Study Desk

The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example.

I am the Lord , the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.

And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children. Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out. The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example. I am the Lord your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people. That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean—this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me. I am the Lord , the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too. If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.

The Lord gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests: Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead relative,

because I am holy. And so, you must be treated with proper respect, since you offer food sacrifices to me, the God of holiness.

and anyone else who accidentally does so, must pay for the food plus a fine of twenty percent.

I demand respect from the people of Israel, so don't disgrace my holy name. Remember—I am the one who chose you to be priests and rescued all of you from Egypt, so that I would be your Lord .

to say to the community of Israel: After you enter the land I am giving you, the first bundle of wheat from each crop must be given to me. So bring it to a priest

You must also offer a sacrifice to please me. So bring the priest a one-year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it

No one is to work on that day—it is the Great Day of Forgiveness, when sacrifices will be offered to me, so that I will forgive your sins.

so future generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

to say to the community of Israel: You must supply the purest olive oil for the lamps in the sacred tent, so they will keep burning.

Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the tribe of Dan, had married an Egyptian, and they had a son. One day their son got into a fight with an Israelite man in camp and cursed the name of the Lord . So the young man was dragged off to Moses,

This is to be a time of complete rest for your fields and vineyards, so don't harvest anything they produce.

This is a year of complete celebration, so don't plant any seed or harvest what your fields or vineyards produce.

So when you buy or sell farmland, the price is to be determined by the number of crops it can produce before the next Year of Celebration. Don't try to cheat.

I am the Lord your God, so obey me and don't cheat anyone.

If any of you Israelites become so poor that you are forced to sell your property, your closest relative must buy it back,

Remember—I am the Lord your God! I rescued you from Egypt and gave you the land of Canaan, so that I would be your God.

Suppose some of your people become so poor that they have to sell themselves and become your slaves.