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Chapter 1
The Lord summoned Moses, and, from the tabernacle that bore record of him made known his will. These rules the Israelites were to follow, when any of them would offer the Lord a beast as a victim, from herd or from flock. The man who would win the Lord's favour with burnt-sacrifice of cattle must bring a male beast, without blemish, to the door of the tabernacle, and lay his hand on the beast's head, and so it will be accepted, and will serve to make atonement for him. Then he will immolate the calf in the Lord's presence, and the priests of Aaron's line will make an offering of its blood, which they will pour round the altar at the tabernacle door. Then they will skin the victim and cut its limbs into joints; and, lighting a fire on the altar, where a pile of wood lies ready, they will lay on it the joints, the head and the fat round the liver. The entrails and feet must first be washed with water. So the priest will make a burnt-sacrifice of it all, there on the altar, and the smell of its burning will be acceptable to the Lord.
As with the herd, so with the flock; if he would offer sacrifice, sheep or goat, let him bring a male without blemish, and immolate it at the northern side of the altar; and the priests of Aaron's line will pour its blood round about, and will separate the limbs, the head, and the fat round the liver, and lay them upon the wood over the fire; the entrails and the feet first washed in water. So the priest will burn the whole offering as a burnt-sacrifice, and the Lord will accept the smell of its burning.
If a bird is offered to the Lord as a burnt-sacrifice, it will be a turtle-dove, or a young pigeon. And the priest will bring it to the altar, where he will wring its neck and slit it open; then he will let the blood run over the foot of the altar, casting away the crop and feathers near by on the eastern side, where the ashes are poured out. He will break the bird's wings, but will not cut it up into joints with a knife; he will burn it whole over wood kindled on the altar. So it will be a burnt-sacrifice, and the smell of its burning will be acceptable to the Lord.
Chapter 2
If anyone would bring the Lord a bloodless offering, his gift must be of flour; over this he will pour oil, and lay incense on it, and so he will bring it to the priests of Aaron's line; one of whom will take up a handful of the wheat and oil, with all the incense, and cast it on the altar as a token-sacrifice, acceptable to the Lord in its fragrance. All that is left of this sacrifice shall belong to Aaron and his sons; the remnant of the Lord's own offering, it is set apart for holy uses.
If this bloodless offering of yours is cooked in the oven, it shall be of unleavened wheaten loaves, kneaded with oil, and unleavened cakes with oil poured over them; if it is cooked in the pan, it shall be of unleavened flour kneaded with oil, cut up into small pieces, with oil poured over them; if is cooked on the gridiron, it must still be of flour mingled with oil. Your gift to the Lord, it shall be put into the priest's hands; and he, in offering it, will separate the token-sacrifice, which he will burn there on the altar, acceptable to the Lord in its fragrance; the rest shall belong to Aaron and his sons; the remnant of the Lord's offering, it is set apart for holy uses.
All such offerings must be made to the Lord unleavened; no leaven or honey must be burnt with the Lord's sacrifice. Of such things, you may offer first-fruits, or bring gifts, but they shall not be put on the altar, to give out fragrance there. Whatever sacrifice you offer is to be seasoned with salt; you shall not grudge your God the salt which his covenant demands; salt shall be a part of every offering. If you make the Lord a gift of your first-fruits, you shall roast the ears, while they are still fresh, over the fire and bruise them as flour is bruised, and so offer the Lord your first fruits. You shall pour oil on them, too, and lay incense on them, to shew that they are an offering made to the Lord; and the priest, for a token-sacrifice, shall burn part of the bruised grain and the oil, with all the incense.
Chapter 3
The man who would make a welcome-offering of cattle, must bring to the Lord a beast without blemish, bullock or heifer as he will. He is to lay his hand on the head of the victim, and it is to be immolated at the entrance of the tabernacle that bears record of me, the priests who represent Aaron's family pouring its blood about the altar. The parts of the victim that must be given to the Lord in a welcome-offering are the fat enclosing the entrails and the fat on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat round the flanks, and with the kidneys the caul of the liver. All these, once the wood is kindled, they shall offer on the altar as a burnt-sacrifice, and the Lord will accept the smell of their burning.
As with the herd, so with the flock; the victim can be male or female, as long as it is without blemish. If it is a lamb that he offers to the Lord, he will lay his hand upon the head of the victim, and it will be immolated in front of the tabernacle that bears record, the sons of Aaron pouring its blood about the altar. And the parts of the victim sacrificed to the Lord in this welcome-offering will be the tail with all the fat on it, the kidneys, all the fat which encloses belly and entrails. Both kidneys are to be offered with the fat round the flanks, and with the kidneys the caul of the liver. All these the priest will burn on the altar, to feed its fire and to give the Lord his offering. So, too, if the victim he brings to the Lord is a goat, he will lay his hand upon its head, and immolate it in front of the tabernacle that bears record, the sons of Aaron pouring its blood about the altar. The same parts must be cut away to feed the fire of the Lord's sacrifice; the fat which covers belly and entrails, the two kidneys, and with the kidneys the caul and the fat of the liver, close to the flanks; these are for the priest to burn on the altar, feeding the flame and giving out acceptable fragrance. All that is fat shall belong to the Lord; this rule you must observe continually, age after age, wherever you dwell; neither fat nor blood are for your eating.
Chapter 4
And now the Lord spoke to Moses again, making known his will to the sons of Israel: It may be that a man has transgressed through inadvertence, disobeyed, without thinking to disobey, some one of the Lord's precepts. Such a transgression, if it be committed by the high priest then in office, brings guilt upon the whole people, and he must make amends for it by offering to the Lord a young bullock without blemish. He will bring it into the Lord's presence, at the door of the tabernacle, and, laying his hands on its head, will immolate it to the Lord. Then he will draw off some of its blood, which he will take with him into the tabernacle; and there he will dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it in the Lord's presence, before the sanctuary veil, seven times. Some of this blood he will smear on the horns of the altar; that altar within the tabernacle, on which the fragrant incense is burnt for the Lord's acceptance; the rest he will pour away at the foot of the sacrificial altar, near the tabernacle door. And now, to a make amends for his fault, he will cut away the bullock's fat, the fat enclosing the entrails and all else that is found within it, the two kidneys, and with the kidneys the caul and fat of the liver, close to the flanks, as if it were the victim of a welcome-offering, and burn these on the sacrificial altar. The skin and all the flesh, with the head, the feet, the entrails and the dung, and all the rest of its carcase, he will carry away from the camp to the place you have hallowed for pouring the ashes away, and burn them over a wood fire, there on the ash-pit.
