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, so that it may be accepted before Yahweh.

1:4 He is to lay his hand on the victim’s head, and it shall be accepted as effectual for his atonement.

1:5 Then he must immolate the bull before Yahweh, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall offer the blood. They will pour it out on the borders of the altar which stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

1:6 Then he must skin the victim and quarter it.

1:7 The sons of Aaron, the priests, must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on this fire.

1:8 Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, are to put the pieces, the head and the fat on the wood on the altar fire.

1:9 He is to wash the entrails and legs in water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. This holocaust will be a burnt offering[*b] and the fragrance of it will appease Yahweh.

1:10 “If his offering is an animal out of the flock, a lamb or a goat offered as a holocaust, he is to offer a male without blemish.

1:11 He must immolate it on the north side of the altar, before Yahweh, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall pour out the blood on the borders of the altar.

1:12 Then he is to quarter it, and the priest is to arrange the quarters, as well as the head and the fat, on the wood on the altar fire.

1:13 He is to wash the entrails and legs in water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar. This holocaust will be a burnt offering and the fragrance of it will appease Yahweh.

1:14 “If his offering to Yahweh is a holocaust of a bird, he is to offer a turtledove or a young pigeon.

1:15 The priest shall offer it at the altar and wring off its head, which he is to burn on the altar; then its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.

1:16 Then he shall remove the crop and the feathers; these he is to throw on the eastern side of the altar, where the ashes from the fat are placed.

1:17 He is to divide it in two halves with a wing on each side, but without separating the two parts. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. This holocaust will be a burnt offering and its fragrance will appease Yahweh.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 2

The Oblation[*a]

2:1 “If anyone offers Yahweh an oblation, his offering is to consist of wheaten flour on which he is to pour wine and put incense.

2:2 He shall bring it to the sons of Aaron, the priests; he is to take a handful of the wheaten flour and oil and all the incense, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as a memorial, a burnt offering whose fragrance will appease Yahweh.

2:3 The remainder of the oblation is to revert to Aaron and his sons; a most holy portion of the burnt offerings of Yahweh.

2:4 “When you are going to offer an oblation of dough baked in the oven, the wheaten flour is to be prepared either in the form of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or in the form of unleavened wafers spread with oil.

2:5 “If your offering is an oblation cooked on the griddle, the wheaten flour mixed with oil is to contain no leavening.

2:6 You must break it in pieces and pour oil over it. It is an oblation.

2:7 “If your offering is an oblation cooked in the pan, the wheaten flour is to be prepared in oil.

2:8 “You must bring to Yahweh the oblation that has been thus prepared, presenting it to the priest, who is to bring it to the altar.

2:9 The priest shall take the memorial from the oblation and burn it on the altar, as a burnt offering whose fragrance will appease Yahweh.

2:10 The remainder of the oblation will revert to Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion of Yahweh’s burnt offering.

2:11 “None of the oblations that you offer to Yahweh is to be prepared with leaven, for you must never burn leaven or honey as a burnt offering for Yahweh.

2:12 You may offer them up to Yahweh as an offering of first-fruits, but they must not go up as an appeasing fragrance at the altar.

2:13 You must salt every oblation that you offer, and you must never fail to put on your oblation the salt of the Covenant with your God: to every offering you are to join an offering of salt to Yahweh your God.

2:14 If you offer Yahweh an oblation of first-fruits, you must offer roasted corn or bread made from ground corn.

2:15 You are to add oil to it and put incense on it; it is an oblation;

2:16 and the priest is to burn the memorial from part of the bread and oil (together with all the incense) as a burnt offering for Yahweh.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 3

The Communion Sacrifice[*a]

3:1 “If a man’s sacrifice is a communion sacrifice, and if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, whatever he offers before Yahweh must be without blemish.

3:2 He is to lay his hand on the victim’s head and immolate it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, must pour out the blood on the borders of the altar.

3:3 He is to offer part of the sacrifice as a burnt offering for Yahweh: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

3:4 the two kidneys, the fat on them and on the loins, the fatty mass which he is to remove from the liver and kidneys.

3:5 The sons of Aaron must burn this part on the altar, in addition to the holocaust, on the wood of the fire. It will be a burnt offering and its fragrance will appease Yahweh.

3:6 “If it is an animal from the flock that he offers as a communion sacrifice for Yahweh, he is to offer a male or female without blemish.

3:7 “If he offers a sheep, he is to offer it before Yahweh;

3:8 he is to lay his hand on the victim’s head and immolate it in front of the Tent of Meeting; then the sons of Aaron shall pour out its blood on the borders of the altar.

3:9 Of this communion sacrifice he is to offer the following as a burnt offering for Yahweh: the fat, all the tail taken off near the sacrum, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

3:10 the two kidneys, the fat that is on them and on the loins, the fatty mass which he will remove from the liver and kidneys.

3:11 The priest must burn this part on the altar as food, as a burnt offering for Yahweh.

3:12 “If his offering is a goat, he is to offer it before Yahweh:

3:13 he is to lay his hand on the victim’s head and immolate it in front of the Tent of Meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall pour out its blood on the borders of the altar.

3:14 Then this is what he is to offer as a burnt offering for Yahweh: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

3:15 the two kidneys, the fat that is on them and on the loins, the fatty mass which he will remove from the liver and kidneys.

3:16 The priest must burn these pieces on the altar as food, as a burnt offering for Yahweh. “All the fat belongs to Yahweh.

3:17 This is a perpetual law for all your descendants, wherever you may live: never eat either fat or blood.”‘
JB LEVITICUS Chapter 4

The Sacrifice for Sin[*a]

4:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

4:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say: “A man may sin inadvertently against any one of the commandments of Yahweh

and do one of the forbidden things; in such a case:

a. Sins of the high priest

4:3 “If the one who sins is the anointed priest, thus making the people guilty, then for the sin which he has committed he is to offer to Yahweh a young bull, an animal from the herd without blemish, as a sacrifice for sin.

4:4 He is to bring the bull before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, he is to lay his hand on its head and immolate it before Yahweh.

4:5 Then the anointed priest must take a little of the blood of the bull and take it into the Tent of Meeting.

4:6 He shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it over the veil of the sanctuary seven times, before Yahweh.

4:7 Then the priest must put a little of the blood of the bull on the horns of the altar of incense that smokes before Yahweh in the Tent of Meeting, and he is to pour all the rest of the bull’s blood at the foot of the altar of holocaust at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

4:8 “Of all the fat of this bull offered as a sacrifice for sin, this is what he will remove: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

4:9 the two kidneys, the fat that is on them and on the loins, the fatty mass which he will remove from the liver and kidneys –

4:10 exactly as was done with the portion set apart in the communion sacrifice – and the priest must burn these on the altar of holocaust.

4:11 “The bull’s skin, all its flesh, its head, legs, entrails and dung,

4:12 the whole of the bull, must be carried outside the camp to a place that is clean, the place where the ashes from the fat are thrown away, and the bull must be burnt there.

b. Sins of the community of Israel

4:13 “If the whole community of lsrael has sinned inadvertently, and without being aware of it has done something that is forbidden by the commandments of Yahweh,

4:14 the community is to offer a young bull as a sacrifice for sin, an animal of the herd without blemish, when the sin of which they have been guilty is discovered. The animal must be brought before the Tent of Meeting;

4:15 before Yahweh the elders of the community shall lay their hands on the bull’s head, and it must be immolated before Yahweh.

4:16 “Then the anointed priest is to carry a little of the blood of the bull into the Tent of Meeting.

4:17 He is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle the veil before Yahweh seven times.

4:18 Then he must put a little of the blood on the horns of the altar that stands before Yahweh inside the Tent of Meeting, and then pour out all the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar of holocaust at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

4:19 “Then he is to remove all the fat from the animal and burn it on the altar.

4:20 He must treat this bull as he did the other for the sacrifice of sin. It is to be treated in the same way; and when the priest has performed the rite of atonement over the people, they will be forgiven.

4:21 “He must have the bull taken out of the camp and burn it as he burned the first one. This is the sacrifice for the sin of the community.

c. Sins of leaders in the community

4:22 “When a leader sins and inadvertently does one of the things forbidden by the commandments of Yahweh his God, thus rendering himself guilty

4:23 (or if anyone draws his attention to the sin thus committed), he is to bring a goat as an offering, a male without blemish.

4:24 He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and immolate it in the place where the holocausts are immolated before Yahweh. This is a sacrifice for sin:

4:25 the priest is to take a little of the victim’s blood on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocaust. Then he must pour out its blood at the foot of the altar of holocaust

4:26 and burn all the fat on the altar, as with the fat in the communion sacrifice. This is how the priest is to perform the rite of atonement over this leader to free him from his sin, and he will be forgiven.

d. Sins of private individuals

4:27 “If one of the people sins inadvertently and makes himself guilty by doing something forbidden by the commandments of Yahweh

4:28 (or if anyone draws his attention to the sin he has committed), he is to bring a she-goat as an offering for the sin he has committed, a female without blemish.

4:29 He is to lay his hand on the victim’s head and immolate it in the place where the holocausts are immolated.

4:30 The priest is to take a little of its blood on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocaust. Then he must pour out all the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar.

4:31 Then he is to remove all the fat, as the fat was removed for the communion sacrifice, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. This is how the priest is to perform the rite of atonement over the man, and he will be forgiven.

4:32 “If he wishes to bring a lamb as an offering for this kind of sacrifice, he is to bring a female without blemish.

4:33 He is to lay his hand on the victim’s head and immolate it as a sacrifice for sin in the place where the holocausts are immolated.

4:34 The priest is to take a little of the blood of this sacrifice on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocaust. Then he must pour out all the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar.

4:35 He is to remove its fat as was done for the sheep in the communion sacrifice, and the priest shall burn it all on the altar, in addition to the burnt offering for Yahweh. This is how the priest is to perform the rite of atonement over the man., and he will be forgiven.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 5

Some cases of Sacrifice for Sin

5:1 “If any one sins in any of these following cases: “A man should have come forward to give evidence when he heard the formal adjuration, having seen the incident or known the facts; but he has not spoken out, and so bears the consequences of his fault;

5:2 “or else he touches something unclean, whatever it may be – the dead body of an unclean animal, wild or tame, or of one of the unclean things that swarm – and without realising it becomes unclean, he becomes answerable for it;

5:3 “or else he touches some human uncleanness, whatever it may be, and contact with it makes him unclean; he does not notice it, then, realising it later, he becomes answerable for it;

5:4 “or else a man lets slip some oath to do either evil or good, in any of those matters on which a man may swear unthinkingly; he does not notice it, then, realising it later, he becomes answerable for it;

5:5 “if he is answerable in any of those cases, he will have to confess the sin committed,

5:6 and he must bring to Yahweh as a sacrifice of reparation for the sin committed a female of the flock (sheep or goat) as a sacrifice for sin; and the priest shall perform the rite of atonement over him to free him from his sin.

Sins of private individuals (continued)

5:7 “If he cannot afford an animal of the flock, he is to bring to Yahweh, as a sacrifice of reparation for the sin he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons – one for a sacrifice for sin and the other for a holocaust.

5:8 He will bring them to the priest who is to offer first the one intended for the sacrifice for sin. The priest is to wring its neck, but not remove the head.

5:9 He must sprinkle the side of the altar with the victim’s blood, and then drain out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar. This is a sacrifice for sin.

5:10 Of the other bird he is to make a holocaust according to the ritual. This is how the priest is to perform the rite of atonement over the man for the sin he has committed. and he will be forgiven.

5:11 “If he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he is to bring a tenth of an ephah of wheaten flour as an offering for the sin committed; he must not mix oil with it or put incense on it, for it is a sacrifice for sin.

5:12 He is to bring it to the priest, who is to take a handful of it as a memorial, and burn this in addition to the burnt offering for Yahweh. This is a sacrifice for sin.

