How does Leviticus 19 connect being holy with the way people worship, work, and treat one another?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

God tells the whole congregation to be holy because he is holy. He gives commands about worship, offerings, food, work, family, speech, judgment and measures, including love for one’s friend and for the stranger living among them.

Chapter breakdown

Leviticus 19 gives a range of moral, ceremonial, and judicial commands. The Lord tells Moses to address all the children of Israel: they are to be holy because the Lord their God is holy. Everyone must fear his father and mother and keep God’s sabbaths. They must not turn to idols or make cast-metal gods. These commands are joined to God’s declaration that he is the Lord their God.

If they offer a peace offering to the Lord so that he may be favourable, they must eat it on the day it is offered and the next day. Anything left until the third day must be burned. A person who eats it after two days is profane and guilty of wrongdoing against God. He bears his guilt because he has defiled the Lord’s holy thing, and he shall perish from his people.

When reaping the grain of their land, they must not cut down everything on the face of the earth to the very ground or gather the ears that remain. They must not gather the bunches and grapes that fall in the vineyard. They must leave them for the poor and the strangers to take. The Lord declares that he is their God.

They must not steal, lie, or deceive their neighbour. They must not swear falsely by God’s name or profane it. They must not make false accusations against their neighbour or oppress him through violence. A hired worker’s wages must not remain with the employer until morning. They must not speak evil of the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. They must fear the Lord their God, who declares that he is the Lord.

They must not do anything unjust or judge unjustly. Judgment must favour neither the poor person nor the powerful person; their neighbour must be judged with justice. They must not spread damaging talk or whisper against people, nor stand against their neighbour’s blood. They must not hate their brother in their heart, but must correct him openly lest they incur sin through him. They must not seek revenge or keep dwelling on injuries done by their fellow citizens. They must love their friend as themselves. The Lord identifies himself again with these commands.

God commands them to keep his laws. They must not breed their cattle with animals of another kind, sow their field with different seeds, or wear a garment woven of two sorts.

Challoner says these laws recommend simplicity and honest dealing in all things. His note also reads them as teaching the people not to join false worship or heresy with worship of the true God. This interpretation is attributed to the note, rather than added to the verse’s commands.

If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a bondservant and marriageable, has not been redeemed by payment, and has not been made free, both shall be whipped. They are not put to death because she was not a free woman. For his trespass, the man must offer a ram to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. The priest prays for him and for his sin before the Lord; the Lord has mercy on him and the sin is forgiven.

When they enter the land and plant fruit trees, they must take away the firstfruits. The fruit that comes forth is unclean to them and must not be eaten.

Challoner explains “Proeputia” as literally meaning the trees’ foreskins, an allusion to circumcision. The note says that the trees were to be treated as uncircumcised for the first three years, with their fruit unclean. In the fourth year their increase was sanctified and given to the Lord, which the note explains as given to the priests. These details about the first three years and the priests are identified as commentary.

In the fourth year all the fruit is to be sanctified to the Lord’s praise. In the fifth year they may eat the fruit and gather its increase. God again declares that he is the Lord their God.

They must not eat with blood, practice divination, or observe dreams. They must not cut their hair roundwise or shave their beard. They must not cut their flesh for the dead or make figures or marks in themselves. They must not make their daughter a prostitute, lest the land be defiled and filled with wickedness. They must keep God’s sabbaths and honour his sanctuary. They must not turn to wizards or ask anything of soothsayers and become defiled by them. The Lord identifies himself with these commands.

They must rise before a grey-haired person, honour the aged man, and fear the Lord their God. If a stranger lives in their land among them, they must not reproach him. They must treat him as one of the same country and love him as themselves, because they were strangers in Egypt. The Lord again declares that he is their God.

They must do nothing unjust in judgment, rule, weight, or measure. The balance must be just, the weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal; the bushel and sextary are the named measures in this edition. The Lord identifies himself as their God who brought them out of Egypt. He closes by commanding them to keep and carry out all his precepts and judgments.

The story inside

The command to be holy is addressed to the whole congregation and then worked out in concrete instructions. Food left after a peace offering cannot simply be eaten whenever someone chooses: there is a two-day eating period and a third-day burning rule. A harvest cannot be gathered completely: what the text names must be left for the poor and strangers. A worker’s wages cannot be held until morning, and judgment cannot turn on whether a person is poor or powerful. These are different duties, but each belongs to the same address from the Lord. The love command also reaches the stranger living among them. Verse 34 gives its reason: Israel was once strangers in Egypt. The close brings the range of instructions back together by commanding them to keep and do all God’s precepts and judgments.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The call to holiness is followed by specific duties. Reverence for parents, sabbaths, the sanctuary and God’s name belongs beside the rules for offerings; holiness is not left as an unexplained opening phrase.
2
The commands name acts that affect other people. Remaining grain and fallen grapes are left for the poor and strangers, wages cannot be kept until morning, and judgment must not favour either poverty or power. Open correction and love of one’s friend accompany the bans on hatred and revenge.
3
The stranger living among Israel must be treated as one of the same country and loved as oneself. God gives Israel’s own experience as strangers in Egypt as the reason, and then requires just balances, weights and measures from the people he brought out of Egypt.

