Leviticus 19:11

Dealing Honestly

19:11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. ¹ 

Leviticus 19:16

19:16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. ²  You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. ³  I am the Lord.

[19:11]  ¹ tn Heb “you shall not deal falsely a man with his fellow citizen.”

[19:16]  ² tn The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; BDB 940 s.v. רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious (HALOT 1237 s.v. II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”

[19:16]  ³ tn Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129).