20:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel 1 who gives any of his children 2 to Molech 3 must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. 4 20:3 I myself will set my face 5 against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, 6 because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 7 20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes 8 to that man 9 when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, 10 to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. 11
20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits 13 to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face 14 against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
20:7 “‘You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 20:8 You must be sure to obey my statutes. 15 I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
20:9 “‘If anyone 17 curses his father and mother 18 he must be put to death. He has cursed his father and mother; his blood guilt is on himself. 19 20:10 If a man 20 commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, 21 both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 20:11 If a man has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. 22 Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 23 20:12 If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; 24 their blood guilt is on themselves. 20:13 If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, 25 the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 20:14 If a man has sexual intercourse with both a woman and her mother, 26 it is lewdness. 27 Both he and they must be burned to death, 28 so there is no lewdness in your midst. 20:15 If a man has sexual intercourse 29 with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 20:16 If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual intercourse with it, 30 you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with 31 his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. 32 He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. 33 20:18 If a man has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them 34 must be cut off from the midst of their people. 20:19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister and your father’s sister, for such a person has laid bare his own close relative. 35 They must bear their punishment for iniquity. 36 20:20 If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 20:21 If a man has sexual intercourse with 37 his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; 38 they will be childless.
20:22 “‘You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations, 39 so that 40 the land to which I am about to bring you to take up residence there does not vomit you out. 20:23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nation 41 which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them. 20:24 So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples. 42 20:25 Therefore you must distinguish 43 between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground – creatures 44 I have distinguished for you as unclean. 45 20:26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.
20:27 “‘A man or woman who 46 has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit 47 must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; 48 their blood guilt is on themselves.’”
21:1 The Lord said to Moses: “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron – say to them, ‘For a dead person 49 no priest 50 is to defile himself among his people, 51 21:2 except for his close relative who is near to him: 52 his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 21:3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, 53 who has no husband; he may defile himself for her. 21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. 54 21:5 Priests 55 must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. 56
21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane 57 the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, 58 the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 59 21:7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, 60 nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, 61 for the priest 62 is holy to his God. 63 21:8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, 64 am holy. 21:9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death. 65
21:10 “‘The high 66 priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained 67 to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. 68 21:11 He must not go where there is any dead person; 69 he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother. 21:12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane 70 the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 21:13 He must take a wife who is a virgin. 71 21:14 He must not marry 72 a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people 73 as a wife. 21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, 74 for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
21:16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 21:17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations 75 who has a physical flaw 76 is to approach to present the food of his God. 21:18 Certainly 77 no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose, 78 or a limb too long, 21:19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 79 21:20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, 80 or one with a spot in his eye, 81 or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash, 82 or a crushed testicle. 21:21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward 83 to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 21:22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 21:23 but he must not go into the veil-canopy 84 or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus 85 he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
21:24 So 86 Moses spoke these things 87 to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.
22:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings 88 of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. 89 I am the Lord. 22:3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, 90 if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings which the Israelites consecrate 91 to the Lord while he is impure, 92 that person must be cut off from before me. 93 I am the Lord. 22:4 No man 94 from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased or has a discharge 95 may eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. The one 96 who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person, 97 or a man who has a seminal emission, 98 22:5 or a man who touches a swarming thing by which he becomes unclean, 99 or touches a person 100 by which he becomes unclean, whatever that person’s impurity 101 – 22:6 the person who touches any of these 102 will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. 22:7 When the sun goes down he will be clean, and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings, because they are his food. 22:8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes 103 or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord. 22:9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it 104 and therefore die 105 because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
22:10 “‘No lay person 106 may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger 107 nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy, 22:11 but if a priest buys a person with his own money, 108 that person 109 may eat the holy offerings, 110 and those born in the priest’s 111 own house may eat his food. 112 22:12 If a priest’s daughter marries a lay person, 113 she may not eat the holy contribution offerings, 114 22:13 but if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and she has no children so that she returns to live in 115 her father’s house as in her youth, 116 she may eat from her father’s food, but no lay person may eat it.