Or perhaps the whole people of Israel has been betrayed into a fault, transgressing the Lord's command unwittingly. If so, when they find out their error, they will bring a young bullock to the tabernacle door in amends. There, in the Lord's presence, the elders of the people will lay their hands on its head; and when the bullock has been immolated before him, some of its blood will be taken into the tabernacle by the high priest then in office, who will dip his finger and sprinkle it before the veil seven times, smear with it the horns of the altar that stands within the tabernacle in the Lord's presence, and pour away the rest about the foot of the sacrificial altar, by the tabernacle door. He will separate the fat and burn it on the altar, treating it like the bullock aforementioned; and at the priest's intercession, the Lord will have mercy. The bullock itself he will take away from the camp, as before; and so amends will be made for the general transgression.
Be it one of the rulers that has transgressed by breaking some one of the laws inadvertently, and later has recognized his fault, he must offer to the Lord a he-goat, without blemish, as his victim. He will lay his hands on its head, and immolate it, in amends for his fault, where the Lord's burnt-sacrifices are immolated; and the priest will dip his finger in the blood of this transgression-victim, smearing some of it on the horns, this time, of the sacrificial altar, and pouring the rest away about its foot. On this altar, too, he will burn the fat, as the fat of the welcome-offering is burnt; and so, at the priest's intercession, the ruler's fault will be forgiven.
Be it one of the common folk that has transgressed through inadvertence; the law has been broken nevertheless, and guilt incurred. Such a man, when he becomes aware of his fault, must offer a she-goat without blemish, lay his hand on the head of this transgression-victim, and immolate it where the burnt-sacrifices are immolated. The priest will smear the sacrificial altar with some of the blood, and pour the rest away at its foot; then separate the fat, as if this were a welcome-offering, and burn it on the altar, where the smell of its burning will be acceptable to the Lord. And so, at the priest's intercession for him, the guilty man will be pardoned. Or he may choose, as his transgression-victim, a ewe-lamb without blemish from his flock, lay his hand on its head, and immolate it where the burnt-sacrifices are immolated. The priest will use the victim's blood as before, separate the fat, as if this were the ram of the welcome-offering, and burn it on the altar, offer it to the Lord by fire; so, at the priest's intercession, the guilty man will be pardoned.
Chapter 5
Here is a sin men commit; a man hears the call that puts him under oath, and can bear witness of what he has seen or known, yet witness he bears none; he must pay the penalty.
A man may have touched what has been killed by a wild beast or has fallen dead, or the carcase of a reptile, or some other unclean thing, unaware of his defilement at the time; yet he has incurred guilt by the fault. Or he has touched some defilement of the human body; there are many such; he may be unaware of it till afterwards, but he has incurred guilt. Or he has taken an oath, pronounced with the lips, to do this or that; he has given his pledged word, and then forgotten that he gave it, but remembers it afterwards. For all such faults as these a man must do penance, offering up a ewe-lamb or a she-goat from his flock; so the priest will make intercession to have his fault pardoned. If he has no beast to give, he must offer two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons to the Lord instead, one in amends for his fault, and the other as a burnt-sacrifice. The priest, when these are brought to him, will offer the first as a transgression-victim, bending its head right back to the wings, but so that it is still attached to the neck, not completely severed, and sprinkling some of its blood on the side of the altar; the rest he will allow to drip down at the altar's foot, to make amends for the transgression. Of the other he will make a burnt-sacrifice, in the customary way, and, at the priest's intercession, the man will be pardoned. If he cannot even lay his hand on two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, the transgression-offering must be a tenth of a bushel of flour; but he will not mix oil with it, or lay incense on it; this is an offering for transgression. He will hand it to the priest, who will take a handful and burn it on the altar, as a token-sacrifice for the man who brought it, praying and making atonement on his behalf; the rest of it the priest will keep as his own offering.
And this, too, was a commandment which the Lord gave Moses: If anyone commits a fault by inadvertence, defrauding the Lord of his due over things consecrated, he must make amends for his guilt by offering a ram without blemish out of his flock, such a ram as is worth two silver pieces by sanctuary reckoning. He must also make restitution of the sum that is lacking, and a fifth part of it besides, handing this to the priest, who will make intercession for him when he offers up the ram, and win him pardon. Or, if the fault of inadvertence lies only in disobeying the law, it is enough that, when he becomes aware of his guilt, he should bring the priest a ram without blemish out of his flock, of greater or less worth as the fault demands. And the priest shall intercede for the unwitting transgressor, winning him pardon because he did the Lord a wrong inadvertently.
Chapter 6
And the Lord said to Moses, There are faults, too, committed in the Lord's despite, when a man defrauds his neighbour of some loan that was entrusted to him for safe keeping, or extorts money by violence, or wrongs him at law, or perjures himself in denying that he has found something lost, or is guilty of some other offence such as men are prone to commit. If he is found guilty, he must make restitution, giving back in full all that he hoped to gain by his knavery, and a fifth part besides, to the owner whom he has wronged. He must make amends, too, for his fault by bringing to the priest a ram without blemish out of his flock, of greater or less worth as the wrong demands. The priest will make intercession for him before the Lord, and win pardon for all his wrongful deeds.