5:13 This is how the priest is to perform the rite of atonement over the man for the sin he has committed in any of those cases, and he will be forgiven. In this case, the priest has the same rights as in the oblation.”‘

The Sacrifice of Reparation[*a]

5:14 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

5:15 ‘If anyone is guilty of fraud and sins inadvertently by not observing Yahweh’s sacred rights, he is to bring to Yahweh as a sacrifice of reparation an unblemished ram from his flock. This ram is to be valued in silver shekels according to the rate of the shekel of the sanctuary. This is a sacrifice of reparation.

5:16 He must restore what his sin subtracted from the sacred rights, adding one-fifth to the value, and give it to the priest. The priest shall perform the rite of atonement over him with the ram for the sacrifice of reparation and he will be forgiven.

5:17 ‘If anyone sins and without realising it does one of the things forbidden by the commandments of Yahweh, he must answer for it and must bear the consequences of his fault.

5:18 As a sacrifice of reparation he is to bring to the priest an unblemished ram of his flock, subject to valuation. The priest shall perform the rite of atonement over him for the oversight he has committed without realising it and he will be forgiven.

5:19 This is a sacrifice of reparation; the man was certainly answerable to Yahweh.’

5:20 <1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

5:21 <2 ‘If anyone sins and is guilty of fraud against Yahweh by deceiving his neighbour over a deposit or a security, or by withholding something due to him or exploiting him;

5:22 <3 ‘or if he finds lost property and denies it; ‘or if he perjures himself about any sin that a man may commit;

5:23 <4 ‘if he sins and so becomes answerable, he is to restore what he has taken or demanded in excess: the deposit confided to him, the lost property that he found,

5:24 <5 or any object about which he has perjured himself. He must add one-fifth to the principal and pay the whole to whoever held the property rights on the day when he became answerable.

5:25 <6 Then he is to bring an unblemished ram of his flock to Yahweh as a sacrifice of reparation: it must be valued according to the rate paid to the priest for a sacrifice of reparation.

5:26 <7 The priest shall perform the rite of atonement over him before Yahweh and he will be forgiven, whatever the act for which he became answerable.’

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 6

Priesthood and sacrifice

a. Holocaust

6:1 <8 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

6:2 <9 ‘Give these orders to Aaron and his sons: “This is the ritual for holocaust (that is, the holocaust that stays on the altar brazier all night until morning and is consumed by the altar fire).

6:3 <10 “The priest is to put on his linen tunic and cover his body with linen. Then he must remove the ashes of the fat of the sacrifice consumed by the altar fire and place them at the side of the altar.

6:4 <11 ‘Then he is to take off his clothes and put on others and carry the ashes to some place that is clean, outside the camp.

6:5 <12 “The fire that consumes the holocaust on the altar must not be allowed to go out. Every morning the priest must make it up with wood. He is to arrange the holocaust on it and burn the fat from the communion sacrifices.

6:6 <13 An undying fire is always to burn on the altar; it must not go out.

b. The Oblation

6:7 <14 “This is the ritual for the oblation: “One of the sons of Aaron is to bring it into the presence of Yahweh in front of the altar;

6:8 <15 he is to take a handful of the wheaten flour (with the oil and incense which have been added to it); he must burn the memorial on the altar so that its fragrance will appease Yahweh;

6:9 <16 and after all this has been done Aaron and his sons shall eat the remainder in the form of unleavened loaves. They are to eat it in a sacred place within the precincts of the Tent of Meeting.

6:10 <17 The portion I give them of my burnt offering must not be baked with leaven. It is a most holy portion, like the sacrifice for sin and the sacrifice of reparation.

6:11 <18 All the males of Aaron’s family may eat this portion of Yahweh’s burnt offering (this is a perpetual law for all your descendants; and everyone who touches it will be consecrated).”‘

6:12 <19 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

6:13 <20 ‘This is the offering that Aaron and his sons are to make to Yahweh on the day of their anointing: one-tenth of an ephah of wheaten flour as a perpetual oblation, half in the morning and half in the evening.

6:14 <21 It must be prepared on the griddle and mixed with oil; you must bring the paste as an oblation in several pieces, offering them as a fragrance that will appease Yahweh.

6:15 <22 The priest among the sons of Aaron who is to be anointed in his place shall do the same. ‘This is a perpetual law. This entire oblation must be burnt for Yahweh.

6:16 <23 Every oblation made by a priest must be a total sacrifice; none of it is to be eaten.’

c. The Sacrifice for Sin

6:17 <24 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said,

6:18 <25 ‘Say to Aaron and his sons: “This is the ritual for the sacrifice for sin: “The victim for the sacrifice is to be immolated before Yahweh in the place where the holocausts are immolated. It is a most holy thing.

6:19 <26 The priest who offers this sacrifice is to eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place within the precincts of the Tent of Meeting.

6:20 <27 Everything that touches the flesh of this victim will become consecrated; if any of the blood splashes on clothing, the stain must be cleaned in some holy place.

6:21 <28 The earthenware vessel in which the meat is cooked must be broken; if a bronze vessel has been used for the cooking, it must be scrubbed and thoroughly rinsed with water.

6:22 <29 Any male who is a priest may eat it. It is a most holy thing.

6:23 <30 But no one may eat any of the victims offered for sin, the blood of which has been taken into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement inside the sanctuary. These must be thrown on the fire.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 7

d. The Sacrifice of Reparation

7:1 “This is the ritual for the sacrifice of reparation: “It is a most holy thing.

7:2 The victim is to be immolated in the place where the holocausts are immolated, and the priest must pour out the blood on the borders of the altar.

7:3 Then he is to offer all the fat: the tail, the fat that covers the entrails,

7:4 the two kidneys, the fat that is on them and on the loins, the fatty mass which he will remove from the liver and kidneys.

7:5 The priest must burn these pieces on the altar as a burnt offering for Yahweh. This is a sacrifice of reparation.

7:6 Every male who is a priest may eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is a most holy thing.

The rights of the priests

7:7 “As with the sacrifice for sin, so with the sacrifice of reparation – the ritual is the same for both. The offering with which he has performed the rite of atonement is to revert to the priest.

7:8 The skin of the victim presented by a man to the priest to be offered as a holocaust shall revert to the priest.

7:9 Every oblation baked in the oven, every oblation cooked in the pan or on the griddle shall revert to the priest who offered it.

7:10 Every oblation, mixed with oil or dry, is to revert to all the sons of Aaron without distinction.

e. The Communion Sacrifice

(I) Sacrifice with Praise

7:11 “This is the ritual for the communion sacrifice offered to Yahweh:

7:12 “If it is offered with a sacrifice with praise, there must be added to it an offering of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and wheaten flour in the form of cakes mixed with oil.

7:13 This offering, then, must be added to the cakes of leavened bread and to the communion sacrifice with praise.

7:14 One of the cakes of this offering is to be presented as an offering to Yahweh; it shall revert to the priest who pours out the blood of the communion sacrifice.

7:15 The flesh of the victim must be eaten on the day when the offering is made; nothing must remain until the next morning.

(II) Votive or Voluntary Sacrifices

7:16 “If the victim is offered as a votive or a voluntary sacrifice, it is to be eaten on the day it is offered and also on the following day;

7:17 but on the third day whatever remains of the victim’s flesh must be thrown on the fire.

General rules

7:18 “If the flesh offered as a communion sacrifice is eaten on the third day, the man who has offered it will not be accepted. He is to receive no credit for it, it is defiled flesh, and the man who eats it shall bear the consequences of his fault.

7:19 “Flesh that has touched anything unclean cannot be eaten; it must be thrown on the fire. “Anyone who is clean may eat flesh,

7:20 but anyone unclean who eats the flesh of a communion sacrifice offered to Yahweh shall be outlawed from his people.

7:21 If anyone touches anything unclean, human or animal, or any foul thing, and then eats the flesh of a communion sacrifice offered to Yahweh, this man shall be outlawed from his people.”‘

7:22 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said,

7:23 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, say to them: “You must not eat the fat of ox, sheep or goat.

7:24 The fat of an animal that has died a natural death or been savaged by beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.

7:25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal offered as a burnt offering to Yahweh shall be outlawed from his people.

7:26 “Wherever you live, you must not eat blood, whether it be of bird or of beast.

7:27 Anyone who eats blood, whoever he may be, shall be outlawed from his people.”‘

The priest’s portion

7:28 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said,

7:29 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, say to them: “Anyone who offers a communion sacrifice to Yahweh is to bring him part of his sacrifice as an offering.

7:30 He is to bring Yahweh’s burnt offering – that is, the fat that adheres to the breast – with his own hands. He is to bring it, and also the breast, with which he must make the gesture of offering before Yahweh.

7:31 The priest must burn the fat on the altar, and the breast shall revert to Aaron and his sons.

7:32 You must set aside the right thigh from your communion sacrifices and give it to the priest.

7:33 This right thigh shall be the portion of the son of Aaron who offers the blood and fat of the communion sacrifice.

7:34 Thus, I keep back this breast and thigh out of the communion sacrifices offered by the sons of Israel, and give these to Aaron the priest and to his sons: this is a perpetual law binding the sons of Israel.”‘

Conclusion

7:35 This, then, was the portion of Aaron and of his sons in Yahweh’s burnt offerings on the day he presented them to Yahweh to be his priests.

7:36 This is what the orders of Yahweh bind the sons of Israel to give them on the day they are anointed: this is a perpetual law for all their descendants.

7:37 Such then is the ritual for holocaust, oblation, sacrifice for sin, sacrifices of reparation, investiture and communion.

7:38 This is what Yahweh commanded Moses on Mount Sinai when he ordered the sons of Israel to make their offerings to Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 8

II. THE INVESTITURE OF THE PRIESTS

Ordination rites[*a]

8:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

8:2 ‘Take Aaron, his sons with him, and the vestments, and the chrism, the bull for the sacrifice for sin, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread.

8:3 Then call the whole community together at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.’

8:4 Moses followed the orders of Yahweh; the community gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

8:5 and Moses said to them, ‘This is what Yahweh has ordered to be done’.

8:6 He made Aaron and his sons come forward, and washed them with water.

8:7 He put the tunic on him, passed the girdle round his waist, dressed him in the robe and put the ephod on him. Then he put round his waist the woven band of the ephod with which he clothed him.

8:8 He put the pectoral on him, and placed the Urim and Thummim in it.

8:9 He put the turban on his head, with the golden plate on the front; this is the sacred diadem as Yahweh prescribed it to Moses.

8:10 Then Moses took the chrism and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, to consecrate them.

8:11 He sprinkled the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and its furnishing, the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

8:12 Then he poured the chrism on Aaron’s head, consecrating him by unction.

8:13 Then Moses made Aaron’s sons come forward; he put the tunics on them, passed the girdles round their waists and put on their head-dress, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

8:14 Then he had the bull for the sacrifice for sin brought forward. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the victim’s head

8:15 and Moses immolated it. Then he took the blood and with his finger put some of it on the horns round the altar, to take away its sin. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar, which he consecrated by performing the rite of atonement over it.

8:16 Then he took all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty mass which is over the liver, the two kidneys and their fat; and he burnt them all on the altar.

8:17 The bull’s skin, its flesh and its dung he burnt outside the camp, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

8:18 Then he had the ram for holocaust brought forward. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head

8:19 and Moses immolated it. He poured its blood out on the borders of the altar.

8:20 Then he quartered the ram and burned the head, the pieces and the fat.

8:21 He washed the entrails and legs, and burnt the whole ram on the altar. This was a holocaust whose fragrance would appease Yahweh; a burnt offering for Yahweh, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

8:22 Then he had the other ram brought forward, for the sacrifice of investiture. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head

8:23 and Moses immolated it. He took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot.

8:24 Then he made the sons of Aaron come forward and he put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, the thumbs of their right hands and the big toes of their right feet. Next Moses poured the rest of the blood on the borders of the altar.

8:25 Then he took the fat: the tail, all the fat that is on the entrails, the fatty mass which is over the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh.

