- 14You are the children of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead; 2for you are a holy people unto the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
- 3You shall not eat any abominable thing. 4These are the beasts which you shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5the hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the mountain sheep. 6And every beast that parts the hoof, and cleaves the cleft into two claws, and chews the cud among the beasts, that you shall eat. 7Nevertheless, these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof: as the camel, and the hare, and the coney — for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore, they are unclean unto you. 8And the swine, because it divides the hoof yet chews not the cud, it is unclean unto you. You shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.
- 9These you shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall you eat. 10And whatever has not fins and scales you may not eat, it is unclean unto you.
- 11Of all clean birds you shall eat. 12But these are they of which you shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, 13and the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, 14and every raven after his kind, 15and the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 16the little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, 17and the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, 18and the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 19And every creeping thing that flies is unclean unto you; they shall not be eaten. 20But of all clean fowls you may eat.
- 21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You shall not give it unto the stranger that is in your gates that he may eat it, or you may not sell it unto a foreigner, for you are a holy people unto the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in his mother’s milk. 22You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed that the field brings forth year by year. 23And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, or if the place is too far from you which the Lord your God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25then shall you turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose. 26And you shall bestow that money for whatever your soul lusts after — for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul desires — and you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice — you, and your household. 27And the Levite that is within your gates, you shall not forsake him, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. 28At the end of three years, you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates. 29And the Levite — because he has no part nor inheritance with you — and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
- 15At the end of every seven years, you shall make a release. 2And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lends anything unto his neighbor shall release it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor or of his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3Of a foreigner, you may exact it again, but that which is yours with your brother, your hand shall release — 4save when there shall be no poor among you — for the Lord shall greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, 5only if you carefully listen unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command you this day. 6For the Lord your God blesses you as he promised you. And you shall lend unto many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. 7If there is among you a poor man of one of your brethren, within any of your gates in your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8but you shall open your hand wide unto him and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he lacks. 9Beware that there be not a thought in your wicked heart saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand — and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him naught, and he cry unto the Lord against you, and it be sin unto you. 10You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give unto him, because for this thing the Lord your God shall bless you in all your works and in all that you put your hand unto. 11For the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, You shall open your hand wide unto your brother, to your poor, and to your needy in your land.
- 12And if your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold unto you, and serve you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty. 14You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, and out of your floor, and out of your winepress. Of that with which the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give unto him. 15And you shall remember that you were a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore, I command you this thing today. 16And it shall be, if he say unto you, I will not go away from you — because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you — 17then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be your servant for ever. And also unto your maidservant, you shall do likewise. 18It shall not seem hard unto you when you send him away free from you, for he has been worth a double hired servant to you in serving you six years. And the Lord your God shall bless you in all that you do.
- 19All the firstling males that come of your herd and of your flock, you shall sanctify unto the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstling of your bullock, nor shear the firstling of your sheep. 20You shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose — you and your household. 21And if there is any blemish therein, as if it is lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, you shall not sacrifice it unto the Lord your God. 22You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck and as the hart. 23Only you shall not eat the blood thereof; you shall pour it upon the ground as water.
- 16Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the Lord your God; for in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night. 2You shall therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. 3You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4And there shall be no leavened bread seen with you in all your borders seven days, neither shall anything of the flesh which you sacrificed the first day at sunset remain all night until the morning. 5You may not sacrifice the passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you; 6but at the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place his name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at sunset, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt. 7And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord your God shall choose. And you shall turn in the morning and go unto your tents. 8Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work therein.
- 9Seven weeks shall you number unto you. Begin to number the seven weeks from such time as you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10And you shall keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give unto the 11Lord your God according as the Lord your God has blessed you. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God — you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow that are among you — in the place which the Lord your God has chosen to place his name there. 12And you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt, and you shall observe and do these statutes.
- 13You shall observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after you have gathered in your grain and your wine. 14And you shall rejoice in your feast — you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow that are within your gates. 15Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast unto the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose. Because the Lord your God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice. 16Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the Lord empty; 17every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given you.
- 18Judges and officers shall you make in all your gates which the Lord your God gives you throughout your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19You shall not wrest judgment; you shall not respect persons, neither take a bribe, for a bribe does blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous. 20That which is altogether just shall you follow, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God gives you.
- 21You shall not plant a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make yourself. 22Neither shall you set yourself up any image which the Lord your God hates.
- 17You shall not sacrifice unto the Lord your God any bullock or sheep wherein is blemish or any ill-favoredness, for that is an abomination unto the Lord your God.
- 2If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, man or woman that has wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, 3and has gone and served other gods and worshipped them — either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded — 4and it is told to you, and you have heard of it and inquired diligently, and behold, it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel, 5then shall you bring forth that man or that woman who have committed that wicked thing unto your gates, even that man or that woman, and shall stone them with stones until they die. 6At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness, he shall not be put to death. 7The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So shall you put the evil away from among you.
- 8If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment — between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates — then shall you arise and go up into the place which the Lord your God shall choose. 9And you shall come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment. 10And you shall do according to the sentence which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show you, and you shall observe to do according to all that they inform you, 11according to the sentence of the law which they shall teach you. And according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. You shall not decline from the sentence which they shall show you — to the right hand, nor to the left. 12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not listen unto the priest that stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die, and you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
Chapter 5