The Lord also spoke to Moses giving him a commandment for Aaron and his Sons: This is the rule which governs burnt-sacrifice. It is to be burnt on the altar all night till morning comes, with the altar's own fire. The priest, clothed in his robe and linen breeches, will take away the ashes left by the fire which consumes it, and lay these down by the altar. Then, taking off the clothes he wears and putting on others, he will take the ashes away from the camp to a place already purified, and there calcine them. The fire on the altar must burn continually; each morning the priest will feed it with fresh logs, on which he will lay first the burnt-sacrifice, then the fat taken from the welcome-offering. Never must the altar be empty of this perpetual fire. And this is the rule that governs the bloodless offering which Aaron and his sons will make before the altar in the Lord's presence. The priest will take a handful of the flour mingled with oil, and all the grains of incense that are laid on it; and these he will burn on the altar as a token-sacrifice, whose fragrance the Lord will accept. The rest of the flour, still with no leaven in it, Aaron and his sons will eat, upon hallowed ground within the court of the tabernacle that bears record of me. No leaven must be put into it, shared as it is with the Lord's burnt-sacrifice; it is set apart for holy uses, like the offerings that are made for a fault or for a wrong done. Only the male descendants of Aaron may eat it. This is the rule to be observed continually, age after age, in offering the Lord sacrifice; whoever touches it becomes holy thereby.
The Lord also said to Moses, This is the offering Aaron and his sons must make to the Lord when they are anointed; one tenth of a bushel of flour for a continuous offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening, mingled with oil and fried in a pan. It shall be offered still warm, acceptable to the Lord in its fragrance, by each priest succeeding to his father's office, and the whole of it must be burnt on the altar. Every sacrifice made by the priests themselves must be altogether destroyed by fire; no one must eat any part of it.
And the Lord spake to Moses again, giving him a message for Aaron and his sons: This is the rule that governs the offering of a victim for transgression; it must be immolated before the Lord in the same place where burnt-sacrifices are offered; it is set apart for holy uses. The priest who offers it must eat his share on hallowed ground in the tabernacle court; whatever touches the flesh of it becomes holy thereby, and if his clothing is stained by its blood, it must be washed on hallowed ground. Even the earthenware pot in which it was cooked must be broken; or, if it is cooked in a pan of bronze, the pan must be scraped clean and washed in water. The flesh is set apart for holy uses, but it may be eaten by any male person belonging to the priestly family, except that of the transgression-victim whose blood has been taken into the tabernacle, to make atonement in the sanctuary; such a victim is not to be eaten, it must be destroyed by burning.
Chapter 7
And this is the rule which governs the offering of a victim for wrong done. Such a victim is set apart for holy uses, and must be immolated where burnt- sacrifices are immolated; its blood must be poured round the altar. The parts which must be offered are the tail, and the fat which covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is close to them, and with the kidneys the caul of the liver. All these the priest will burn on the altar, as a burnt- sacrifice to the Lord in amends for the wrong done; the flesh of the victim is set apart for holy uses, but it may be eaten by any male person belonging to the priestly family. Victims are to be offered for a wrong done just as they are for a fault; the rule is the same for either, and either victim belongs to the priest who offers it.
The priest who offers a victim in burnt-sacrifice, may keep the skin for himself; and every offering of flour cooked in the oven, or prepared with gridiron or pan, is made over to the priest who offers it; kneaded with oil or dry, such gifts must be divided equally between all the men of Aaron's race.
And this is the rule which governs the welcome-offerings that are brought to the Lord. If it is a thank-offering, there must be loaves of unleavened bread kneaded with oil, unleavened cakes with oil poured over them, pastry kneaded with oil, and loaves, too with leaven in them. All these must go with the victim which is immolated as a welcome-offering in thanksgiving; and one of each must be offered to the Lord as first-fruits, so that it will belong to the priest who sheds the victim's blood. The flesh of the victim must be eaten the same day, none of it left till the morrow. If the offering is made in performance of a vow, or simply from devotion, it should be eaten on the same day; but if any is left till the morrow, it may still be eaten; whatever the third day finds still unfinished must be destroyed by fire. If any such flesh is eaten on the third day, the offering will be null and void, and the giver will have no advantage from it; indeed, whoever contaminates himself by eating such food is guilty of an offence. If it has touched anything unclean, it must be destroyed by fire, not eaten. Only one who is free from defilement may partake of it; the man who eats any of the victim for a welcome-offering, when he is himself defiled, is lost to his people; and he, too, who eats such flesh after touching any defilement left by man or beast, or anything that makes him unclean.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, giving him this message for the sons of Israel: You are not to eat the fat of sheep or ox or goat; but you may keep the fat of anything that falls dead, or is killed by a wild beast, for various uses. Anyone who eats the fat which ought to be offered, as part of the Lord's burnt-sacrifice, is lost to his people. Nor must you use the blood of any living thing, bird or beast, as food; whoever consumes the blood, is lost to his people.
And the Lord spoke to Moses giving him this message, too, for the sons of Israel: The man who brings the Lord a welcome-offering must surrender, in doing so his sacrificial due, the choice portions of the victim. He will carry with him the fat and the breast of the victim, and both these, when they have been held up in sign of consecration to the Lord, he will hand over to the priest, who will burn the fat on the altar, while the breast belongs, as their due, to Aaron and his sons. The right shoulder of the victim slain in welcome-offering is also the priest's prerogative; whichever of Aaron's sons offers the blood and the fat, is to have the right shoulder for his portion. The breast that is held up in sign of consecration, the shoulder that is separated from the rest, are the portions of the welcome-offering which I demand of the Israelites; making them over to Aaron, my priest, and to his descendants as a right due to them at all times from the sons of Israel.
Such are the privileges Aaron and his sons enjoy in the worship offered to the Lord, ever since the day when Moses presented them to him to be his priests; such gifts the Lord bade the Israelites bestow upon them by a right unalterable, age after age.
Thus far the rules which govern burnt-sacrifice, and sacrifices for a fault or a wrong done, for the hallowing of priests, and for the victims used in welcome-offering, as the Lord prescribed them to Moses on mount Sinai, when he commanded the sons of Israel, there in the desert of Sinai, to bring him their offerings.