22:14 “‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake, 117 he must add one fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest. 118 22:15 They 119 must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute 120 to the Lord, 121 22:16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt 122 when they eat their holy offerings, 123 for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
22:17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man 124 from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel 125 presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering, 22:19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit 126 it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 22:20 You must not present anything that has a flaw, 127 because it will not be acceptable for your benefit. 128 22:21 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering 129 or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable; 130 it must have no flaw. 131
22:22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, 132 or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. 133 You must not give any of these as a gift 134 on the altar to the Lord. 22:23 As for an ox 135 or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted, 136 you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering. 137 22:24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off; 138 you must not do this in your land. 22:25 Even from a foreigner 139 you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed; 140 they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”
22:26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of 141 its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift 142 to the Lord. 22:28 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young 143 on the same day. 144 22:29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit. 145 22:30 On that very day 146 it must be eaten; you must not leave any part of it 147 over until morning. I am the Lord.
22:31 “You must be sure to do my commandments. 148 I am the Lord. 22:32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 22:33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God. 149 I am the Lord.”
23:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies – my appointed times: 150
23:3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, 151 a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
23:4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, 152 is a Passover offering to the Lord. 23:6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month 153 will be the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 23:7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work. 154 23:8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
23:9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest, 155 then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest 156 to the priest, 23:11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit 157 – on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it. 158 23:12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer 159 a flawless yearling lamb 160 for a burnt offering to the Lord, 23:13 along with its grain offering, two tenths of an ephah of 161 choice wheat flour 162 mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma, 163 and its drink offering, one fourth of a hin of wine. 164 23:14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day, 165 until you bring the offering of your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations 166 in all the places where you live.
23:15 “‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks. 167 23:16 You must count fifty days – until the day after the seventh Sabbath – and then 168 you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 23:17 From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of 169 bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, 170 as first fruits to the Lord. 23:18 Along with the loaves of bread, 171 you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs, 172 one young bull, 173 and two rams. 174 They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering 175 and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 176 23:19 You must also offer 177 one male goat 178 for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace offering sacrifice, 23:20 and the priest is to wave them – the two lambs 179 – along with the bread of the first fruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.
23:21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. 180 You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. 181 23:22 When you gather in the harvest 182 of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, 183 and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’” 184
23:23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:24 “Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts, 185 a holy assembly. 23:25 You must not do any regular work, but 186 you must present a gift to the Lord.’”
23:26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:27 “The 187 tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. 188 It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves 189 and present a gift to the Lord. 23:28 You must not do any work on this particular day, 190 because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves 191 before the Lord your God. 23:29 Indeed, 192 any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. 193 23:30 As for any person 194 who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate 195 that person from the midst of his people! 196 23:31 You must not do any work. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations 197 in all the places where you live. 23:32 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.” 198
23:33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:34 “Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Temporary Shelters 199 for seven days to the Lord. 23:35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. 200 23:36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; 201 you must not do any regular work.
23:37 “‘These are the appointed times of the Lord that you must proclaim as holy assemblies to present a gift to the Lord – burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice, and drink offerings, 202 each day according to its regulation, 203 23:38 besides 204 the Sabbaths of the Lord and all your gifts, votive offerings, and freewill offerings which you must give to the Lord.
23:39 “‘On 205 the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you must celebrate a pilgrim festival of the Lord for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest and on the eighth day is complete rest. 23:40 On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees 206 – palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook – and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 23:41 You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations; 207 you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 23:42 You must live in temporary shelters 208 for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in temporary shelters, 23:43 so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
23:44 So Moses spoke to the Israelites about the appointed times of the Lord. 209
1 tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”
2 tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.
3 tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.
4 tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).
5 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
6 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
7 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
8 tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
9 tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”
10 tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.
11 tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
12 sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.
13 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.
14 tn Heb “I will give my faces.”
15 tn Heb “And you shall keep my statutes and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
16 sn Compare the regulations in Lev 18:6-23.
17 tn Heb “If a man a man who.”
18 tn Heb “makes light of his father and his mother.” Almost all English versions render this as some variation of “curses his father or mother.”
19 tn Heb “his blood [plural] is in him.” Cf. NAB “he has forfeited his life”; TEV “is responsible for his own death.”
20 tn Heb “And a man who.” The syntax here and at the beginning of the following verses elliptically mirrors that of v. 9, which justifies the rendering as a conditional clause.
21 tc The reading of the LXX minuscule
22 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
23 tn See the note on v. 9 above.
24 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” (cf. KJV, ASV “they have wrought confusion”).
25 tn Heb “[as the] lyings of a woman.” The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
26 tn Heb “And a man who takes a woman and her mother.” The Hebrew verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
27 tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
28 tn Heb “in fire they shall burn him and them.” The active plural verb sometimes requires a passive translation (GKC 460 §144.f, g), esp. when no active plural subject has been expressed in the context. The present translation specifies “burned to death” because the traditional rendering “burnt with fire” (KJV, ASV; NASB “burned with fire”) could be understood to mean “branded” or otherwise burned, but not fatally.
