The Third Book of Moses, called Leviticus
Leviticus 19
Chapter XIX · Vol. I, pp. 394–396
A repetition of sundry laws.
1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, a Ye shall be holy:1 for I the LORD your God am holy.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
a ch. 11.44, 45; 20.7, 26. 1 Pe. 1.15, 16. Mat. 5.48. 2 Co. 7.1.
1 The word rendered holy signifies originally 'to separate or set apart.' Holiness is a separation from sin, and a setting apart to the service of God. The rule of it is the word, the motive the holiness of God. The means are the blood of atonement, through the instrumentality of the word of God, and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. See 1 Pe. 1.13-25.—I.
3 Ye shall b fear every man his mother and his father, and c keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
5 And if ye e offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
e ch. 3.17; 7.16.
6 It f shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
f ch. 7.16-18. 2 Co. 6.2. Ro. 6.3, 4. 1 Co. 10.16. Col. 2.17, 20. Is. 66.3.
7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD; and that soul shall be g cut off from among his people.
g Ge. 17.14. ch. 7.25, 27; 17.4, 9, 10, 14.
9 And h when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
h ch. 23.22. De. 24.19-22. Ru. 2.2, 7, 8, 15, 16.
10 And thou shalt not i glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; k thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.2
i De. 24.19-22.
k Ex. 23.11, 25. ch. 23.22. Ps. 112.9. Pr. 22.9; 19.17; 28.27; 31.20; 14.21, 31; 29.7, 14. De. 10.18; 26.11-14. Mat. 5.48.
2 This was to all intents and purposes a poor-law. It was also a good and wise one among a primitive people, and in an agricultural country. It gave the poor healthful and profitable work, and it made their support depend on their work, while it relieved the regular agricultors from labour that would barely repay their toil.—P.
11 Ye l shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
l ch. 6.2. Ex. 20.15, 17; 22.1, 7, 10. Ac. 5.3. Ep. 4.25, 28. Zec. 8.16, 17.
12 And ye shall not m swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
13 Thou n shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: o the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14 Thou p shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
p De. 27.18. Ro. 12.14; 14.13. 1 Co. 8.9-13. Re. 2.14.
15 Ye q shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
16 Thou r shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.3
17 Thou s shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: t thou shalt in any wise rebuke4 thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.5
s 1 Jn. 2.11; 3.15. Mat. 22.39.
t Mat. 18.15-17. Ga. 6.1. 1 Ti. 5.20. Ep. 5.11. Lu. 17.3.
4 Rebuke, whether 'he hear or forbear,' Eze. 2.5, whether your rebuke be received as 'an excellent oil,' Ps. 141.5, or as an insult and an injury, and though he suffer his sin through self-flattery to remain undisturbed, suffer thou it not.—C.
5 Or, that thou bear not sin for him, Ro. 1.32. 1 Co. 5.2. Ep. 5.11. 1 Ti. 5.22. 2 Jn. 10, 11.
18 Thou u shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
19 Ye shall keep my statutes. x Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed; neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.6
x De. 22.9-11; 12.32. 2 Co. 6.14-17. Ga. 3.9-11. Mat. 9.16, 17.
6 The prohibitions in this verse seem principally directed against certain idolatrous practices connected with such intermixtures, as well as to prevent any attempts to alter the constitution of divine Providence, and to promote 'simplicity and godly sincerity.'—I.
20 And whosoever y lieth carnally with a woman that is a bond-maid, betrothed7 to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her, she8 shall be scourged: they z shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
7 Or, abused by any. Heb. reproached by or for man.
8 Or, they. Heb. there shall be a scourging.—[It is manifest from the succeeding clause that punishment was to be inflicted on both parties. The command in the Hebrew is impersonal—'There shall be punishment;' and this of itself shows that both were to suffer.—P.]
21 And he shall bring his a trespass-offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass-offering.
a ch. v. vi. Is. 53.10, 11. 2 Co. 5.21.
22 And b the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
b See ch. 4.35.
23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: c three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten of.
c Ex. 4.25, with 22.29, 30; 29.30, 35, 37. ch. 22.27; 8.33; 12.2.
24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be d holy, to praise the LORD withal.
d Heb. holiness of praises to the LORD, Nu. 18.12, 13. De. 18.4; 14.28. It was all to be given to the priests and poor.
25 And in the fifth year e shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
e ch. 26.3, 4. Pr. 3.9, 10; 19.17. Ec. 11.1, 2.
26 Ye f shall not eat any thing with the blood; neither shall ye g use enchantment, nor observe times.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
f Ge. 9.4. ch. 3.17; 7.26; 17.10, 14. De. 12.23. 1 Sa. 14.33, 34.
g De. 18.10, 11. Ex. 22.18. ch. 20.27; ver. 31. 2 Ki. 17.17; 21.6. 1 Sa. 15.23.
28 Ye shall not i make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
i De. 14.1, 2. Je. 16.6, 7; 48.37; 41.5; 47.5. 1 Ki. 18.28. 1 Th. 4.13. Ro. 12.2.
29 Do k not prostitute9 thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
k 1 Co. 6.9, 10, 15; 3.16, 17. ch. 21.7. De. 23.17. Hos. 4.11, 13, 14. Heb. 13.4. Col. 3.5.
9 Heb. profane.
30 Ye shall l keep my sabbaths, and m reverence my sanctuary:1 I am the LORD.
l ver. 3; ch. 26.2.
m Ge. 28.16, 17. Ec. 5.1. Jn. 2.15, 16. Ps. 89.7.
1 The law of the sabbath is thus often repeated, because temptation to violate it is of frequent recurrence.—C.
31 Regard n not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards,2 to be defiled by them:3 I am the LORD your God.
n ver. 26; ch. 20.6, 27. De. 18.11. 1 Sa. 28.3, 7. Ac. 16.16. 2 Ch. 33.6. Is. 8.19.