Chapter 8
And now the Lord said to Moses, Bring with you Aaron and his sons, and their sacred vestments, and the oil for anointing, and a young bullock such as is offered for a fault, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread, and gather the whole assembly of the people at the tabernacle door. Moses did as the Lord had bidden him; and when all the people had gathered before the entrance to the tabernacle, he told them, I do this at the Lord's express command.
With that, he presented Aaron and his sons; and when they had been duly washed, he clothed the new high priest in the linen robe, and girded him with the girdle, and put the blue tunic on him, and the mantle over that, binding it close with its band, and attaching to it the burse in which were the touchstones of wisdom and of truth. He covered his head, too, with the mitre, and put in front of it the golden plate, sacred and set apart, as the Lord had bidden him. Then he took the oil used for anointing, and with it he anointed the tabernacle and all its furniture; anointed the altar, too, after consecrating it seven times by sprinkling, with all its appurtenances, and consecrated the basin and its stand with oil. Then, pouring oil over Aaron's head, he anointed and hallowed him. Aaron's sons, too, he brought forward, dressed them in linen robes, girded them with girdles, and put mitres on them, as the Lord had bidden him.
Then he offered a young bullock for their faults; Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, and Moses immolated it, drawing off its blood. In this he dipped his finger, and smeared it round the horns of the altar, till all was cleansed and hallowed; the rest he poured away at the altar's foot. The fat on the entrails, the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, he sacrificed on the altar, burning the carcase, skin and flesh and dung, away from the camp, as the Lord had bidden him. He offered a ram, too, as a burnt-sacrifice; Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, and so he immolated it, pouring away its blood round the altar. This ram he cut into joints, and sacrificed it, head and limbs and fat, upon the altar, first washing its entrails and its feet; so he burnt the whole ram on the altar, a sacrifice such as the Lord had commanded, to please him with the smell of its burning.
Another ram he offered for the hallowing of the priests; Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head and now, after immolating it, Moses took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot. Then he brought forward Aaron's sons, smeared them, ear and thumb and toe, with the ram's blood, and poured away what was left of it about the altar. He set on one side the fat of the tail, and all the fat that covered the entrails, the caul of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right shoulder. Then he added to the fat and the shoulder an unleavened loaf, a cake made with oil, and a piece of pastry, from the basket of unleavened bread that lay there before the Lord; and he gave all these to Aaron and his sons, who lifted them up in the Lord's presence. So they were handed back to Moses, and he burnt them on the sacrificial altar as an offering for their consecration, a smell of burning for the Lord to accept. The breast of this ram they were hallowed with, he took, as the Lord bade him, for his own portion, after lifting it up in the Lord's presence.
Then he took the holy oil, and the blood from the altar, and sprinkled them over Aaron and his sons, and the vestments they wore. And now that they were hallowed, vestments and all, he told them, Cook the flesh before the tabernacle door, and eat it there; the bread, too, that is offered for your hallowing, that lies there in the basket; such was the Lord's command to me, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. If any is left over, of the meat or of the bread, it must be destroyed by fire. But you must not leave the entrance of the tabernacle for seven days, till the time of your hallowing is complete; for seven days your hallowing must continue with all to-day's solemnities, before the rite of your consecration takes full effect. Night and day you must make the tabernacle your home, on pain of death, keeping vigil in the Lord's honour; this was the command given to me.
Such was the Lord's bidding through Moses, and Aaron and his sons faithfully observed it.
Chapter 9
And now, when the eighth day came, Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, with the elders of Israel, and said to Aaron, Choose out a young bullock to atone for your faults, and a ram for burnt-sacrifice, both without blemish, and offer them to the Lord. And the sons of Israel choose out a goat to atone for their faults, with a bullock and a lamb, both one year old, both without blemish, for their burnt-sacrifice; an ox, too, and a ram, by way of welcome-offering. They must immolate them here before the Lord, and offer up flour kneaded with oil to accompany each sacrifice; this day, the Lord means to appear among you. So they brought to the tabernacle door all that Moses bade them bring; and to the whole multitude there assembled Moses proclaimed, Here is a command laid upon you by the Lord; fulfil it, and his glory will be revealed to you. Then he said to Aaron, Go up to the altar, and immolate the victim that is to atone for your faults; offer burnt-sacrifice, to win pardon for yourself and for the people; the people too, have a victim you must immolate, making intercession for them as the Lord bids you.
With that, Aaron came up to the altar, and immolated the bullock that was to atone for his own faults. His sons held out the blood before him, and he dipped his finger and smeared the horns of the altar with it, pouring the rest away at the altar's foot. Then, obedient to the command which the Lord had given Moses, he sacrificed on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the liver-caul of this transgression-victim, taking its flesh and skin away from the camp to be destroyed by fire. After this, he immolated the victim of the burnt-sacrifice, his sons holding out first the blood, which he poured away round the altar; then the carcase, cut up into joints, with its head and all its limbs complete, which he burnt on the altar, first washing its entrails and its feet in water.
Next, he immolated the goat, as an offering for the people's faults, and, purifying the altar, went on to the burnt-sacrifice, to which he added, burning them on the altar, the customary gifts, over and above all the ceremonies of the morning sacrifice. Then he immolated the ox and the ram, by way of welcome-offering for the people. His sons held out the blood, and he poured it round the altar; the fat of the ox, and the ram's tail, and the kidneys with their fat, and the cauls of the livers, they laid on the breasts of the victims, and when the fat had been burnt on the altar, Aaron set apart the two breasts and the two right shoulders, which he lifted up in the Lord's presence as Moses had bidden him. Then he stretched out his hands over the people, and blessed them; and so, the sacrifice done, the atonement for faults, the burnt-sacrifice, and the welcome-offering, he came down from the altar.
After this, both Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle that bears record and blessed the people as they came out. Whereupon the glory of the Lord shone out upon the whole multitude, and suddenly the Lord sent down fire which consumed the burnt-sacrifice and all the fat that lay on the altar. At the sight, the whole people raised a cry of praise, and fell face to ground in worship.
