Study Desk

"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 'I am the LORD your God.

'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, and you shall not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes (practices, customs).

'You are to follow My judgments (precepts, ordinances) and keep My statutes and live by them. I am the LORD your God.

'So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which, if a person keeps them, he shall live; I am the LORD.

'No one shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness (have intimate relations). I am the LORD.

'You shall not give any of your children to offer them [by fire as a sacrifice] to Molech [the god of the Ammonites], nor shall you profane the name of your God [by honoring idols as gods]. I am the LORD.

'Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.

'So keep My command: do not practice any of the repulsive customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves by them; I am the LORD your God.'"

"Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

'Each of you shall respect his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.

'Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods (images cast in metal); I am the LORD your God.

'And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

'You shall not swear [an oath] falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

'You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; I am the LORD.

'You shall not go around as a gossip among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor [with slander or false testimony]; I am the LORD.

'You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the LORD.

'In the fifth year you may eat the fruit [of the trees], this is so that their yield may increase for you; I am the LORD your God.

'You shall not make any cuts on your body [in mourning] for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD.

'You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary. I am the LORD.

'Do not turn to mediums [who pretend to consult the dead] or to spiritists [who have spirits of divination]; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.