8:26 From the basket of unleavened bread placed before Yahweh, he took an unleavened cake, a cake of bread made with oil, and a wafer; he placed these on the fat and the right thigh,

8:27 and put it all into Aaron’s hands and those of his sons, and made the gesture of offering before Yahweh.

8:28 Then Moses took them back and burned them on the altar in addition to the holocaust. This was the sacrifice of investiture whose fragrance would appease Yahweh, a burnt offering to Yahweh.

8:29 Then Moses took the breast and made the gesture of offering before Yahweh. This was the portion of the ram of investiture that reverted to Moses, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

8:30 Then Moses took the chrism and the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled Aaron and his vestments with it, and his sons and their vestments. In this way he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and his sons and their vestments.

8:31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, ‘Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and eat it there, as also the bread for the sacrifice of investiture that is in the basket, as I ordered, when I said: Aaron and his sons are to eat it.

8:32 What remains of the meat and bread you will burn.

8:33 For seven days you must not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, until the time of your investiture is complete; for your investiture will require seven days.

8:34 Yahweh has ordered us to do as we have done today to perform the rite of atonement over you;

8:35 and for seven days, day and night, you must remain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting observing Yahweh’s ritual; do this, and you will not die.[*b] For this is the order I received.’

8:36 And Aaron and his sons did everything that Yahweh had ordered through Moses.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 9

The priests assume their functions

9:1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel;

9:2 he said to Aaron, ‘Take a calf to offer a sacrifice for sin, and a ram for a holocaust, both without blemish, and bring them before Yahweh.

9:3 Then say to the sons of Israel, “Take a goat to be offered as a sacrifice for sin, and as a holocaust a calf and a lamb both one year old and without blemish,

9:4 and for communion sacrifices an ox and a ram to be immolated before Yahweh; and finally an oblation mixed with oil. For Yahweh will appear to you today.”‘

9:5 They brought what Moses had commanded in front of the Tent of Meeting; then the whole community came and stood before Yahweh.

9:6 Moses said, ‘This is what Yahweh has ordered to be done, so that his glory may be visible to you’.

9:7 Moses then addressed Aaron, ‘Go to the altar and offer your sacrifice for sin and your holocaust, and so perform the rite of atonement for yourself and your family. Then present the people’s offering and perform the rite of atonement for them, as Yahweh has ordered.’

9:8 Aaron went to the altar and immolated the calf as a sacrifice for his own sin.

9:9 Then the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in it and put some on the horns of the altar, and then poured out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar.

9:10 The fat of the sacrifice for sin and the kidneys and the fatty mass which is over the liver, he burned on the altar, as Yahweh had commanded Moses;

9:11 the flesh and the skin he burned outside the camp.

9:12 Next Aaron immolated the holocaust; his sons handed him the blood and he poured it on the borders of the altar.

9:13 Then they handed him the quartered victim, and its head too, and he burned these on the altar.

9:14 He washed the entrails and legs and burned them on the altar in addition to the holocaust.

9:15 He then presented the people’s offering. He took the goat for the people’s sacrifice for sin, immolated it, and made a sacrifice for sin with it in the same way as with the first.

9:16 Then he had the holocaust brought forward and proceeded according to the ritual.

9:17 Next he had the oblation brought forward, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning holocaust.

9:18 Finally, he immolated the ox and the ram as a communion sacrifice for the people. Aaron’s sons handed him the blood and he poured it out on the borders of the altar.

9:19 The fat of the ox and of the ram – the tail, the fatty covering, the kidneys, the fatty mass over the liver –

9:20 all of this he laid on the breasts and burned it all on the altar.

9:21 With the breasts and the right thigh Aaron made the gesture of offering as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

9:22 Then Aaron raised his hands towards the people and blessed them. Having thus performed the sacrifice for sin, the holocaust and the communion sacrifice, he came down

9:23 and entered the Tent of Meeting with Moses. Then they came out together to bless the people and the glory of Yahweh appeared to the whole people –

9:24 a flame leaped forth from before Yahweh and consumed the holocaust and the fat that was on the altar. At this sight the people shouted for joy and fell on their faces.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 10

Complementary legislation[*a]

a. A lesson in exact observance

10:1 Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it and incense on the fire, and presented unlawful fire before Yahweh, fire which he had not prescribed for them.

10:2 Then from Yahweh’s presence a flame leaped out and consumed them, and they perished in the presence of Yahweh.

10:3 And Moses said to Aaron, ‘That is what Yahweh meant when he said: “In those who are close to me I show my holiness, and before all the people I show my glory”‘.[*b] Aaron remained silent.

b. Removal of bodies

10:4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, ‘Come and take your brothers far away from the sanctuary, out of the camp’.

10:5 They came and carried them away, still in their tunics, out of the camp, as Moses had ordered.

c. Rules for priestly mourning

10:6 Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘Do not disorder your hair nor tear your garments;[*c] you are not going to die. It is with the whole community that he is angry; it is the whole House of Israel that must lament your brothers, the victims of Yahweh’s fire.

10:7 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the chrism of Yahweh is on you.’ And they obeyed the words of Moses.

d. Wine forbidden

10:8 Yahweh spoke to Aaron; he said:

10:9 ‘When you come to the Tent of Meeting, you and your sons with you, do not take wine or strong drink; then you will not die. This is a perpetual law for all your descendants.

10:10 And so be it too when you separate the sacred from the profane, the unclean from the clean,

10:11 and when you teach the sons of Israel any of the laws that Yahweh has pronounced for them through Moses.’

e. The priests’ portion in offerings

10:12 Moses said to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘Take the oblation that is left over from Yahweh’s burnt offering. Eat the unleavened part of it beside the altar, because it is a most holy thing.

10:13 Eat it in a holy place; it is the portion of Yahweh’s burnt offering prescribed for you and your sons; this is the order I have received.

10:14 ‘The breast that was offered up and the thigh that was set aside you will eat in some place that is clean, you, your sons and your daughters with you; this is the portion of the communion sacrifices of the sons of Israel that is prescribed for you and your sons.

10:15 The thigh that was set aside and the breast that was offered up, when the fat was burnt, revert to you, to you and your sons with you, after they have been presented before Yahweh by the gesture of offering, in virtue of a perpetual law as Yahweh has ordered.’

f. A special regulation concerning Sacrifice for Sin

10:16 Then Moses enquired about the goat offered as a sacrifice for sin, and found that they had burnt it. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons:

10:17 ‘Why’ he asked ‘did you not eat this victim in the holy place? For it is a most holy thing given to you to take away the fault of the community, by performing the rite of atonement over it before Yahweh.

10:18 Since its blood was not taken inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten its flesh there, as I ordered you.’

10:19 Aaron said to Moses, ‘Today they have offered their sacrifice for sin and their holocaust before Yahweh. If I had been concerned, if I had eaten the victim for sin today, would that have seemed good to Yahweh?’

10:20 And when Moses heard this, he was satisfied.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 11

III. RULES CONCERNING THE CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

Clean and unclean beasts

a. On land

11:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and said to them,

11:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say: “Of all the beasts on the earth these are the animals you may eat:

11:3 “You may eat any animal that has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, and that is a ruminant.

11:4 The following, which either chew the cud or have a cloven hoof, are the ones that you may not eat: the camel must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

11:5 the hyrax must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

11:6 the hare must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

11:7 the pig must be held unclean, because though it has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, it is not ruminant.

11:8 You must not eat the meat of such animals nor touch their dead bodies; you must hold them unclean.

b. In water

11:9 “Of all that lives in water, these you may eat: “Anything that has fins and scales, and lives in the water, whether in sea or river, you may eat.

11:10 But anything in sea or river that has not fins or scales, of all the small water-creatures and all the living things found there, must be held detestable.

11:11 You must hold them detestable; you are not to eat their flesh and you must avoid their carcases.

11:12 Anything that lives in water, but has no fins or scales, is to be held detestable.

c. Birds

11:13 “Among the birds here are those you must hold detestable; they may not be eaten, they are detestable: “The tawny vulture, the griffon, the osprey,

11:14 the kite, the several kinds of buzzard,

11:15 all kinds of raven,

11:16 the ostrich, the screech owl, the seagull, the several kinds of hawk,

11:17 horned owl, night owl, cormorant, barn owl,

11:18 ibis, pelican, white vulture,

11:19 stork, the several kinds of heron, hoopoe and bat.

d. Winged insects

11:20 “All winged insects that move on four feet[*a] you must hold detestable.

11:21 Of all these winged insects you may eat only the following: those that have legs above their feet so that they can leap over the ground.

11:22 These are the ones you may eat: the several kinds of migratory locust, solham, hargol and hagab locusts in their several kinds.

11:23 But all winged insects on four feet you are to hold detestable.

Contact with unclean animals

11:24 “By these you will be made unclean. Anyone who touches the carcase of one will be unclean until evening.

11:25 Anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening.

11:26 Animals that have hoofs, but not cloven, and that are not ruminant, you are to hold unclean; anyone who touches them will be unclean.

11:27 Those four-footed animals which walk on the flat of their foot[*b] must be held unclean; anyone who touches their carcases will be unclean until evening,

11:28 and anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening. You are to hold them unclean.

e. Small ground beasts

11:29 “These are the small beasts crawling on the ground that you are to hold unclean: the mole, the rat, the several kinds of lizard:

11:30 gecko, koah, letaah, chameleon and tinshameth.

Further rules on contact with things unclean

11:31 “Of all the small beasts, these are the creatures that you are to hold unclean. Anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

11:32 “Any object on which one of these creatures falls when it is dead becomes unclean: wooden utensil, clothing, skin, sackcloth – any utensil at all. It must be dipped in water and will remain unclean until evening: then it will be clean.

11:33 If the creature falls into an earthenware vessel, the vessel must be broken; whatever the vessel contains is unclean.

11:34 Any food that is eaten will be unclean, even if it is steeped in water; any liquid that is drunk will be unclean, no matter what its container.

11:35 Anything on which a carcase of such a creature may fall will be unclean: oven or stove must be destroyed, for unclean they are and unclean they must be for you

11:36 (although springs, wells and stretches of water will remain clean); anyone who touches a carcase of theirs will be unclean.

11:37 If one of their carcases falls on any seed whatever, the seed will remain clean; but if the seed has been wet, and a carcase of theirs falls on it, then you must hold it unclean.

11:39 “If one of the animals that you use as food dies, then anyone who touches the carcase will be unclean until evening;

11:40 anyone who eats the dead meat must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening; anyone who picks up the carcase must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening.

The religious aspect

11:41 “Any small beast that crawls on the ground is detestable; you must not eat it.

11:42 Anything that moves on its belly, anything that moves on four legs or more – in short all the small beasts that crawl on the ground – you must not eat these because they are detestable.

11:43 Do not make yourself detestable with all these crawling beasts; do not defile yourself with them, do not be defiled

by them.

11:44 For it is I, Yahweh, who am your God. You have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy: do not defile yourself with all these beasts that crawl on the ground.

11:45 Yes, it is I, Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God: you therefore must be holy because I am holy.”‘

Conclusion

11:46 Such is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and every creature that crawls on the ground.

11:47 Its purpose is to separate the clean from the unclean; creatures that may be eaten from those that must not be eaten.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 12

Purification of a woman after childbirth

12:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said,

12:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say: woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, she is to be unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly periods.

12:3 On the eighth day the child’s foreskin must be circumcised,

12:4 and she must wait another thirty-three days for her blood to be purified. She must not touch anything consecrated nor go to the sanctuary until the time of her purification is over.

12:5 “If she gives birth to a girl, she is to be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly periods; and she must wait another sixty-six days for her blood to be purified.

12:6 “When the period of her purification is over, for either boy or girl, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a lamb one year old for a holocaust, and a young pigeon or turtledove as a sacrifice for sin.

12:7 The priest is to offer this before Yahweh, perform the rite of atonement over her, and she will be purified from her flow of blood. “Such is the law concerning a woman who gives birth to either a boy or a girl.