Chapter 10
There were two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abiu, who took up their censers and put coals and incense into them, to burn unhallowed fire in the Lord's presence, not in accordance with his command; whereupon the Lord sent down fire which devoured them, and they died there in the Lord's presence. And Moses told Aaron, The Lord gave us warning of this when he said: I mean to vindicate my holiness among those who come near me, win reverence in the eyes of the whole people. And with that, Aaron kept silence. Meanwhile, Moses summoned Misael and Elisaphan, sons of Oziel that was Aaron's uncle, and said to them, Go and remove the bodies of your brethren from the tabernacle door, and carry them away from the camp. So they went without more ado and took them up just as they lay there, still clothed in their robes of linen; and they carried them away as he bade them. Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, Do not bare your heads or rend your garments, on pain of death, and such vengeance as may overtake the whole people; let your brethren, and all the race of Israel bewail this fresh kindling of the Lord's fire. You must not, on pain of death, leave the tabernacle door, with the oil of your consecration still upon you. So they did as Moses bade them.
The Lord, too, said to Aaron, When you are for entering the tabernacle, you and your sons, drink neither wine nor strong drink, on pain of death; such is the commandment you must observe, age after age. It is your task to distinguish between what is holy and what is profane, what is defiled and what is clean; and to teach the sons of Israel all these commandments of mine, the Lord's word to them through Moses.
And now Moses said to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, You must take up what is left of the bloodless sacrifice offered to the Lord, and eat it, still unleavened, near the altar; it is set apart for holy uses, and on holy ground it must be eaten, as the share given to you and to your sons in the Lord's own offering; such was the Divine command. The breast, too, that was held up in worship, and the shoulder that was set apart, you must eat in a place that is clean of all defilement, you and your sons and your daughters, too, with you. This share of the welcome-offerings the sons of Israel bring is kept for you and your children; priestly hands have lifted up, in the Lord's presence, the shoulder and the breast and the fat which was afterwards burnt on the altar, and it is the Lord's bidding that they should belong to you and your sons, by right perpetual.
Meanwhile, when Moses went to look for the goat that was their transgression-victim, he found its body all consumed by fire, and angered by this, he asked Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's two surviving sons, Why did you not eat, on holy ground, this transgression-victim, all holiness, which was handed over to you so that you might take the faults of the people on yourselves, and make intercession for them in the Lord's presence? Its blood had not been carried within the sanctuary; you should have eaten it on holy ground, in obedience to the commandment that was given me. But Aaron's answer was, Why, this very day transgression-victim and burnt-sacrifice have been offered to the Lord, and you see what has befallen me in spite of it. How could I find acceptance with the Lord in eating my share of it, with a heart so mournful? And with that, Moses was content.
Chapter 11
This was a message the Lord gave to Moses and Aaron for the sons of Israel: Among all the living creatures on earth, these only are to be your food. Among the beasts, those which chew the cud and have cloven hoofs. Such beasts as the camel, ruminants with their hoofs single, you must hold unclean, not to be eaten; the rock-rabbit, too, is unclean, a ruminant without cloven hoofs, and the hare in the same way. The sow for the opposite reason; it has cloven hoofs but does not chew the cud. You are not to eat the flesh of these animals, or touch their carcases; you must regard them as unclean.
Everything that lives in the water is food for your eating as long as it has fins and scales, whether it be sea or river or lake fish. Creatures that live and move in the water without scales or fins you must hold in abomination, so abominable that you will not eat their flesh or even touch their carcases; there is defilement in all that lacks fins and scales.
Of the birds, you must avoid these as forbidden food, the eagle, the griffon, the osprey, the falcon and the vulture with all is else of their kind, anything that belongs to the raven tribe, the ostrich, the night-owl, the sea-mew, every kind of hawk, the horned owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the swan, the pelican, the coot, the stork, birds of the curlew kind, the hoopoe and the bat.
The winged things that are four-footed you must hold in abomination, except those which have the hinder legs longer, and leap from one spot to another; these you may eat, the locust and all its kindred, bruchus or attacus or ophiomachus. But winged creatures that must walk on four feet you are to hold in detestation; no one that touches their carcases but is defiled thereby, and must count himself unclean till the evening comes; even if necessity bids him carry such a carcase, he must wash his clothes afterwards, and count himself unclean till set of sun.
Any beast that has hoofs, but not cloven hoofs, and does not chew the cud, is to be unclean, and the man who touches it, defiled. Any four-footed beast that walks on its paws is to be unclean, and to touch its carcase is to be defiled till evening comes; whoever carries such a carcase must wash his clothes, and count himself unclean till set of sun; all these things you must hold contaminated.
And there are things that creep along the ground which you must hold unclean, every weasel and mouse and skink, shrewmouse and chameleon and newt and lizard and mole. All these are unclean; the man who touches one when it is dead is defiled till evening comes. Let such a carcase fall on a bucket or a garment or a skin or a piece of sackcloth or anything else that is in use, and it is defiled; it must be washed in water, and not counted as clean even then till set of sun. If it defiles an earthenware pot by falling into it, the pot must be broken. Whatever you drink out of such a vessel, and even the food you eat, if water out of such a vessel is poured over it, becomes unclean. Wherever such a carcase falls it brings uncleanness; oven or chafing dish that is contaminated by it must be destroyed. Springs or cisterns in which water is collected remain undefiled by it, but anyone who touches the carcase itself becomes unclean. So, too, if it falls on seed-corn, there is no defilement, unless someone has first watered the seed-corn, and then the carcase falls on it; if so, it becomes unclean at once.
Whoever touches the carcase of an animal that falls dead, though it be one of those you are allowed to eat, is defiled till evening comes; and anyone who eats of it, or carries it, must wash his clothes, and until evening comes count himself unclean.