29 tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.
30 tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
31 tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse,” though some English versions translate it as “marry” (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV).
32 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
33 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
34 tn Heb “and the two of them.”
35 tn Heb “his flesh.”
36 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
37 tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
38 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
39 tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
40 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
41 tc One medieval Hebrew
42 tc Here and with the same phrase in v. 26, the LXX adds “all,” resulting in the reading “all the peoples.”
43 tn Heb “And you shall distinguish.” The verb is the same as “set apart” at the end of the previous verse. The fact that God had “set them apart” from the other peoples roundabout them called for them to “distinguish between” the clean and the unclean, etc.
44 tn The word “creatures” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the following relative clause modifies the animal, bird, or creeping thing mentioned earlier, and not the ground itself.
45 tc The MT has “to defile,” but Smr, LXX, and Syriac have “to uncleanness.”
46 tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, and some Targum
47 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirit” in Lev 19:31 above.
48 tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). Smr and LXX have “you [plural] shall pelt them with stones.”
49 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).
50 tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).
51 tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
52 tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”
53 tn Cf. v. 2a.
54 tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).
55 tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).
57 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
58 sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).
59 tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”
60 tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 143, as opposed to that in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348; cf. v. 14 below). Cf. NASB “a woman who is profaned by harlotry.”
61 sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 143-44.
62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.
64 tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation.
65 tn See the note on “burned to death” in 20:14.
66 tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions.
67 tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.
68 tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.”
69 tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).
70 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
71 tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”
72 tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”
73 tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
74 tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
75 tn Heb “to their generations.”
76 tn Heb “who in him is a flaw”; cf. KJV, ASV “any blemish”; NASB, NIV “a defect.” The rendering “physical flaw” is used to refer to any birth defect or physical injury of the kind described in the following verses (cf. the same Hebrew word also in Lev 24:19-20). The same term is used for “flawed” animals, which must not be offered to the
77 tn The particle כִּי (ki) in this context is asseverative, indicating absolutely certainty (GKC 498 §159.ee).
78 tn Lexically, the Hebrew term חָרֻם (kharum) seems to refer to a split nose or perhaps any number of other facial defects (HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם qal; cf. G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 292, n. 7); cf. KJV, ASV “a flat nose”; NASB “a disfigured face.” The NJPS translation is “a limb too short” as a balance to the following term which means “extended, raised,” and apparently refers to “a limb too long” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146).
79 tn Heb “who there is in him a broken leg or a broken arm,” or perhaps “broken foot or broken hand.” The Hebrew term רֶגֶל (regel) is commonly rendered “foot,” but it can also refer to the “leg,” and the Hebrew יָד (yad) is most often translated “hand,” but can also refer to the “[fore]arm” (as opposed to כַּף, kaf, “palm of the hand” or “hand”). See HALOT 386 s.v. יָד and 1184 s.v. רֶגֶל respectively (cf. the NJPS translation). In this context, these terms probably apply to any part of the limb that was broken, including hand and the foot. B. A. Levine (Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) points out that such injuries often did not heal properly in antiquity because they were not properly set and, therefore, remained a “physical flaw” permanently.
80 tn Heb “thin”; cf. NAB “weakly.” This could refer to either an exceptionally small (i.e., dwarfed) man (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) or perhaps one with a “withered limb” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 342, 344).
81 tn The term rendered “spot” derives from a root meaning “mixed” or “confused” (cf. NAB “walleyed”). It apparently refers to any kind of marked flaw in the eye that can be seen by others. Smr, Syriac, Tg. Onq., and Tg. Ps.-J. have plural “his eyes.”
82 tn The exact meaning and medical reference of the terms rendered “festering eruption” and “feverish rash” is unknown, but see the translations and remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 146; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 342, 344, 349-50; and R. K. Harrison, NIDOTTE 1:890 and 2:461.
83 tn Or “shall approach” (see HALOT 670 s.v. נגשׁ).
84 sn See the note on Lev 16:2 for the rendering “veil-canopy.”
85 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
86 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) introduces a concluding statement for all the preceding material.
87 tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
88 tn Heb “holy things,” which means the “holy offerings” in this context, as the following verses show. The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89 tn Heb “from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and they shall not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me.” The latter (relative) clause applies to the “the holy things of the sons of Israel” (the first clause), not the
90 tn Heb “To your generations.”