12:8 If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for the holocaust and the other for the sacrifice for sin. The priest is to perform the rite of atonement over her and she will be purified.”‘

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 13

Human leprosy

a. Swellings, scabs, discolorations

13:1 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

13:2 ‘If a swelling or scab or shiny spot appears on a man’s skin, a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected. The man must be taken to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests who are his sons.

13:3 The priest must examine the disease on the skin. If the hair on the diseased part has turned white, or if the disease bites into the skin, then it is indeed a case of leprosy, and after examination the priest must declare the man unclean.

13:4 But if there is a shiny spot on the skin without any visible depression of the skin and without whitening of the hair, the priest is to isolate the sick person for seven days.

13:5 On the seventh day he must examine him, and if he sees with his own eyes that the disease persists though without spreading over the skin, he is to isolate him for a further seven days

13:6 and examine him again on the seventh. If he finds that the diseased part is no longer shiny and has not spread over the skin, then the priest is to declare the man clean. It is a scab merely. Having washed his clothing he will be clean.

13:7 But if the scab spreads over the skin after the sick person has been examined by the priest and declared clean, then he must present himself again to the priest.

13:8 After examining him and certifying the spread of the scab over the skin, the priest must declare him unclean: it is leprosy.

b. Chronic leprosy

13:9 When a leprous disease strikes a man, he must be taken to the priest,

13:10 who must examine him, and if he finds on the skin a whitish swelling with whitening of the hair and an ulcer forming,

13:11 then it is chronic leprosy in the skin and the priest must declare him unclean. He is not to isolate him; he is unclean beyond doubt.

13:12 ‘But if the leprosy spreads all through the skin, if it covers him entirely from head to foot so far as the priest can see,

13:13 then the priest must examine the sick person and, if he finds that the leprosy covers his whole body, declare the sick person[*a] clean. Since it has all become white, he is clean.

13:14 But as soon as an ulcer appears on him, he will be unclean.

13:15 After examining the ulcer, the priest is to declare him unclean: the ulcer is unclean, it is leprous.

13:16 But if the ulcer becomes white again, the man must go to the priest;

13:17 the priest must examine him and if he finds that the disease has turned white, he is to declare the sick person clean: he is clean.

c. Boils

13:18 ‘When a boil appears on a man’s skin, which, after healing,

13:19 leaves in its place a whitish swelling or a shiny spot of reddish white, the man must show himself to the priest.

13:20 The priest must examine him, and if he finds a visible depression in the skin and a whitening of the hair, he is to declare him unclean: it is a case of leprosy that has broken out in a boil.

13:21 But if on examination the priest finds neither white hair nor depression of the skin, but a fading of the affected part, he is to isolate the sick person for seven days.

13:22 If the disease has indeed spread over the skin, he must declare him unclean: it is a case of leprosy.

13:23 But if the shiny spot is still restricted and has not spread, then it is the scar of a boil and the priest is to declare the man clean.

d. Burns

13:24 ‘If someone has had a burn, and on the burn an ulcer forms, a shiny spot reddish-white or whitish in colour,

13:25 then the priest must examine it. If he finds a whitening of the hair or a visible depression of the mark on the skin, this means that leprosy has broken out in the burn. The priest is to declare the man unclean: it is a case of leprosy.

13:26 If on the other hand the priest on examination does not find white hair on the mark or depression of the skin, but a fading of the mark, then the priest is to isolate him for seven days.

13:27 On the seventh day he must examine him, and if the disease has spread on the skin, he must declare him unclean: it is a case of leprosy.

13:28 If the mark is still restricted and has not spread over the skin, but has faded instead, this means that it is only a swelling due to the burn. The priest is to declare the man clean: it is merely a burn scar.

e. Diseases of the Scalp and chin

13:29 ‘If a man or a woman has a sore on the head or chin,

13:30 the priest must examine this sore; and if he finds a depression visible in the skin, with the hair on it yellow and thin, he must declare the sick person unclean. It is tinea, that is to say, leprosy of the head or chin.

13:31 If on examining this case of tinea the priest finds no visible depression in the skin nor yellow hair, he is to isolate the person so affected for seven days.

13:32 He must examine the infected part on the seventh day, and if he finds that the tinea has not spread, that the hair on it is not yellow, and that there is no visible depression in the skin,

13:33 the sick person will shave his hair, all except the part affected with tinea, and the priest is to isolate him again for seven days.

13:34 He must examine the infected part on the seventh day, and if he finds that it has not spread over the skin, and that there is no visible depression of the skin, the priest is to declare the sick person clean. After washing his clothes he will be clean.

13:35 But if after this purification the tinea does spread over the skin,

13:36 the priest must examine him; if he finds that the tinea has indeed spread over the skin, this means that the sick person is unclean, and there is no need to verify whether the hair is yellow.

13:37 Whereas if, so far as he can see, the tinea is arrested and dark hair is beginning to grow on it, this means that the sick person is cured. He is clean, and the priest is to declare him clean.

f. Rash

13:38 ‘If shiny spots break out on the skin of a man or woman, and if these spots are white,

13:39 the priest must examine them. If he finds that these patches are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin: the sick person is clean.

g. Loss of hair

13:40 ‘If a man loses the hair of his scalp, this is baldness of the scalp but the man is clean.

13:41 If he loses his hair off the front of the head, this is baldness of the forehead but the man is clean.

13:42 If, however, a reddish-white sore appears on scalp or forehead, this means that leprosy has broken out on the man’s scalp or forehead.

13:43 The priest must examine it, and if he finds a reddish-white swelling on the scalp or forehead, of the same appearance as leprosy of the skin,

13:44 this means that the man is leprous: he is unclean. The priest must declare him unclean; he is suffering from leprosy of the head.

A regulation for lepers

13:45 ‘A man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean, unclean”.

13:46 As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp.

Leprosy of clothes

13:47 ‘When a piece of clothing is infected with leprosy – woollen or linen clothing,

13:48 linen or woollen fabric or covering, leather or leatherwork –

13:49 and if this clothing, fabric, covering, leather or leatherwork appears greenish or reddish, it is a case of leprosy to be shown to the priest.

13:50 The priest must examine the infection and isolate the object for seven days.

13:51 If on the seventh day he observes that the infection has spread on the garment, fabric, covering, leather or leatherwork, whatever it may be, it is a case of contagious leprosy and the object is unclean.

13:52 He will burn this clothing, fabric, linen or woollen covering, leather article of any kind, on which the infection has appeared; for it is a contagious leprosy which must be destroyed by fire.

13:53 ‘But if on examination the priest finds that the infection has not spread on the clothing, fabric, covering, or leather object whatever it may be,

13:54 he is to order the infected article to be washed and is to isolate it again for a period of seven days.

13:55 After the cleansing he must examine the infection and if he finds that there is no change in its appearance, even though it has not spread, the article is unclean. It must be destroyed by fire; it is infected through and through.

13:56 ‘But if on examination the priest finds that the infection has diminished after washing, he is to cut it out of the clothing, leather, fabric or covering.

13:57 But if the infection reappears on the same clothing, fabric, covering or leather article whatever it may be, this means that the infection is active and you must destroy by fire whatever is infected.

13:58 The clothing, fabric, covering or leather article whatever it may be, from which the infection disappears after washing, is to be clean after it has been washed a second time.

13:59 ‘Such is the law for a case of leprosy in a linen or woollen garment, a fabric or covering or leather article whatever it may be, when it is a question of declaring them clean or unclean.’

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 14

Purification of lepers

14:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

14:2 This is the law to be applied to a leper on the day he is purified. He must be taken to the priest,

14:3 and the priest must go outside the camp. If he finds on examination that the leper is cured of his leprosy,

14:4 he shall order the following to be brought for the man’s purification: two live birds that are clean, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop.

14:5 Then he is to give orders for one of the birds to be immolated in an earthenware pot over running water.

14:6 Then he is to take the live bird, the cedar wood, the scarlet and the hyssop and he must dip all of this (including the live bird) into the blood of the bird immolated over running water.

14:7 Then he must sprinkle the man who is to be purified of leprosy seven times, and having declared him clean, must set the live bird free to fly off into the open country.

14:8 The man who is undergoing purification is to wash his clothing, shave all his hair, and wash himself; then he will be clean. After this he may return to the camp, although he must remain seven days outside his tent.

14:9 On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair – head, beard and eyebrows; he must shave off all his hair. After washing his clothing and his body he will be clean.

14:10 ‘On the eighth day, he is to take two lambs without blemish, an unblemished ewe one year old, three-tenths[*a] of wheaten flour mixed with oil for the oblation, and one log of oil.

14:11 The priest who is performing the purification is to station the man who is being purified, with all his offerings, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, before Yahweh.

14:12 Then he must take one of the lambs and offer it as a sacrifice of reparation, as also the log of oil. With these he is to make the gesture of offering before Yahweh.

14:13 Then he must immolate the lamb on that spot inside the sacred precincts where the victims of the sacrifice for sin and of the holocaust are immolated. This offering of reparation, like the sacrifice for sin, reverts to the priest: it is a most holy thing.

14:14 The priest must take the blood of this sacrifice and put some of it on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the man who is being purified.

14:15 Then he is to take the log of oil and pour a little into the hollow of his left hand.

14:16 He must dip a finger of his right hand into the oil in the hollow of his left hand, and with this oil make seven sprinklings with his finger before Yahweh.

14:17 Then he is to take a little of the oil that remains in the hollow of his hand and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the man who is being purified, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot (this in addition to the blood of the sacrifice of reparation).

14:18 The rest of the oil in the hollow of his hand he is to put on the head of the man who is being purified. In this way he will have performed over him the rite of atonement before Yahweh.

14:19 ‘Then the priest must offer the sacrifice for sin, and perform the rite of atonement for uncleanness over the man who is being purified. After this he must immolate the holocaust,

14:20 and send up holocaust and oblation on the altar. When .the priest has performed the rite of atonement over him in this way, the man will be clean.

14:21 ‘If he is poor and cannot afford all this, he need take only one lamb, the one for the sacrifice of reparation, and it is to be presented with the gesture of offering to perform the rite of atonement over the man. And he is to take for the oblation only one-tenth of wheaten flour mixed with oil, and the log of oil,

14:22 and finally two turtledoves or two young pigeons – if he can afford them – one to be used as a sacrifice for sin and the other for the holocaust.

14:23 On the eighth day he must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, for his purification.

14:24 The priest is to take the lamb for the sacrifice of reparation and the log of oil, and present them before Yahweh with the gesture of offering.

14:25 Then he must immolate the lamb for the sacrifice of reparation, take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the man who is being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

14:26 He is to pour the oil into the hollow of his left hand,

14:27 and with this oil in the hollow of his left hand he must make seven sprinklings with his finger before Yahweh.

14:28 He is to put some of it on the lobe of the right ear of the man who is being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, as he did with the blood of the sacrifice of reparation.

14:29 The remainder of the oil in the hollow of his hand he must put on the head of the man who is being purified, performing the rite of atonement over him before Yahweh.

14:30 Of the two turtledoves or two young pigeons – if he can afford them – he is to offer

14:31 a sacrifice for sin with one, and with the other a holocaust together with an oblation – if he can afford them. In this way the priest will have performed before Yahweh the rite of atonement over the person who is being purified.

14:32 ‘Such is the law concerning a person afflicted by leprosy who cannot afford the means for his purification.’

Leprosy of houses

14:33 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron; he said:

14:34 ‘When you reach the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as an inheritance, if I strike a house with leprosy in the land you are to possess,

14:35 the owner must come and warn the priest; he must say, “I have seen something like leprosy in the house”.

14:36 The priest is to give orders for the house to be emptied before he goes to examine the infection; thus nothing in the house will become unclean. Then the priest must go and look at the house;

14:37 and if on examination he finds the walls of the house pitted with reddish or greenish depressions,

14:38 the priest is to go out of the house, to the door, and shut it up for seven days.

14:39 On the seventh day he must go back again, and if on examination he finds that the infection has spread over the walls of the house,

14:40 he must give orders for the infected stones to be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the town.