All that creeps along the ground must be held in abomination, and never used for food; whether it walks on four feet with its belly close to the ground, or has many feet, or glides along, it is no food for you, you must hold it abominable. Keep your persons undefiled, touching no such thing, for fear of contamination. I am the Lord your God; you must be set apart, the servants of a God who is set apart. Do not contaminate yourselves with any of these beasts that creep along the ground. I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt; I am set apart and you must be set apart like me.
Such is the rule that governs the use of beast and bird, and all the life that moves through the water or creeps along the ground, teaching you the difference between clean and unclean, what food you may eat and what food you must reject.
Chapter 12
And the Lord spoke to Moses, giving him this message for the Israelites: If a woman conceives, and gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days, as she is unclean at her monthly times. On the eighth day, the child must be circumcised, and after that she must wait for thirty-three days more to be purified after her loss of blood, touching nothing that is hallowed, never entering the sanctuary, until the time is up. If she gives birth to a girl, she will be unclean as at her monthly times, for fourteen days, and she will wait for sixty-six days more to be purified after her loss of blood. When the days needed for her purification, after the birth of boy or girl, have run out, she must bring a lamb of one year old as a burnt-sacrifice, and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove by way of amends, to the tabernacle door. These she will hand over to the priest, who will offer them to the Lord and intercede for her, to win purification for her after the blood-losing. Such is the rule governing the birth of boy or girl. If she cannot lay her hand on a lamb fit to be offered, she must bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, one as a burnt-sacrifice and one by way of amends; these will suffice and at the priest's intercession she will be purified.
Chapter 13
This, too, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, If there should appear on anyone's skin, the change of colour or the scab or the shiny patches that betoken the scourge of leprosy, he must be brought before the high priest Aaron, or one of his sons. If the priest, looking at the place on his skin, finds that the hairs have turned white, and the skin of the part affected seems shrunken compared with the rest of the skin round it, this is the scourge of leprosy; and when the priest so pronounces, the man must be segregated from his fellows. If the skin is marked by a shiny white patch, but is not shrunken, and the hairs have kept their colour, the priest will keep him shut away for a week, and on the seventh day examine him. If, by now, the infection has not grown worse or spread, he will shut him away for a week more. And now, if he finds on the seventh day that the infection is less marked, and has not spread further in the skin, he will declare the man clean; it is only a scab, and he will be clean once he has washed his garments. If the infection begins to grow worse, after he has been examined and pronounced clean, he must be brought back to the priest, and pronounced unclean after all.
When a man is brought to the priest bearing the marks of infection, and he, upon examination, finds a white swelling that has turned the hair white, and shews the raw, live flesh, then it must be pronounced leprosy inveterate, deeply rooted in the skin, and the priest must pronounce him unclean without being at pains to shut him away; his uncleanness is manifest. But if the infection has broken out all over his skin, covering it from head to foot, wherever it is observed, the priest who examines him will decide that his infection is no defilement; when it shews white all over him, he is to be declared clean. But whenever the raw flesh shews, the priest will declare him contaminated, and he is to be reckoned unclean; the raw flesh betokens leprosy and uncleanness. If, afterwards, the skin turns white all over his body, the priest, examining him again, will pronounce him clean.
When an ulcer formed in flesh or skin heals up and leaves a white or reddish scar behind it, the man so marked must be taken to the priest; and if the priest sees that this part of the skin has shrunk compared with the rest, and the hairs have turned white, he will pronounce him defiled; the scourge of leprosy has broken out in the ulcer. But if the hair keeps its old colour, and the scar is dark, and there is no shrinking of the skin, he will shut the man away for a week; and then, if it has spread, he will declare him a leper, but if it is still confined to the same spot, it is but the scar of the ulcer, and the man is clean.
So, too, if flesh and skin that have been injured by a burn shew a white or reddish scar, and the priest who examines it finds that it has turned the hair white and is shrunken, he will declare such a man unclean; leprosy has broken out in the burn. But if the hair has kept its colour and there is no shrinking, and the look of the place itself is dark, he will shut the man away for a week, and if in that time he finds that infection has spread in the skin, he will pronounce the man unclean; but if the whiteness has not spread, and shews less plain, the burn is the cause of it, and the man is clean; it is only the scar of a burn.
Man or woman suffering from an infection of the head or chin must be examined by the priest, and if the skin has shrunk and the hair gone yellow and thinner than it was, they must be pronounced unclean; there is leprosy in the head or beard. But if he finds the skin level and the hair still dark, they must be shut away for a week, and if he finds that the disfigurement has not spread, and the hair keeps its colour, and the skin is level, the hair must be shaved all round the infected part. For a week more they must be shut away, and if then he finds that the infection is confined to the same spot, and there is no shrinking of the skin, he will declare them clean, and they will be free from defilement when their clothes have been washed. If, after they have been pronounced clean, the infection spreads in the skin, he need not look to see whether the hair has gone yellow; the uncleanness is manifest. But if the infection remains where it was, and the hair is black, he may be sure that the man is healed, and pronounce him clean without scruple.
When whiteness appears on the skin of man or woman, and the priest, examining them, finds it is only a dull whiteness that shews there, he will recognize that it is not leprosy, but ring-worm, and the man or woman is clean.
A man may lose the hair on his crown, and still be clean; may lose the hair on his forehead, and still be clean, despite his baldness. But if in the bald patch on crown or forehead a white or reddish tinge is shewing, the priest who finds it there will hold him unclean beyond all doubt; the bald patch is leprous.