91 tn The Piel (v. 2) and Hiphil (v. 3) forms of the verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) appear to be interchangeable in this context. Both mean “to consecrate” (Heb “make holy [or “sacred”]”).
92 tn Heb “and his impurity [is] on him”; NIV “is ceremonially unclean”; NAB, NRSV “while he is in a state of uncleanness.”
93 sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20. Cf. the interpretive translation of TEV “he can never again serve at the altar.”
94 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.), but with a negative command it means “No man” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 147).
95 sn The diseases and discharges mentioned here are those described in Lev 13-15.
96 tn Heb “And the one.”
97 tn Heb “in all unclean of a person/soul”; for the Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) meaning “a [dead] person,” see the note on Lev 19:28.
98 tn Heb “or a man who goes out from him a lying of seed.”
99 tn Heb “which there shall be uncleanness to him.”
100 tn The Hebrew term for “person” here is אָדָם (adam, “human being”), which could either a male or a female person.
101 tn Heb “to all his impurity.” The phrase refers to the impurity of the person whom the man touches to become unclean (see the previous clause). To clarify this, the translation uses “that person’s” rather than “his.”
102 sn The phrase “any of these” refers back to the unclean things touched in vv. 4b-5.
103 tn Heb “a carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that has died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”
104 tn Heb “and they will not lift up on it sin.” The pronoun “it” (masculine) apparently refers to any item of food that belongs to the category of “holy offerings” (see above).
105 tn Heb “and die in it.”
106 tn Heb “No stranger” (so KJV, ASV), which refers here to anyone other than the Aaronic priests. Some English versions reverse the negation and state positively: NIV “No one outside a priest’s family”; NRSV “Only a member of a priestly family”; CEV “Only you priests and your families.”
107 tn Heb “A resident [תּוֹשָׁב (toshav) from יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell, to reside”)] of a priest.” The meaning of the term is uncertain. It could refer to a “guest” (NIV) or perhaps “bound servant” (NRSV; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 149). In the translation “lodger” was used instead of “boarder” precisely because a boarder would be provided meals with his lodging, the very issue at stake here.
108 tn Heb “and a priest, if he buys a person, the property of his silver.”
109 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person whom the priest has purchased) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
110 tn Heb “eat it”; the referent (the holy offerings) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
111 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
112 tn Heb “and the [slave] born of his house, they shall eat in his food.” The LXX, Syriac, Tg. Onq., Tg. Ps.-J., and some
113 tn Heb “And a daughter of a priest, if she is to a man, a stranger” (cf. the note on v. 10 above).
114 tn Heb “she in the contribution of the holy offerings shall not eat.” For “contribution [offering]” see the note on Lev 7:14 and the literature cited there. Cf. NCV “the holy offerings”; TEV, NLT “the sacred offerings.”
115 tn Heb “to”; the words “live in” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
116 tn Heb “and seed there is not to her and she returns to the house of her father as her youth.” The mention of having “no children” appears to imply that her children, if she had any, should support her; this is made explicit by NLT’s “and has no children to support her.”
117 tn Heb “And a man, if he eats a holy thing in error” (see the Lev 4:2 not on “straying,” which is the term rendered “by mistake” here).
118 sn When a person trespassed in regard to something sacred to the
119 tn Contextually, “They” could refer either to the people (v. 14a; cf. NRSV “No one”) or the priests (v. 14b; cf. NIV “The priests”), but the latter seems more likely (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 356, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 150). The priests were responsible to see that the portions of the offerings that were to be consumed by the priests as prebends did not become accessible to the people. Mistakes in this matter (cf. v. 14) would bring “guilt” on the people, requiring punishment (v. 16).
120 tn The Hebrew verb הֵרִים (herim, rendered “contribute” here) is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:335-36).
121 tn Heb “the holy offerings of the sons of Israel which they contribute to the
122 tn Heb “iniquity of guilt”; NASB “cause them to bear punishment for guilt.” The Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon, “iniquity”) can designate either acts of iniquity or the penalty (i.e., punishment) for such acts.
123 sn That is, when the lay people eat portions of offerings that should have been eaten only by priests and those who belonged to priestly households.
124 tn Heb “Man, man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 395-96 §123.c).
125 tn Heb “and from the foreigner [singular] in Israel.” Some medieval Hebrew
126 tn Heb “for your acceptance.” See Lev 1:3-4 above and the notes there.