14:41 Then he must have all the inside of the house scraped, and the plaster that comes off must be emptied out into an unclean place outside the town.

14:42 The stones must be replaced by new ones and the house given a new coat of plaster.

14:43 ‘If the infection spreads again after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and replastered,

14:44 the priest is to come and examine it. If he finds that the infection has spread, this means that there is a contagious leprosy in the house: it is unclean.

14:45 lt must be pulled down and the stones, woodwork and all the plaster be taken to an unclean place outside the town.

14:46 ‘Anyone who enters the house while it is closed will be unclean until evening.

14:47 Anyone who sleeps there must wash his clothing. Anyone who eats there must wash his clothing.

14:48 But if the priest finds, when he comes to examine the infection, that it has not spread in the house since it was plastered, he is to declare the house clean, for the infection is cured.

14:49 ‘As a sacrifice for the sin of the house, he is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop.

14:50 He must immolate one of the birds in an earthenware pot over running water.

14:51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet and the live bird, and must dip them into the blood of the bird that was immolated and into the running water. He is to sprinkle the house seven times;

14:52 and after having offered a sacrifice for the sin of the house with the blood of the bird, the running water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet,

14:53 he must set the live bird free to fly out of the town into the open country. When the rite of atonement has been performed over the house in this way it will be clean.

14:54 ‘Such is the law for all cases of leprosy and tinea,

14:55 leprosy of clothing and houses,

14:56 swellings, scabs and shiny spots. It defines the occasions when things are unclean and when clean.

14:57 Such is the law on leprosy.’

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 15

Sexual impurities

a. Of men

15:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron; he said:

15:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: “When a man has a discharge from his body, that discharge is unclean.

15:3 While the discharge continues, the nature of his uncleanness is as follows: “Whether his body allows the discharge to flow or whether it retains it, he is unclean.

15:4 “Any bed the man lies on and any seat he sits on shall be unclean.

15:5 “Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:6 “Anyone who sits on a seat where the man has sat must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:7 “Anyone who touches the body of a man so affected must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:8 “If the sick man spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:9 “Any saddle the sick man travels on will be unclean.

15:10 “All those who touch any object that may be under him will be unclean until evening. “Anyone who picks up such an object must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:11 “All those whom the sick man touches without washing his hands must wash their clothing and wash themselves and will be unclean until evening.

15:12 “Any earthenware vessel the sick man touches must be broken and any wooden utensil must be rinsed.

15:13 “When the man suffering from a discharge is cured, he must allow seven days for his purification. He must wash his clothing and wash his body in running water and he will be clean.

15:14 On the eighth day he must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.

15:15 The priest is to offer a sacrifice for sin with one of them, and with the other a holocaust. So the priest will perform the rite of atonement over him before Yahweh for his discharge.

15:16 “When a man has a seminal discharge, he must wash his whole body with water and he shall be unclean until evening.

15:17 Any clothing or leather touched by the seminal discharge must be washed and it will be unclean until evening.

15:18 When a woman has slept with a man, both of them must wash and they will be unclean until evening.

b. Of women

15:19 “When a woman has a discharge of blood, and blood flows from her body, this uncleanness of her monthly periods shall last for seven days. “Anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.

15:20 “Any bed she lies on in this state will be unclean; any seat she sits on will be unclean.

15:21 “Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:22 “Anyone who touches any seat she has sat on must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:23 If there is anything on the bed or on the chair on which she sat, anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.

15:24 “If a man sleeps with her, he will be affected by the uncleanness of her monthly periods. He shall be unclean for seven days. Any bed he lies on will be unclean.

15:25 “If a woman has a flow of blood for several days outside the period, or if the period is prolonged, during the time this flow lasts she shall be in the same state of uncleanness as during her monthly periods.

15:26 Any bed she lies on during the time this flow lasts will be in the same condition as the bed she lies on during

her monthly periods. Any seat she sits on will be unclean as it would be during her monthly periods.

15:27 Anyone who touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothing and wash himself and will be unclean until evening.

15:28 “When she is cured of her flow, she will let seven days pass; then she will be clean.

15:29 On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

15:30 With one of them the priest is to offer a sacrifice for sin and with the other a holocaust. This is the way in which the priest will perform the rite of atonement over her before Yahweh for the flow that caused her uncleanness.”

Conclusion

15:31 ‘You must warn the sons of Israel of their uncleanness lest they should die because of it, by being a defilement to my tabernacle which is set amongst them.

15:32 ‘Such is the law concerning a man with a discharge, anyone made unclean by a seminal discharge,

15:33 a woman in the uncleanness of her monthly periods, a man or a woman with a discharge, a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.’

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 16

The great Day of Atonement

16:1 After the death of the two sons of Aaron who died through offering fire before Yahweh,

16:2 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said: ‘Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter the sanctuary beyond the veil, in front of the throne of mercy that is over the ark, whenever he chooses. He may die; for I appear in a cloud on the throne of mercy.

16:3 ‘This is how he is to enter the sanctuary: with a young bull for a sacrifice for sin and a ram for a holocaust.

16:4 He is to put on a tunic of consecrated linen, wear linen on his body, a linen girdle round his waist, and a linen turban on his head. These are the sacred vestments he must put on after washing himself with water.

16:5 ‘He is to receive two goats for a sacrifice for sin and a ram for a holocaust from the community of the sons of Israel.

16:6 After offering the bull as a sacrifice for his own sin and performing the rite of atonement for himself and his family,

16:7 Aaron must take the two goats and set them before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

16:8 He is to draw lots for the two goats and allot one to Yahweh and the other to Azazel.[*a]

16:9 Aaron is to offer up the goat whose lot was marked “For Yahweh”, and offer it as a sacrifice for sin.

16:10 The goat whose lot was marked “For Azazel” shall be set before Yahweh, still alive, to perform the rite of atonement over it, sending it out into the desert to Azazel.

16:11 ‘Aaron must offer the bull which is to be a sacrifice for his own sin, then he must perform the rite of atonement for himself and for his family, and immolate the bull.

16:12 Then he is to fill a censer with live coals from the altar that stands before Yahweh; and to take two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense. He is to take these through the veil

16:13 and then to put the incense on the fire before Yahweh, and with a cloud of incense he must cover the throne of mercy that is on the Testimony; if he does this, he shall not die.

16:14 Then he must take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern side of the throne of mercy; in front of the throne of mercy he must sprinkle this blood seven times with his finger.

16:15 ‘He must then immolate the goat for the sacrifice for the sin of the people, and take its blood through the veil. With this blood he is to do as with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it on the throne of mercy and in front of it.

16:16 This is how he is to perform the rite of atonement over the sanctuary for the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, for their transgressions and for all their sins. ‘This also is how he must deal with the Tent of Meeting which remains with them, surrounded by their uncleanness.

16:17 Let no one stay in the Tent of Meeting, from the moment he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until the time he comes out. ‘When he has made atonement for himself, for his family, and for the whole community of Israel,

16:18 he is to come out and go to the altar which is before Yahweh, and perform over it the rite of atonement. He must take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat, and put it on the horns around the altar.

16:19 With this blood he must sprinkle the altar seven times with his finger. This is how he will render it clean and sacred, purified and separated from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.

16:20 ‘When the atonement of the sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting and the altar is complete, he is to bring the other goat that is still alive.

16:21 Aaron must lay his hands on its head and confess all the faults of the sons of Israel, all their transgressions and all their sins, and lay them to its charge. Having thus laid them on the goat’s head, he shall send it out into the desert led by a man waiting ready,

16:22 and the goat will bear all their faults away with it into a desert place. ‘When he has sent the goat out into the wilderness,

16:23 Aaron is to return to the Tent of Meeting and remove the linen vestments he wore to enter the sanctuary. He must leave them there

16:24 and wash his body in a consecrated place. Then he is to put the vestments on again and go out to offer his own and the people’s holocaust. He must perform the rite of atonement for himself and for the people;

16:25 he must burn up the fat of the sacrifice for sin on the altar.

16:26 ‘The man who leads out the goat to Azazel must wash his clothing and his body, and then he can return to the camp.

16:27 The bull and the goat offered as a sacrifice for sin, whose blood has been taken into the sanctuary for the rite of atonement, are to be taken out of the camp where their skin, flesh and dung are to be burnt.

16:28 The man who burns them must wash his clothing and his body, and then he can return to the camp.

16:29 ‘This shall be a perpetual law for you. ‘On the tenth day of the seventh month you must fast and refrain from work, the native and the stranger who lives among you.

16:30 For this is the day on which the rite of atonement shall be performed over you, to purify you. Before Yahweh you will be clean of all your sins.

16:31 It shall be a sabbath rest for you and you are to fast. This is a perpetual law.

16:32 The rite of atonement must be performed by the priest who has been anointed and installed to officiate in place of his father. He is to put on the linen, the sacred vestments,

16:33 and to perform the atonement of the sacred sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Then he must perform the rite of atonement over the priests and all the people of the community.

16:34 This shall be a perpetual law for you; once a year the rite of atonement must be made over the sons of Israel for all their sins. And it was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 17

IV. THE LAW OF HOLINESS

Immolation and sacrifice

17:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

17:2 ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the sons of Israel and say to them: “This is the word of Yahweh, his command:

17:3 Any man of the House of Israel who immolates an ox, lamb or goat, whether inside the camp or outside it,

17:4 must first bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to make an offering of it to Yahweh before his tabernacle; and anyone who fails to do this must answer for the blood that is spilt; he shall be outlawed from his people.

17:5 Thus, the sacrifices that the sons of Israel wish to make in the open country will be brought to the priest, for Yahweh, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and with them they will make communion sacrifices for Yahweh.

17:6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of Yahweh that stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and he shall burn the fat, and its fragrance will appease Yahweh.

17:7 They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the satyrs[*a] in whose service they once prostituted themselves.[*b] This is a perpetual law for them and for their descendants.”

17:8 ‘You will also say to them, “Any man of the House of Israel or stranger living among you who offers a holocaust or sacrifice

17:9 without bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to offer it to Yahweh shall be outlawed from his people.

17:10 “If any man of the House of Israel or stranger living among you eats blood of any kind, I will set my face against the man who has eaten the blood and will outlaw him from his people.

17:11 The life of the flesh is in the blood. This blood I myself have given you to perform the rite of atonement for your lives at the altar; for it is blood that atones for a life.

17:12 That is why I have said to the sons of Israel: None of you nor any stranger living among you shall eat blood.

17:13 “If any son of Israel or any stranger living among you catches game or bird that it is lawful to eat, he must pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

17:14 For the life of all flesh is its blood, and I have said to the sons of Israel: You must not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is in its blood, and anyone who eats it shall be outlawed from his people.

17:15 “Anyone, native or stranger, who eats an animal that has died a natural death or been savaged by beasts must wash his clothing and wash himself; he shall be unclean until evening, then he will be clean.

17:16 But if he does not wash his clothing and wash his body, he must bear the consequences of his fault.”‘

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 18

Rules for conjugal relationships

18:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

18:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: “I am Yahweh your God.

18:3 You must not behave as they do in Egypt where once you lived; you must not behave as they do in Canaan where I am taking you. You must not follow their laws.

18:4 You must follow my customs and keep my laws; by them you must lead your life. “I am Yahweh your God.

18:5 You must keep my laws and my customs. Whoever complies with them will find life in them. “I am Yahweh.

18:6 “None of you may approach a woman who is closely related to him, to uncover her nakedness. I am Yahweh.

18:7 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your father or mother. She is your mother – you must not uncover her nakedness.

18:8 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.

18:9 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your sister, whether she is your father’s or your mother’s daughter. Whether she is born in the same house or elsewhere, you must not uncover her nakedness.

18:10 “You must not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your son or daughter; for their nakedness is your own.

18:11 “You must not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, born of your father. She is your sister; you must not uncover her nakedness.

18:12 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; for it is your father’s flesh.

18:13 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister; for it is your mother’s flesh.

18:14 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must therefore not approach his wife, for she is your aunt.

18:15 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you must not uncover her nakedness.