2 The sin of witchcraft was forbidden, and the witch commanded to be put to death, Ex. 22.18. Whether there were persons who actually had, or only pretended to have, intercourse and compact with evil spirits, to the hurt of others, it was a great crime, no less than idolatry, and a sin against the wisdom and providence of God.—I.
3 Pretended fortune-tellers, and discoverers of things lost or stolen, are still to be found even in Christian countries. These pretensions being practical lies, are of the devil, for he is a 'liar, and the father of it,' Jn. 8.44. He puts it into their heart to lie, as into Judas' to betray; and he finally enters into the one as surely as into the other, Jn. 13.2, 27.—C.
32 Thou shalt o rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
o 1 Ki. 2.19. Pr. 20.29; 31.28. De. 28.50. La. 5.12.
33 And p if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex4 him.
p See Ex. 22.21; 23.8, 9, 12; 12.48, 49. ch. 25.35. De. 10.19; 1.16; 24.14. Mat. 22.39.
4 Or, oppress.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you q as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye r were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
q Ex. 12.19, 49. ch. 24.16, 22. Nu. 9.14; 15.15, 16, 29; 19.10; 35.15. De. 31.11; 29.11.
35 Ye s shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight, or in measure.
s ver. 15. Ex. 23.15. De. 25.13-15. Eze. 22.7, 12, 13. Am. 8.5, 6. Mat. 7.2. Pr. 11.1; 16.11; 20.10.
36 Just balances, just weights,5 a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: t I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore u shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
u ch. 18.4, 5. Mat. 28.18-20. 2 Ti. 3.16, 17. De. 4.1, 2; 6.1, 2; 8.1; 12.32; 11.32; 5.32, 33.
Notes
[Ver. 2. There is a most important lesson conveyed in the divine directions—'Speak unto all the congregation: Ye shall be holy.' Religion is not intended as a mere guide for sober age, while licensing of thoughtless youth to 'walk in the light of their own eyes:' it is not intended as a mere check upon the appetites of the poor, while permitting the rich every indulgence of desire: it is not intended as a mere canon for ecclesiastics, which others are authorized to neglect or violate;—it speaks alike to all who desire to be called 'children of God,' and who hope to be 'joint heirs with Christ;' and it demands of all—'Be ye holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.' C.]
Ver. 7. [The passover must be eaten on the night of the day in which it was killed—it must be 'eaten in haste,' and if any remained till the morning, it must be burned with fire. Thus everything connected with it indicated the urgency of the Egyptians for their removal, and the people's anxiety for liberty. But the peace-offering, indicating a state of rest, may remain and be eaten on the second day; and not until the third is its use forbidden. It would then, in a warm climate, have become corrupted; would have ceased to be an emblem of him whose flesh must not 'see corruption;' and therefore is burned (ascends) on the third day, a type of him who on that day arose from the dead. C.]
Ver. 10. [The second specific provision (verses 9, 10) of the Mosaic poor-laws (the first being Ex. 23.11), and admirably calculated to unite charity with industry, an essential principle in every measure of relief. C.]
Ver. 13. [Compare this punctuality of immediate payment to the humble operative, with the preference the worldly code gives to what are called debts of honour, and let the law of God be judged by the boundless superiority of its moral ordinances. C.]
Ver. 14. [Fear thy God, who, for reasons known to himself, has inflicted these privations; and who knows how to punish those who, by inhumanly mocking the afflicted, are in reality 'reproaching their Maker,' Pr. 17.5. C.]
Ver. 19. [This law did not forbid to the Jew the use of mules purchased from another people, but the intentional production of them in his own flock. The whole law was calculated to prevent unnatural commixtures, and to remind Israel that they were a peculiar and separate people. C.]
Ver. 26. [Enchantments being derived from a word signifying a serpent, there is reason to think the law forbids augury or fortune-telling by observation of serpents. Times, that is, what are called fortunate or lucky days, or the reverse: a wretched superstition still lingering wherever second causes are more regarded than the overruling and ever-watchful providence of the Almighty. C.]
Ver. 28. [Cutting the flesh was a common mode of mourning in Egypt, as the murderous suttee is still in India. Printing marks—in modern language, tattooing—has been found almost in all nations. The Britons were so ornamented, rather so disfigured, in the times of Julius Cæsar. The Bedouin Arabs, the New Zealanders, and other tribes, still retain the same barbarous custom. The custom seems to have originated in superstition and idolatry, and, as peculiarly calculated to preserve their powers, receives an emphatic prohibition from the Lord. C.]
Reflections.—In these peace-offerings let me behold Jesus, my peace-maker with God, and speedily receive and live on him by faith. In these gleanings let me observe what care God takes of the poor: nor can I have any true religion without a similar temper. Yea, let me think what gleanings of promises, and deeds of grace, for us poor strangers of the Gentiles, are left in every corner of the Jewish Scriptures. In these forborne trees, let me learn to avoid all rash desires of created enjoyments, or even honouring the Lord with first-fruits not arrived at their perfection. Let me never attempt to alter God's frame of creatures; never attempt to mix works and grace; Jesus' righteousness and my own; his Spirit and my natural abilities; his truth and my own fancies; his ordinances and my own inventions. If I enjoy the directions of God's word and Spirit, let me be ashamed to copy after heathen superstition; but let me carefully observe the positive institutions of my God, and never neglect the weightier matters of the law. If God has delivered his moral precepts so briefly, let me extend my meditations on them: and, in all my obedience, let me be influenced by the firm faith that the lawgiver is JEHOVAH, my God in Christ. Whatsoever is not of this faith is sin. Nor can my obedience be sincere without being universal to all his commandments.