Test your recall

Why must Israel love the stranger living among them as themselves, and how do the harvest and wage rules give concrete examples of the chapter’s commands about treating others?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 12707–12720
Leviticus Chapter 19 Divers ordinances, partly moral, partly ceremonial or judicial. 19:1. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 19:2. Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel. And thou shalt say to them: Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy. 19:3. Let every one fear his father, and his mother. Keep my sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. 19:4. Turn ye not to idols: nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 12722–12733
19:5. If ye offer in sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, that he may be favourable: 19:6. You shall eat it on the same day it was offered, and the next day. And whatsoever shall be left until the third day, you shall burn with fire. 19:7. If after two days any man eat thereof, he shall be profane and guilty of impiety: 19:8. And shall bear his iniquity, because he hath defiled the holy thing of the Lord. And that soul shall perish from among his people.
Lines 12735–12741
19:9. When thou reapest the corn of thy land, thou shalt not cut down all that is on the face of the earth to the very ground: nor shalt thou gather the ears that remain. 19:10. Neither shalt thou gather the bunches and grapes that fall down in thy vineyard: but shalt leave them to the poor and the strangers to take. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 12743–12755
19:11. You shall not steal. You shall not lie: neither shall any man deceive his neighbour. 19:12. Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. 19:13. Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, nor oppress him by violence. The wages of him that hath been hired by thee shall not abide with thee until the morning. 19:14. Thou shalt not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind: but thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, because I am the Lord.
Lines 12757–12768
19:15. Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor: nor honour the countenance of the mighty. But judge thy neighbour according to justice. 19:16. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour. I am the Lord. 19:17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: But reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him. 19:18. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.
Lines 12770–12772
19:19. Keep ye my laws. Thou shalt not make thy cattle to gender with beasts of any other kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with different seeds. Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of two sorts.
Lines 12774–12776
Different seeds, etc.... This law tends to recommend simplicity and plain dealing in all things, and to teach the people not to join any false worship or heresy with the worship of the true God.
Lines 12778–12787
19:20. If a man carnally lie with a woman that is a bondservant and marriageable, and yet not redeemed with a price, nor made free: they both shall be scourged: and they shall not be put to death, because she was not a free woman. 19:21. And for his trespass he shall offer a ram to the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 19:22. And the priest shall pray for him: and for his sin before the Lord: and he shall have mercy on him, and the sin shall be forgiven.
Lines 12789–12792
19:23. When you shall be come into the land, and shall have planted in it fruit trees, you shall take away the firstfruits of them. The fruit that comes forth shall be unclean to you: neither shall you eat of them.
Lines 12794–12798
Firstfruits.... Proeputia, literally, their foreskins; it alludes to circumcision, and signifies that for the first three years the trees were to be as uncircumcised, and their fruit unclean: till in the fourth year their increase was sanctified and given to the Lord, that is, to the priests.
Lines 12800–12804
19:24. But in the fourth year, all their fruit shall be sanctified, to the praise of the Lord. 19:25. And in the fifth year you shall eat the fruits thereof, gathering the increase thereof. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 12806–12821
19:26. You shall not eat with blood. You shall not divine nor observe dreams. 19:27. Nor shall you cut your hair roundwise: nor shave your beard. 19:28. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead: neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks. I am the Lord. 19:29. Make not thy daughter a common strumpet, lest the land be defiled, and filled with wickedness. 19:30. Keep ye my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord. 19:31. Go not aside after wizards: neither ask any thing of soothsayers, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 12823–12831
19:32. Rise up before the hoary head, and honour the person of the aged man: and fear the Lord thy God. I am the Lord. 19:33. If a stranger dwell in your land, and abide among you, do not upbraid him: 19:34. But let him be among you as one of the same country. And you shall love him as yourselves: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 12833–12843
19:35. Do not any unjust thing in judgment, in rule, in weight, or in measure. 19:36. Let the balance be just and the weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal. I am the Lord your God, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. 19:37. Keep all my precepts, and all my judgments: and do them. I am the Lord.