18:16 “You .must not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; for it is your brother’s nakedness.

18:17 “You must not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter too; you must not take the daughter of her son or of her daughter to uncover their nakedness. They are your own flesh; it would be incest.

18:18 “You must not take into your harem a woman and her sister at the same time, uncovering the latter’s nakedness while the former is still alive.

18:19 “You must not approach and uncover the nakedness of a woman who is unclean by reason of her monthly periods.

18:20 “You must not give your marriage bed to your neighbour’s wife; you would thereby become unclean.

18:21 “You must not hand over any of your children to have them passed to Molech,[*a] nor must you profane the name of your God in this way. I am Yahweh.

18:22 “You must not lie with a man as with a woman. This is a hateful thing.

18:23 “You must not lie with any animal; you would thereby become unclean. A woman must not offer herself to an animal, to have intercourse with it. This would be a foul thing.

18:24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these practices, for it was by such things that the nations that I have expelled to make way for you made themselves unclean.

18:25 “The land became unclean; I exacted the penalty for its fault and the land had to vomit out its inhabitants.

18:26 “But you must keep my laws and customs, you must not do any of these hateful things, neither native nor stranger living among you.

18:27 For all these hateful things were done by the people who inhabited this land before you, and the land became unclean.

18:28 If you make it unclean, will it not vomit you out as it vomited the nation that was here before you?

18:29 Yes, anyone who does one of these hateful things, whatever it may be, any person doing so must be cut off from his people.

18:30 Keep to my rules; do not observe the hateful practices that were observed before you came, then you will not be made unclean by them. I am Yahweh your God.”‘

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 19

Worship

19:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

19:2 ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them: “Be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.

19:3 “Each of you must respect his father and mother. “And you must keep my sabbaths; I am Yahweh your God.

19:4 “Do not turn to idols, and cast no gods of metal. I am Yahweh your God.

19:5 “If you offer a communion sacrifice to Yahweh, make yourselves acceptable and so offer it.

19:6 It must be eaten the same day or the day after; whatever is left the day after must be burnt.

19:7 If eaten on the third day it would be a corrupt offering, it would not be acceptable.

19:8 Anyone who eats it must bear the consequences of his fault, for he will have profaned the holiness of Yahweh; this person shall be outlawed from his people.

19:9 “When you gather the harvest of your land, you are not to harvest to the very end of the field. You are not to gather the gleanings of the harvest.

19:10 You are neither to strip your vine bare nor to collect the fruit that has fallen in your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am Yahweh your God.

19:11 “You must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour.

19:12 You must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am Yahweh.

19:13 You must not exploit or rob your neighbour. You must not keep back the labourer’s wage until next morning.

19:14 You must not curse the dumb, nor put an obstacle in the blind man’s way, but you must fear your God. I am Yahweh.

19:15 “You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts. You must neither be partial to the little man nor overawed by the great; you must pass judgement on your neighbour according to justice.

19:16 You must not slander your own people, and you must not jeopardise your neighbour’s life. I am Yahweh.

19:17 You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you will not take a sin upon yourself.

19:18 You must not exact vengeance, nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbour as yourself. I am Yahweh.

19:19 “You must keep my laws. “You are not to mate your cattle with those of another kind; you are not to sow two kinds of grain in your field; you are not to wear a garment made from two kinds of fabric.

19:20 “If a man sleeps with a woman as though married to her, she being another’s concubine slave not yet purchased or given her freedom, then the man is to be answerable for infringement of rights, but he shall not be put to death, since she was not a free woman.

19:21 He must bring a sacrifice of reparation for Yahweh to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. This is to be a ram of reparation.

19:22 With this ram of reparation the priest must perform the rite of atonement over the man before Yahweh for the sin committed; and the sin he has committed will be forgiven.

19:23 “Once you have entered this land and planted a fruit tree of any sort, you are to regard its fruits as its foreskin.[*a] For three years it shall be a thing uncircumcised, and you must not eat it.

19:24 In the fourth year, all the fruit shall be consecrated to Yahweh in a feast of praise.

19:25 In the fifth year you may eat the fruit and gather the produce for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.

19:26 “You must eat nothing with blood in it. You must not practise divination or magic.

19:27 [*b] “You are not to round off your hair at the edges nor trim the edges of your beard.

19:28 You are not to gash your bodies when someone dies, and you are not to tattoo yourselves. I am Yahweh.

19:29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute; thus the land will not be prostituted and filled with incest.

19:30 “You must keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.

19:31 “Do not have recourse to the spirits of the dead or to magicians; they will defile you. I am Yahweh your God.

19:32 “You are to rise up before grey hairs, you are to honour old age and fear your God. I am Yahweh.

19:33 “If a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him.

19:34 You must count him as one of your own countrymen and love him as yourself – for you were once strangers yourselves in Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

19:35 “Your legal verdicts, your measures – length, weight and capacity – must all be just.

19:36 Your scales and weights must be just, a just ephah and a just hin. I am Yahweh who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

19:37 “Keep all my laws and customs, put them into practice. I am Yahweh.”‘

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 20

Penalties

a. Offences against true worship

20:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

20:2 ‘Tell the sons of Israel: “Any son of Israel or any stranger living in Israel must die if he hands over any of his children to Molech. The people of the country must stone him,

20:3 and I shall set my face against that man and outlaw him from his people; for in handing over his children to Molech he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.

20:4 If the people of the country choose to close their eyes to the man’s action in handing over his children to Molech, and they do not put him to death,

20:5 I myself shall turn my face against him and his clan. I shall outlaw them from their people, him and all those after him who prostitute themselves by following Molech.

20:6 “If a man has recourse to the spirits of the dead or to magicians, to prostitute himself by following them, I shall set my face against that man and outlaw him from his people.

20:7 “You must make yourselves holy, for I am Yahweh your God.

b. Offences against the family

20:8 “You must keep my laws and put them into practice, for it is I, Yahweh, who make you holy.

20:9 Hence: “Anyone who curses father or mother must die. Since he has cursed his father or mother, his blood shall be on his own head.

20:10 “The man who commits adultery with a married woman: “The man who commits adultery with his neighbour’s wife must die, he and his accomplice.

20:11 “The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them must die, their blood shall be on their own heads.

20:12 “The man who lies with his daughter-in-law: both of them must die; they have defiled each other, their blood shall be on their own heads.

20:13 “The man who lies with a man in the same way as with a woman: they have done a hateful thing together; they must die, their blood shall be on their own heads.

20:14 “The man who takes a woman and her mother to wife: that is incest. They must be burnt to death – he and they: there must be no incest among you.

20:15 “The man who lies with an animal: he must die and the animal must be killed.

20:16 “The woman who approaches any animal to have intercourse with it: you shall kill the woman and the animal. They must die, their blood shall be on their own heads.

20:17 “The man who takes the daughter of his father or mother to wife: if he sees her nakedness and she sees his, it is a disgrace. They must be executed in public, for the man has uncovered the nakedness of his sister and he must bear the consequences of his fault.

20:18 “The man who lies with a woman during her monthly periods and uncovers her nakedness: he has laid bare the source of her blood, and she has uncovered the source of her blood: both of them must be outlawed from their people.

20:19 “You must not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, a man has thus uncovered his own flesh, and they must bear the consequences of their fault.

20:20 “The man who lies with the wife of his paternal uncle: he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness, they must bear the consequences of their fault and die childless.

20:21 “The man who takes to wife the wife of his brother: that is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness, and they shall die childless.

c. Appendix: the clean and the unclean

20:22 “You must keep all my laws, all my customs, and put them into practice: thus you will not be vomited out by the land where I am taking you to live.

20:23 You must not follow the laws of the nations that I expel to make way for you; they practised all these things and for this I have come to detest them.

20:24 I have told you already: You shall take possession of their soil, I myself will give you possession of it, a land where milk and honey flow. “I, Yahweh your God, have set you apart from these peoples.

20:25 Therefore you must set the clean animal apart from the unclean, the unclean bird apart from the clean. Do not defile yourselves with these animals or birds, or things that creep on the ground: I have made you set them apart as unclean.

Conclusion

20:26 “Be consecrated to me, because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I will set you apart from all these peoples so that you may be mine.

20:27 “Any man or woman who is a necromancer or magician must be put to death by stoning; their blood shall be on their own heads.”‘

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 21

The holiness of the priesthood

a. The priests

21:1 Yahweh said to Moses: ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “None of them is to make himself unclean by going near the corpse of one of his family,

21:2 unless it be of his closest relations – father, mother, son, daughter, brother.

21:3 He may also make himself unclean for his virgin sister: if she is still a close relation since she has not belonged to a man.

21:4 If a husband, he must not make himself unclean for his family; in doing so he would profane himself.

21:5 “They must not wear tonsures, shave the edges of their beards, or gash their bodies.

21:6 They shall be consecrated to their God and must not profane the name of their God. For it is they who bring the burnt offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God; and they must be in a holy condition.

21:7 “They must not marry a woman profaned by prostitution, or one divorced by her husband; for the priest is consecrated to his God.

21:8 You shall treat him as holy, for he offers up the food of your God. He shall be a holy person to you, because I, Yahweh, am holy, who sanctify you.

21:9 “If the daughter of a man who is a priest profanes herself by prostitution, she profanes her father and must be burnt to death.

b. The high priest

21:10 “The priest who is pre-eminent over his brother, on whose head the chrism is poured, and who, clothed with the sacred robes, receives investiture, is not to disorder his hair or tear his garments;

21:11 he must not go near a dead man’s corpse, he must not make himself unclean even for his father or mother.

21:12 He must not leave the holy place, so that he may not profane the sanctuary of his God; for he bears on himself the consecration of his God, given by the oil of anointing. I am Yahweh.

21:13 “He must take to wife a woman who is still a virgin.

21:14 He must not marry a woman who is a widow or divorced, or profaned by prostitution: only a virgin from his own family may he take to wife.

21:15 He must not profane his levitical descendants, for it is I, Yahweh, who have sanctified him.”‘

c. Impediments to the priesthood

21:16 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

21:17 ‘Speak to Aaron and say: “None of your descendants, in any generation, must come forward to offer the food of his God if he has any infirmity –

21:18 no man must come near if he has an infirmity such as blindness or lameness, if he is disfigured or deformed,

21:19 if he has an injured foot or arm,

21:20 if he is a hunchback or a dwarf, if he has a disease of the eyes or of the skin, if he has a running sore, or if he is a eunuch.

21:21 No descendant of Aaron the priest must come forward to offer the burnt offerings of Yahweh if he has any infirmity; if he has an infirmity, he must not come forward to offer the food of his God.

21:22 “He may eat the food of his God, things most holy and things holy;

21:23 but he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has an infirmity, and must not profane my holy things; for it is I, Yahweh, who have sanctified them.”‘

21:24 And Moses told this to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 22

Holiness in consuming the sacred meal

a. The priests

22:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

22:2 Speak to Aaron and his sons: let them be consecrated through the holy offerings of the sons of Israel, and not profane my holy name; for my sake they are to sanctify it; I am Yahweh.

22:3 Tell them this: “Any one of your descendants, in any generation, who in a state of uncleanness approaches the holy offerings consecrated to Yahweh by the sons of Israel, shall be outlawed from my presence. I am Yahweh.

22:4 “Anyone of Aaron’s line who is afflicted with leprosy or with a discharge must not eat holy things until he is clean. Anyone who touches something made unclean by a dead body, or has a seminal discharge,

22:5 or is made unclean by touching either some creeping thing or some man who has communicated to him his own uncleanness of whatever kind,

22:6 in short, anyone who has had any such contact shall be unclean until evening, and must not eat holy things until he has washed his body.

22:7 At sunset he will be clean and may then eat holy things, for these are his food.

22:8 “He must not eat an animal that has died a natural death or been savaged by beasts; he would contract uncleanness from it. I am Yahweh.

22:9 “Let them keep my rules and not burden themselves with sin. If they profane them, they shall die: it is I, Yahweh, who have sanctified them.

b. Lay people

22:10 “No lay person may eat holy things: neither the guest of a priest, nor his hired servant.