127 tn Heb “all which in it [is] a flaw.” Note that the same term is used for physical flaws of people in Lev 21:17-24. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “blemish”; NASB, NIV, TEV “defect”; NLT “with physical defects.”
128 tn Heb “not for acceptance shall it be for you”; NIV “it will not be accepted on your behalf” (NRSV and NLT both similar).
129 tn The meaning of the expression לְפַלֵּא־נֶדֶר (lÿfalle’-neder) rendered here “for a special votive offering” is much debated. Some take it as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NAB, NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלַא (pala’, “to be wonderful, to be remarkable”); cf. J. Milgrom, Numbers (JPSTC), 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה [palah, “to set aside”]). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice arises as a special gift to God out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.
130 tn Heb “for acceptance”; NAB “if it is to find acceptance.”
131 tn Heb “all/any flaw shall not be in it.”
132 tn Or perhaps “a wart” (cf. NIV; HALOT 383 s.v. יַבֶּלֶת, but see the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).
133 sn See the note on Lev 21:20 above.
134 sn This term for offering “gift” is explained in the note on Lev 1:9.
135 tn Heb “And an ox.”
136 tn Heb “and stunted” (see HALOT 1102 s.v. I קלט).
137 sn The freewill offering was voluntary, so the regulations regarding it were more relaxed. Once a vow was made, the paying of it was not voluntary (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 151-52, for very helpful remarks on this verse).
138 sn Compare Lev 21:20b.
139 tn Heb “And from the hand of a son of a foreigner.”
140 tn Heb “for their being ruined [is] in them, flaw is in them”; NRSV “are mutilated, with a blemish in them”; NIV “are deformed and have defects.” The MT term מָשְׁחָתָם (moshkhatam, “their being ruined”) is a Muqtal form (= Hophal participle) from שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to ruin”). Smr has plural בהם משׁחתים (“deformities in them”; cf. the LXX translation). The Qumran Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev) has תימ הם[…], in which case the restored participle would appear to be the same as Smr, but there is no בְּ (bet) preposition before the pronoun, yielding “they are deformed” (see D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, 41 and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).
141 tn The words “the care of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Although many modern English versions render “with its mother” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), the literal phrase “under its mother” refers to the young animal nursing from its mother. Cf. KJV, ASV “it shall be seven days under the dam,” which would probably be misunderstood.
142 tn Heb “for an offering of a gift.”
143 tn Heb “And an ox or a sheep, it and its son, you shall not slaughter.”
144 tn Heb “in one day.”
145 tn Heb “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).
146 tn Heb “On that day”; NIV, NCV “that same day.”
147 tn Heb “from it.”
148 tn Heb “And you shall keep my commandments and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8, etc.).
149 tn Heb “to be to you for God.”
150 tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”
151 tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”
152 tn Heb “between the two evenings,” perhaps designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night. Cf. KJV, ASV “at even”; NAB “at the evening twilight.”
153 tn Heb “to this month.”
154 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
155 tn Heb “and you harvest its harvest.”
156 tn Heb “the sheaf of the first of your harvest.”
157 tn Heb “for your acceptance.”
158 sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”
159 tn Heb “And you shall make in the day of your waving the sheaf.”
160 tn Heb “a flawless lamb, a son of its year”; KJV “of the first year”; NLT “a year-old male lamb.”
161 sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
162 sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
163 sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
164 tn Heb “wine, one fourth of the hin.” A pre-exilic hin is about 3.6 liters (= ca. 1 quart), so one fourth of a hin would be about one cup.
165 tn Heb “until the bone of this day.”
166 tn Heb “for your generations.”
167 tn Heb “seven Sabbaths, they shall be complete.” The disjunctive accent under “Sabbaths” precludes the translation “seven complete Sabbaths” (as NASB, NIV; cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). The text is somewhat awkward, which may explain why the LXX tradition is confused here, either adding “you shall count” again at the end of the verse, or leaving out “they shall be,” or keeping “they shall be” and adding “to you.”
168 tn Heb “and.” In the translation “then” is supplied to clarify the sequence.
169 tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, Tg. Onq., and Tg. Ps.-J. insert the word חַלּוֹת (khallot, “loaves”; cf. Lev 2:4 and the note there). Even though “loaves” is not explicit in the MT, the number “two” suggests that these are discrete units, not just a measure of flour, so “loaves” should be assumed even in the MT.
170 tn Heb “with leaven.” The noun “leaven” is traditional in English versions (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), but “yeast” is more commonly used today.