The man who is infected with leprosy, and segregated at the priest's bidding, must go with rent garments and bared head, his face veiled, crying out, Unclean, unclean. And still, as long as he remains unclean through leprosy, he must dwell away from the camp, alone. A garment of wool or linen, that is infected in warp or woof, or a skin, or anything made of leather, if it is stained with white or reddish spots, is suspect of leprosy and must be shewn to the priest. He will so examine it, and shut it away for a week; and if, looking at it again at the end of that time, he finds that the patch has spread, it is malignant leprosy; he will pronounce the garment, or whatever else is infected, unclean, and it must be destroyed by fire accordingly. But if he finds that the patch has not spread, he will give orders for the infected thing to be washed, and so he will shut it away for a week more. If it shews the same as before, although the patch may not have spread, he will pronounce it unclean and destroy it by fire, as a thing infected, whether outwardly or all through with leprosy. But if the infected patch is less marked after the washing, he will cut it away and separate it from the rest. And if, after that, patches begin to shew where all was once unspotted, it is leprosy spreading this way and that, and the thing must be burnt. If, on the contrary, the infection ceases, the part that is left uncontaminated must be washed in water again, and now it is clean. Such are the rules for pronouncing judgement of cleanness or uncleanness upon infection in any garment of wool or linen, its warp or its woof, as well as any piece of leather-work.
Chapter 14
The Lord also told Moses, This is the ceremonial to be used when a leper is to be pronounced no longer unclean. He must needs present himself before the priest; the priest, therefore, will go out of the camp to find him, and if it appears that leprosy no longer defiles him, he will tell him what offerings to make by way of purgation for himself. These are, two living birds, of such a kind as may be used for food, cedar-wood, and scarlet stuff, and hyssop. One of the birds must have its blood shed over spring water held in an earthenware pot; the one which is left alive must be dipped (together with the cedar-wood, the scarlet stuff, and the hyssop) into the dead bird's blood, and with this the priest must sprinkle the defiled man seven times, to effect his due cleansing. Then the living bird must be allowed to fly away into the open. And now the man must wash his clothes, shave the hair on his body, and bathe in water; so purified, he will enter the camp, but on the condition that he does not go into his tent for a whole week.
On the seventh day he must shave all his hair, head and beard and eyebrows and all, and he must wash again, both his clothes and his body. On the eighth day he will take two lambs and a yearling ewe, all without blemish, three tenths of a bushel of flour, kneaded with oil, for a bloodless offering, and a pint of oil besides. The priest who is pronouncing him clean will bring him into the divine presence, together with these gifts of his, at the door of the tabernacle which bears record of me; and there he will take one of the lambs and offer it as a victim for wrong done. He will take the pint of oil, too, and all the rest, and hold them up in the Lord's presence. The lamb must be immolated on holy ground, where the offerings for faults and the burnt-sacrifices are offered; and the victim for wrong done, like the victim for a fault, becomes the property of the priest; it is set apart for holy uses.
The priest will take some of the blood from this victim which is offered for wrong done, and set a mark with it on the man he is pronouncing clean; on the tip of his right ear, his right thumb, and the great toe of his right foot. Then he will take some of the oil in his left hand, dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle it seven times in the Lord's presence. The rest of the oil in his left hand he will use to anoint the man he is cleansing; over the victim's blood smeared on ear and finger and toe, and finally on his head. So he will intercede for him in the Lord's presence, and offer, first a sacrifice for his fault, then a burnt-sacrifice; this he will put on the altar, with its accompanying gifts, and so the man will be duly declared clean.
If he is poor, and cannot lay his hand on all the victims aforesaid, he must bring a lamb by way of offering for wrong done, with which the priest will make intercession for him, the tenth of a bushel of flour, kneaded with oil, for a bloodless offering, and a pint of oil, and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one by way of offering for his fault, and the other as a burnt-sacrifice. These he will bring before the priest at the tabernacle door in the divine presence, on the eighth day of the cleansing. The priest will take the lamb, the offering for wrong done, and the pint of oil, and hold them up together; then he will immolate the lamb, and set a mark with its blood on the man he is pronouncing clean, on the right ear, the right thumb, the great toe of the right foot. Then he will take some of the oil in his left hand, dip in his right hand, sprinkle the oil seven times in the Lord's presence, anoint the stains on ear, thumb and toe, and pour the rest of the oil in his hand over the head of the man who is being cleansed, to win him the Lord's favour again. Finally he will offer the two birds, whether turtle-dove, or young pigeon; one of them as for a fault and one by way of burnt-sacrifice, together with the gifts that accompany it. Such is the offering to be made by a leper who cannot afford the full price of his cleansing.
This was a further message the Lord gave to Moses and Aaron: When you reach the home I mean to give you in the land of Chanaan, it may be that a house will suffer infection. If so, the owner of it will go and tell the priest that his house is suspect of leprosy; and the priest, before going to ascertain whether it is leprous or not, will have everything taken out of the house, for fear that all its contents might become defiled. Then he will go in to examine the infection in the house; and if he sees dents in the surface of the walls that are pale or reddish in colour, he will go out of doors and shut the house up for a week. And if, when he comes back to examine it on the seventh day, he finds that the infection has spread, he will order the stones that are infected to be prised out, and thrown into a refuse pit, away from the city; the inside of the house, too, must be scraped all round, and the dust scraped from it must also be scattered over the refuse pit. Then other stones will be put in, in place of the old, and the house will be plastered afresh.
If, after the removal of the stones, and the scraping, and the new plastering, the priest comes in and finds that the infection has returned, and the walls are still disfigured with spots, this is malignant leprosy, and the house is unclean. It must be destroyed at once, stone and wood and plaster alike must be thrown into a refuse pit, away from the town. Anyone who has entered it since the priest shut it up will be unclean till evening comes, and anyone who has slept or eaten there must wash his clothes.
But if the priest finds that the infection has not spread in the house after the new plastering, he will cleanse it, in token that it is now free of disease. To effect this cleansing, he will take two birds, some cedar-wood, and scarlet stuff, and hyssop, shed the blood of one bird into spring water in an earthenware pot, dip the cedar-wood, the scarlet stuff, the hyssop, and the living bird into the water stained with the dead bird's blood, and sprinkle it over the house seven times. So, by the use of blood and water and a living bird and cedar-wood and hyssop and scarlet stuff, the cleansing will be effected; and letting the bird fly away into the open, the priest will make intercession for the house, and it will be duly declared clean.
Such are the rules for all leprosy and scab, for the infection that breaks out in garments or in houses, for scars and ulcers, and for shiny patches on the skin that change their colour; such are the means for ascertaining when it is time to declare anything clean or unclean.