22:11 But if the priest has acquired a slave by purchase, the slave may eat them like anyone born in the house; for they eat his own food.

22:12 “If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she must not eat the holy portion set aside;

22:13 but if she is widowed or divorced and, being childless, has had to return to her father’s house as when she was young, she may eat her father’s food. No lay person may eat of it;

22:14 if someone does eat a holy thing by inadvertence, he shall restore it to the priest with one-fifth added.

22:15 “They must not profane the holy offerings which the sons of Israel have set aside for Yahweh.

22:16 To eat these would lay on them a fault demanding a sacrifice of reparation; for it is I, Yahweh; who have sanctified these offerings.”‘

c. Animals sacrificed

22:17 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

22:18 ‘Tell this to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel: “Any man of the House of Israel or any stranger living in Israel who brings an offering either in payment of a vow or as a voluntary gift, and makes a holocaust with it for Yahweh,

22:19 must, if he is to be acceptable, offer a male without blemish, ox, sheep or goat.

22:20 You must not offer one that is blemished; for it would not make you acceptable.

22:21 “If anyone offers to Yahweh a communion sacrifice, either to fulfil a vow or as a voluntary offering, the animal – from the herd or from the flock – must be without blemish if it is to be acceptable; no defect must be found in it.

22:22 You must not offer to Yahweh an animal that is blind, lame, mutilated, ulcerous, or suffering from skin disease or sore. No part of such an animal shall be laid on the altar as a burnt offering for Yahweh.

22:23 As a voluntary offering, you may offer a bull or a lamb that is underdeveloped or deformed; but such will not be

acceptable in payment of a vow.

22:24 An animal must not be offered to Yahweh if its testicles have been bruised, crushed, removed or cut. You are not to do that in your country,

22:25 and you are not to accept any such from the hands of a stranger, to be offered as food for your God. Their deformity is a blemish, and they would not make you acceptable.”‘

22:26 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

22:27 ‘A calf, lamb, or kid shall stay with its dam seven days after birth. From the eighth day it will be acceptable as a burnt offering to Yahweh.

22:28 But no animal, whether cow or ewe, shall be immolated on the same day as its young.

22:29 ‘If you offer Yahweh a sacrifice with praise, do it in the acceptable manner;

22:30 it must be eaten the same day, with nothing left till the morning. I am Yahweh.

d. Final exhortation

22:31 ‘You must keep my commands and put them into practice. I am Yahweh.

22:32 You must not profane my holy name, so that I may be proclaimed holy among the sons of Israel, I, Yahweh who sanctify you.

22:33 I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God, I am Yahweh.’

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 23

The ritual for the annual feasts

23:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

23:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: (the solemn festivals of Yahweh to which you summon them are sacred assemblies) “These are my solemn festivals.

a. Sabbath

23:3 “You may work for six days, but the seventh must be a day of complete rest, a day for the sacred assembly on which you do no work at all. Wherever you live, this is a sabbath for Yahweh.

23:4 “These are Yahweh’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.

b. The Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread

23:5 “The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of Yahweh;

23:6 and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for Yahweh. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven.

23:7 On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work.

23:8 For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.”‘

c. The first sheaf

23:9 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

23:10 ‘Speak to the sons. of Israel and say to them: “When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest,

23:11 and he is to present it to Yahweh with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath,

23:12 and on the same day as you make this offering, you are to offer Yahweh the holocaust of an unblemished lamb one year old.

23:13 The oblation for that day shall be two-tenths of wheaten flour mixed with oil, a burnt offering whose fragrance will appease Yahweh. The libation is to be one quarter of a hin of wine.

23:14 You are to eat no bread, roasted corn or baked bread, before this day, before making the offering to your God. This is a perpetual law for all your descendants, wherever you live.

d. The feast of Weeks

23:15 “From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks.

23:16 You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer Yahweh a new oblation.

23:17 You must bring bread from your houses to present with the gesture of offering – two loaves, made of two-tenths of wheaten flour baked with leaven; these are first-fruits for Yahweh.

23:18 In addition to the bread you must offer seven unblemished lambs one year old, a young bull and two rams, as a holocaust to Yahweh, together with an oblation and a libation, a burnt offering whose fragrance will appease Yahweh.

23:19 You are also to offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin, and two lambs one year old as a communion sacrifice.

23:20 The priest shall present them before Yahweh with the gesture of offering, in addition to the bread of the first-fruits. These, and the two lambs, are holy things for Yahweh, and will revert to the priest.

23:21 “This same day you are to hold an assembly; this shall be a sacred assembly for you; you will do no heavy work. This is a perpetual law for your descendants, wherever you live.

23:22 “When you gather the harvest in your country, you are not to harvest to the very end of your field, and you are not to gather the gleanings of the harvest. You are to leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am Yahweh your God.”‘

e. The First Day of the Seventh Month

23:23 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

23:24 Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: “The first day of the seventh month[*a] shall be a day of rest for you, a sacred assembly proclaimed with trumpet call.

23:25 You must not do any heavy work and you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh.”

f. The Day of Atonement

23:26 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

23:27 ‘But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh.

23:28 You are not to do any work that day, for it is the Day of Atonement, on which the rite of atonement will be performed over you before Yahweh your God.

23:29 Indeed, anyone who fails to fast that day shall be outlawed from his people;

23:30 anyone who works that day I will remove from his people.

23:31 No work must be done – this is a perpetual law for your descendants wherever you live.

23:32 This is to be a day of sabbath rest for you. You must fast; on the evening of the ninth day of the month, from this to the following evening, you must cease to work.’

g. The feast of Tabernacles

23:33 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

23:34 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for Yahweh, lasting seven days.

23:35 The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work.

23:36 For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.

Conclusion

23:37 “These are the solemn festivals of Yahweh to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to Yahweh, according to the ritual of each day,

23:38 besides the sabbaths of Yahweh and the presents, and the votive and voluntary gifts that you make to Yahweh.

Recapitulation on the feast of Tabernacles

23:39 “But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have harvested the produce of the land, you are to celebrate the feast of Yahweh for seven days. On the first and eighth days there shall be a complete rest.

23:40 On the first day you shall take choice fruits, palm branches, boughs of leafy trees and willows from the river bank, and for seven days you shall rejoice in the presence of Yahweh your God.

23:41 You are to celebrate a feast for Yahweh in this way for seven days every year. This is a perpetual law for your descendants. “You are to keep this feast in the seventh month.

23:42 For seven days you are to live in shelters: all natives of Israel must live in shelters,

23:43 so that your descendants may know that I made the sons of Israel live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.”‘

23:44 And Moses described the solemn festivals of Yahweh to the sons of Israel.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 24

Complementary ritual prescriptions

a. The perpetual flame

24:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

24:2 ‘Order the sons of Israel to bring you pure olive oil for the lamp-stand, and keep a flame burning there continually.

24:3 Outside the veil of Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to see to this flame. It shall burn there before Yahweh from evening to morning continually. This is a perpetual law for your descendants:

24:4 Aaron is to see to the lamps on the pure lamp-stand before Yahweh, continually.

b. The bread on the Golden Table

24:5 ‘You are to take wheaten flour and with it bake twelve cobs, each of two-tenths of an ephah.

24:6 Then you must set them in two rows of six on the pure table that stands before Yahweh.

24:7 On each row you shall place pure incense. This will be the food offered as a memorial, a burnt offering for Yahweh.

24:8 Continually, every sabbath they shall be set before Yahweh. The sons of Israel are to provide them by unending covenant.

24:9 They will belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place, for they are a most holy portion for him of Yahweh’s burnt offerings. This is a perpetual law.’

A case of blasphemy. The law of retaliation

24:10 There was a man whose mother was an Israelite woman and whose father was an Egyptian. He came out of his house and in the camp, surrounded by the sons of Israel, he began to quarrel with a man who was an Israelite.

24:11 Now this son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name and cursed it. So they brought him to Moses (his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan).

24:12 He was put under guard until the will of Yahweh should be made clear to them.

24:13 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

24:14 ‘Take the man who pronounced the curse outside the camp. Let all who have heard him lay their hands on his head, and let the whole community stone him.

24:15 Then say to the sons of Israel: “Any man who curses his God shall bear the burden of his fault.

24:16 The one who blasphemes the name of Yahweh must die; the whole community must stone him. Stranger or native, if he blasphemes the name, he dies.

24:17 “If a man strikes down any human being, he must die.

24:18 “If a man strikes an animal down he must make restitution for it: a life for a life.

24:19 “If a man injures his neighbour, what he has done must be done to him:

24:20 broken limb for broken limb, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As the injury inflicted, so must be the injury suffered.

24:21 The one who strikes an animal down must make restitution for it, and the one who strikes down a man must die.

24:22 The sentence you pass shall be the same whether it be on native or on stranger; for I am Yahweh your God.”‘

24:23 When Moses had said this to the sons of Israel, they took the man who had pronounced the curse out of the camp and stoned him. In this way the sons of Israel carried out the order of Yahweh to Moses.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 25

The Holy Years

a. The Sabbatical Year

25:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai; he said:

25:2 to the sons of Israel and say to them: “When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land is to keep a sabbath’s rest for Yahweh.

25:3 For six years you shall sow your field, for six years you shall prune your vine and gather its produce.

25:4 But in the seventh year the land is to have its rest, a sabbath for Yahweh. You must not sow your field or prune your vine,

25:5 or harvest your ungathered corn or gather grapes from your untrimmed vine. It is to be a year of rest for the land.

25:6 The sabbath of the land will itself feed you and your servants, men and women, your hired labourer, your guest, and all who live with you.

25:7 For your cattle too, and the animals on your land, its produce will serve as food.

b. The Year of Jubilee

25:8 “You are to count seven weeks of years – seven times seven years, that is to say a period of seven weeks of years, forty-nine years.

25:9 And on the tenth day of the seventh month you shall sound the trumpet; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout the land.

25:10 You will declare this fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the land. This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan.

25:11 This fiftieth year is to be a jubilee year for you: you will not sow, you will not harvest the ungathered corn, you will not gather from the untrimmed vine.

25:12 The jubilee is to be a holy thing to you, you will eat what comes from the fields.

25:13 “In this year of jubilee each of you is to return to his ancestral home.

25:14 If you buy or sell with your neighbour, let no one wrong his brother.

25:15 If you buy from your neighbour, this must take into account the number of years since the jubilee: according to the number of productive years he will fix the price.

25:16 The greater the number of years, the higher shall be the price demanded; the less the number of years, the greater the reduction; for what he is selling you is a certain number of harvests.

25:17 Let none of you wrong his neighbour, but fear your God; I am Yahweh your God.

25:18 “You must put my laws and customs into practice; you must keep them, practise them; and so you shall be secure in your possession of the land.

25:19 The land will give its fruit, you will eat your fill and live in security.

The divine guarantee

25:20 “In case you should ask: What shall we eat in this seventh year if we do not sow or harvest the produce?

25:21 I have ordered my blessing to be on you every sixth year, which will therefore provide for you for three years.[*a]

25:22 You will have the old produce to eat while you are sowing in the eighth year and even as late as the ninth year; you will eat the old produce, while waiting for the harvest of that year.

Consequences of the holiness of land and people

a. The land: redemption of landed property

25:23 “Land must not be sold in perpetuity, for the land belongs to me, and to me you are only strangers and guests.

25:24 You will allow a right of redemption on all your landed property.

25:25 If your brother falls on evil days and has to sell his patrimony, his nearest relation shall come to him and exercise his right of redemption on what his brother has sold.

25:26 The man who has no one to exercise this right can regain his property in this way: when he has found the means to effect the redemption,

25:27 he is to calculate the number of years that the alienation would have lasted, repay to the purchaser the sum due for the time still to run, and so return to his property.

25:28 If he cannot find the sum for paying the compensation, the property sold shall remain in the possession of the purchaser until the jubilee year. In the jubilee year, the latter must relinquish it and return to his own property.