171 tn Heb “And you shall present on the bread.”
172 tn Heb “seven flawless lambs, sons of a year.”
173 tn Heb “and one bull, a son of a herd.”
174 tc Smr and LXX add “flawless.”
175 tn Heb “and their grain offering.”
176 sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
177 tn Heb “And you shall make.”
178 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”
179 tn Smr and LXX have the Hebrew article on “lambs.” The syntax of this verse is difficult. The object of the verb (two lambs) is far removed from the verb itself (shall wave) in the MT, and the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”), rendered “along with” in this verse, is also added to the far removed subject (literally, “upon [the] two lambs”; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 159). It is clear, however, that the two lambs and the loaves (along with their associated grain and drink offerings) constituted the “wave offering,” which served as the prebend “for the priest.” Burnt and sin offerings (vv. 18-19a) were not included in this (see Lev 7:11-14, 28-36).
180 tn Heb “And you shall proclaim [an assembly] in the bone of this day; a holy assembly it shall be to you” (see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 160, and the remarks on the LXX rendering in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 367).
181 tn Heb “for your generations.”
182 tn Heb “And when you harvest the harvest.”
183 tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field in your harvest.”
184 sn Compare Lev 19:9-10.
185 tn Heb “a memorial of loud blasts.” Although the term for “horn” does not occur here, allowing for the possibility that vocal “shouts” of acclamation are envisioned (see P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 325), the “blast” of the shofar (a trumpet made from a ram’s “horn”) is most likely what is intended. On this occasion, the loud blasts on the horn announced the coming of the new year on the first day of the seventh month (see the explanations in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 387, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 160).
186 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).
187 tn Heb “Surely the tenth day” or perhaps “Precisely the tenth day.” The Hebrew adverbial particle אַךְ (’akh) is left untranslated by most recent English versions; cf. however NASB “On exactly the tenth day.”
188 sn See the description of this day and its regulations in Lev 16 and the notes there.
189 tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” See the note on Lev 16:29 above.
190 tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”
191 tn Heb “on you [plural]”; cf. NASB, NRSV “on your behalf.”
192 tn The particular כִּי (ki) is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the NJPS translation).
193 tn Heb “it [i.e., that person; literally “soul,” feminine] shall be cut off from its peoples [plural]”; NLT “from the community.”
194 tn Heb “And any person.”
195 tn See HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד hif. Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “destroy”; CEV “wipe out.”
196 tn Heb “its people” (“its” is feminine to agree with “person,” literally “soul,” which is feminine in Hebrew; cf. v. 29).
197 tn Heb “for your generations.”
198 tn Heb “you shall rest your Sabbath.”
199 tn The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut, booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast (see the following verses) as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.
200 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
201 tn The Hebrew term עֲצֶרֶת (’atseret) “solemn assembly [day]” derives from a root associated with restraint or closure. It could refer either to the last day as “closing assembly” day of the festival (e.g., NIV) or a special day of restraint expressed in a “solemn assembly” (e.g., NRSV); cf. NLT “a solemn closing assembly.”
202 tn The LXX has “[their] burnt offerings, and their sacrifices, and their drink offerings.”
203 tn Heb “a matter of a day in its day”; NAB “as prescribed for each day”; NRSV, NLT “each on its proper day.”
204 tn Heb “from to separation.” See BDB 94 s.v. בַּד 1.e for an explanation of this phrase. This phrase is repeated in front of each of the four items in this verse in the Hebrew text, but these have not been translated into English for stylistic reasons. Cf. KJV, NASB “besides”; NRSV “apart from.”
205 tn Heb “Surely on the fifteenth day.” The Hebrew adverbial particle אַךְ (’akh) is left untranslated by most recent English versions; however, cf. NASB “On exactly the fifteenth day.”
206 tn Heb “fruit of majestic trees,” but the following terms and verses define what is meant by this expression. For extensive remarks on the celebration of this festival in history and tradition see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 163; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 389-90; and P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 328-29.
207 tn Heb “for your generations.”
208 tn Heb “in the huts” (again at the end of this verse and in v. 43), perhaps referring to temporary shelters (i.e., huts) made of the foliage referred to in v. 40 (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 389).
209 sn E. S. Gerstenberger (Leviticus [OTL], 352) takes v. 44 to be an introduction to another set of festival regulations, perhaps something like those found in Exod 23:14-17. For others this verse reemphasizes the Mosaic authority of the preceding festival regulations (e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 390).