25:29 “If anyone sells a dwelling house that is in a walled town, he shall have the right of redemption until the expiry of the year following the sale. His right of redemption is limited to the year;

25:30 and if the redemption has not been effected by the end of the year, this house in the town shall be the property of the purchaser and his descendants in perpetuity; he need not relinquish it at the jubilee.

25:31 But houses in villages not enclosed by walls will be considered as situated in the open country; they carry the right of redemption, and the purchaser must relinquish them at the jubilee.

25:32 “As regards the towns of the Levites, any property in the towns possessed by them shall carry a perpetual right of redemption in their favour.

25:33 If it is a Levite who is affected by the right of redemption, at the jubilee he must come out of the property that was sold and return to his house, to the town in which he has a title to property. For the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property in the midst of the sons of Israel,

25:34 and the arable land depending on these towns cannot be sold, for it is their property for ever.

b. The people: loans and enfranchisement

25:35 “If your brother who is living with you falls on evil days and is unable to support himself with you, you must support him as you would a stranger or a guest, and he must continue to live with you.

25:36 Do not make him work for you, do not take interest from him; fear your God, and let your brother live with you.

25:37 You are not to lend him money at interest, or give him food to make a profit out of it.

25:38 I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

25:39 “If your brother falls on evil days when he is with you and sells himself to you, you must not impose a slave’s work on him;

25:40 he shall be like a hired man or a guest, and shall work with you until the jubilee year.

25:41 Then he shall leave you, he and his children; he shall return to his clan and regain possession of his ancestral property.

25:42 For they are my servants, these whom I have brought out of Egypt, and they must not be sold like slaves.

25:43 You must not be a hard master to him, but you must fear your God.

25:44 “The servants you have, men and women, shall come from the nations round you; from these you may purchase servants, men and women.

25:45 You may also purchase them from the children of the strangers who live among you, and from their families living with you who have been born on your soil. They shall be your property

25:46 and you may leave them as an inheritance to your sons after you, to hold in perpetual possession. These you may have for slaves; but to your brothers, the sons of Israel, you must not be hard masters.

25:47 “If some stranger or settler among you grows rich, and your brother falls on evil days and is in difficulties with him and sells himself to him, to this stranger or settler among you or to one of his descendants,

25:48 he shall enjoy the right of redemption after sale, and one of his brothers may redeem him.

25:49 His paternal uncle, his uncle’s son, or a member of his own family may redeem him; if he has the means, he may redeem himself.

25:50 By agreement with his purchaser, he must count the number of years between the year of sale and the jubilee year; the sum of the price of sale must be calculated at the annual rate for these years, his time being valued as that of a hired man.

25:51 If there are still many years to run, in proportion to their number he must refund part of his sale price as payment for his redemption.

25:52 And if there are only a few years still to run before the jubilee year, he must calculate in proportion to the number of these years what shall be refunded for his redemption,

25:53 the calculation being made as if he were hired by the year. You must see that the man is not hardly dealt with.

25:54 “If he has not been redeemed in any of these ways, he shall go free in the jubilee year, he and his children with him.

25:55 For they are my servants, these sons of Israel; they are my servants whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 26

Summary: conclusion

26:1 “You must make no idols; you must set up neither carved image nor standing-stone, set up no sculptured stone in your land, to prostrate yourselves in front of it; for it is I, Yahweh, who am your God.

26:2 You must keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.

Blessings

26:3 “If you live according to my laws, if you keep my commandments and put them into practice,

26:4 I will give you the rain you need at the right time; the earth shall give its produce and the trees of the countryside their fruits;

26:5 you shall thresh until vintage time and gather grapes until sowing time. You shall eat your fill of bread and live secure in your land.

26:6 “I will give peace to the land, and you shall sleep with none to frighten you. I will rid the land of beasts of prey. The sword shall not pass through your land.

26:7 You shall pursue your enemies and they shall fall before your sword;

26:8 five of you pursuing a hundred of them, one hundred pursuing ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before your sword.

26:9 “I will turn towards you, I will make you be fruitful and multiply, and I will uphold my Covenant with you.

26:10 “You shall eat your fill of last year’s harvest, and still throw out the old to make room for the new.

26:11 “I will set up my dwelling among you, and I will not cast you off.

26:12 I will live in your midst; I will be your God and you shall be my people.

26:13 It is I, Yahweh your God, who have brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you should be their servants no longer. I have broken the yoke that bound you and have made you walk with head held high.

Curses

26:14 “But if you do not listen to me, and do not observe each one of these commandments,

26:15 if you refuse my laws and disregard my customs, and break my Covenant by not observing each one of my commandments,

26:16 then I will deal in like manner with you. “I will inflict terror on you, consumption and fever that waste the eyes away and exhaust the breath of life. You shall sow your seed in vain – your enemies shall feed on it.

26:17 I will turn against you and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Your foes shall have the mastery over you, and you shall take flight when there is no one pursuing you.

26:18 “And if in spite of this, you do not listen to me, I will still punish you sevenfold for your sins.

26:19 I will break your proud strength. I will give you a sky of iron, an earth of bronze.

26:20 You shall wear out your strength in vain, your land shall not yield its produce any longer nor the trees their fruit.

26:21 “If you set yourselves against me and will not listen to me, I will heap these plagues on you in sevenfold punishment for your sins.

26:22 I will let wild beasts loose against you to make away with your children, destroy your cattle, and reduce you in number until your roads are deserted.

26:23 “And if that does not reform you, and you still set yourselves against me,

26:24 I too will set myself against you and I will strike you with sevenfold punishment for your sins.

26:25 I will send out the sword against you, to avenge the Covenant. You may huddle inside your towns: I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of the enemy.

26:26 I will take away from you your bread, which is your staff, and one oven shall suffice for ten women to bake your bread; they shall dole this bread out by weight, and you shall eat and not be filled.

26:27 “And if, in spite of this, you do not listen to me but set yourselves against me,

26:28 I will set myself against you in fury and punish you sevenfold for your sins.

26:29 You shall eat the flesh of your own sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your own daughters.

26:30 I will destroy your high places and smash your altars of incense; I will pile your corpses on the corpses of your idols, and I will cast you off.

26:31 I will reduce your cities to ruins; I will lay your sanctuaries waste; I will no longer breathe the fragrance that would appease me.

26:32 I, yes I, will make such a desolation of the land that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it.

26:33 And I will scatter you among the nations. I will unsheathe the sword against you to make your land a waste and your towns a ruin.

26:34 Then the land will observe its sabbaths indeed, lying desolate there, while you are in the land of your enemies. Then indeed the land will rest and observe its sabbaths.

26:35 And as it lies desolate it will rest, as it never did on your sabbaths when you lived in it.

26:36 I will strike fear into the hearts of those of you that are left; in the land of their enemies the sound of a falling leaf shall send them fleeing as men flee from the sword, and they shall fall though there is no one pursuing them.

26:37 They shall stumble over one another as if the sword were upon them even when there is no one pursuing them. You shall be powerless to stand before your enemies;

26:38 you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall swallow you up.

26:39 For their sins, those of you who are left shall perish in the lands of their enemies; they shall perish too for the sins of their fathers added to their own.

26:40 Then they shall confess their sins and the sins of their fathers, sins by which they betrayed me worse, by which they set themselves against me.

26:41 “I in my turn will set myself against them and take them to the land of their enemies. Then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, then they will atone for their sins.

26:42 I shall remember my Covenant with Jacob, and my Covenant with Isaac and my Covenant with Abraham; and I shall remember the land.

26:43 “Abandoned by them, the land will keep its sabbaths, as it lies desolate when they are gone. But they must atone for their sin, for they have spurned my customs and abhorred my laws.

26:44 “Yet this is not the end. When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not so spurn them or abhor them as to destroy them altogether and break my Covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their God.

26:45 For their sake I will remember the Covenant I made with those first generations that I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I would be their God, I, Yahweh.”‘

26:46 These are the laws, customs and rules which Yahweh laid down between himself and the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai through the mediation of Moses.

JB LEVITICUS Chapter 27

Tariffs and estimates

a. Persons

27:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

27:2 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them: “If anyone vows the value of a person to Yahweh and wishes to discharge the vow:

27:3 “a man between twenty and sixty years of age shall be valued at fifty silver shekels – the sanctuary shekel;

27:4 a woman shall be valued at thirty shekels;

27:5 “between five and twenty years, a boy shall be valued at twenty shekels, a girl at ten shekels;

27:6 “between one month and five years, a boy shall be valued at five silver shekels, a girl at three silver shekels;

27:7 “at sixty years and over, a man shall be valued at fifteen shekels and a woman at ten shekels.

27:8 “If the person who made the vow cannot meet this valuation, he must present the person concerned to the priest, and the priest shall set a value proportionate to the resources of the person who made the vow.

b. Animals

27:9 “If it is a question of an animal suitable for offering to Yahweh, any such animal given to Yahweh shall be a consecrated thing.

27:10 It cannot be exchanged or a substitute offered – good for bad, bad for good. If one animal is substituted for another, both of them shall be consecrated.

27:11 If it is a question of an unclean animal, and not suitable for offering to Yahweh, whatever it may be it must be presented to the priest

27:12 and he shall set a value on it, judging it good or bad. You must abide by his valuation;

27:13 but if the person wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to the valuation.

c. Houses

27:14 “If a man consecrates his house to Yahweh, the priest shall set a value on it, judging whether its value is great or little. You must abide by the priest’s valuation,

27:15 but if the man who has vowed his house wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to the valuation, and it shall revert to him.

d. Fields

27:16 “If a man consecrates one of the fields of his patrimony to Yahweh, its value shall be calculated according to its productivity, at the rate of fifty silver shekels to one omer of barley.

27:17 “If he consecrates the field during the jubilee year, he must stand by this valuation.

27:18 But if he consecrates it after the jubilee, the priest shall calculate the price on the basis of the number of years still to run until the next jubilee and the valuation shall be reduced accordingly.

27:19 “If he wishes to redeem the field, he shall add one-fifth to the valuation, and the field shall revert to him.

27:20 If he does not redeem it but sells it to another, the right of redemption ceases;

27:21 when the buyer has to relinquish it at the jubilee year, it becomes a thing consecrated to Yahweh, the same as a field laid under ban: the man’s property passes to the priest.

27:22 “If he consecrates to Yahweh a field which he has bought, but which is not part of his patrimony,

27:23 the priest shall assess the valuation on the basis of the number of years still to run before the jubilee year; and the man shall pay this sum the same day, as for a thing consecrated to Yahweh.

27:24 In the jubilee year, the field shall return to the seller, to the man to whose patrimony the land belongs.

27:25 All valuation must be made in sanctuary shekels, at the rate of twenty gerahs to the shekel.

Particular rules for the redemption

a. of first-born

27:26 “No one, however, may consecrate the first-born of his cattle, for it belongs to Yahweh by right: whether ox or sheep, it belongs to Yahweh.

27:27 But if it is an unclean animal it may be repurchased at the valuation price with one-fifth added; if it is not redeemed, the animal shall be sold at the valuation price.

b. of things under the ban

27:28 “Nothing, however, that a man lays under ban for Yahweh may be redeemed; nothing he possesses, whether man, beasts, or fields of his patrimony. What is laid under ban is always a most holy thing and belongs to Yahweh.

27:29 A human being laid under ban cannot be redeemed, he must be put to death.

c. of tithes

27:30 “All tithes of the land, levied on the produce of the earth or the fruits of trees, belong to Yahweh; they are consecrated to Yahweh.

27:31 If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add one-fifth to its value.

27:32 “In all tithes of flock or herd, the tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff shall be a thing consecrated to Yahweh;

27:33 there must be no picking out of good and bad, no substitution. If substitution takes place, both the animal and its substitute shall be things consecrated without possibility of redemption.”‘

27:34 These are the commandments that Yahweh laid down for Moses on Mount Sinai, for the sons of Israel.

END OF JB LEVITICUS [27 Chapters].

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