Chapter 15
And the Lord gave Moses and Aaron this message for the Israelites: The man who has a running of the reins is unclean. And he must still be considered unclean, even though his defilement, at certain times, dries up and causes a stoppage. Any bed he lies on, anything he sits on, becomes unclean. The man who touches his bed, must wash his garments and bathe, and hold himself unclean till sundown; and there is the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness for the man who sits where he sat; the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness, for the man who touches him; the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness for the man on whom his spittle falls. Unclean the saddle on which he has ridden, unclean, till evening comes, everything on which the man so afflicted may rest; the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness for anyone who carries it in his hands; the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness for anyone whom he touches, unless he washes his hands first. Any earthen pot he touches must be broken, any bucket of wood he touches, rinsed with water.
If a man so afflicted is healed, he must count seven days from the time of his healing, and then, when he has washed his clothes and his whole body in spring water, he is clean. On the eighth day, he must bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the door of the tabernacle that bears record of me, and give them to the priest. The priest will sacrifice one as a victim for his fault, and the other as a burnt-sacrifice, and so make intercession for him in the Lord's presence, that he may be clean from the defilement of his body. The man who loses the seed of procreation must wash his whole body in water, and remain unclean till evening comes; wash, too, in water his garment of stuff or of leather, and that too, till evening comes, is unclean. If he has had commerce with a woman, she too must wash, and she too, till evening comes, is unclean.
The woman who loses blood, because her monthly time has come round, must remain a whole week apart; whoever touches her is unclean till sundown, and all she lies upon or sits upon during this time of separation, becomes defiled thereby. The man who touches her bed, must wash his garments, and bathe, and hold himself unclean till evening; and there is the same washing, and bathing, and uncleanness for anyone who touches any piece of furniture on which she has sat down to rest. If a man has commerce with her at her monthly time, he remains unclean for a whole week; unclean, too, is any bed on which he lies.
A woman who loses blood continually at other times, or when her monthly time is over, must be considered unclean in the same way, as long as her affliction lasts; unclean the bed she sleeps on, and all that she rests on, unclean, till evening comes, everyone who has touched her, and meanwhile he must wash his garments and bathe in water. If the issue of her blood dries up, she must count seven days from the time of her healing, and on the eighth day she will bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the priest at the door of the tabernacle. The priest will sacrifice one as a victim for her fault, and the other as a burnt-sacrifice, and so make intercession for her in the Lord's presence over the issue of blood that has defiled her.
You must teach the sons of Israel to be on their guard against uncleanness; or they may be punished with death for the irreverence which has profaned my tabernacle, here in their midst. Such are the rules which concern men who are defiled by a running of the reins, or by intercourse with woman, and for women who must remain apart because of their monthly time, women who have a continuous issue of blood, and men with whom such women have commerce.
Chapter 16
After the death of Aaron's two sons, that were punished for offering up unhallowed fire, the Lord spoke to Moses giving him a message for his brother Aaron: He must never present himself without due preparation within the sanctuary, behind the veil, where the throne stands above the ark. If he does so, the penalty is death; it is over this shrine that I mean to reveal myself in cloud. And this is the preparation he must make; he must offer a young bullock as a victim for his faults, and a ram by way of burnt-sacrifice. He must be clad in the linen robe, with linen breeches for decency, and must be girt with a linen girdle, and wear the linen mitre on his head; these are the sacred vestments he must put on, after washing himself. And the whole people of Israel must provide him with two goats as victims for their faults, and a ram for burnt-sacrifice.
He will offer the bullock to make intercession for himself and for his family. The two goats he will present before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle that bears record of me, and will cast lots between them; one is to be the Lord's due, the other is for discharge. The one chosen by lot to be the Lord's due must be offered for their faults; the one chosen for their discharge must be presented before the Lord alive, to let intercession fall upon it, and then be turned loose in the desert.
So, with due ceremony, he will offer the bullock, making intercession for himself and his family, and immolate it. And now, filling his censer with coals from the altar, and taking a handful of beaten spices for incense, he will pass beyond the veil into the inner sanctuary, putting incense on the coals, so that a cloud of smoke may hide that shrine over the ark, which none may see and live. He will take some of the bullock's blood, too, and sprinkle it with his finger seven times over the eastern end of the sanctuary, opposite the throne. And afterwards, when he has immolated the goat for the faults of the people, he will carry some of its blood, too, within the veil, and sprinkle it there opposite the is shrine, like the bullock's blood. So he will purify the sanctuary from all the faults the sons of Israel have committed, their transgressions and their uncleanness. With the same ceremony he shall purify the tabernacle that bears the Lord's record, pitched there amongst them, with all the defilement of their dwellings round about.
No one must be there in the tabernacle from the time when the high priest enters the inner sanctuary, to make intercession for himself and his family and the whole people of Israel, till the time when he comes out again. And when he comes out to the altar that stands there in the Lord's presence, he must make intercession for himself, pouring the blood of bullock and goat all round the horns of it; and so, sprinkling it with his finger seven times, he must make expiation, and cleanse it from all the defilement incurred by the sons of Israel.
Sanctuary, and tabernacle, and altar so cleansed, he has still to offer up the goat that is left alive. He must put both hands on its head, confessing all the sins and transgressions and faults Israel has committed, and laying the guilt of them on its head. And there will be a man standing ready to take it into the desert for him; so the goat will carry away all their sins into a land uninhabited, set at large in the desert.
Then Aaron will come back to the tabernacle, and take off the vestments he wore when he entered the sanctuary, and leave them there; he will wash on holy ground, and put on his own garments instead. He will come out, and offer his own burnt-sacrifice, and that of the people, making intercession for himself and for the people both at once, and burn the fat of the transgression-victim on the altar. The man who let loose the goat that was discharged must wash his clothes and bathe before he returns to the camp. As for the transgression-victims, the bullock and the goat, whose blood was carried into the sanctuary to make expiation there, the carcases must be taken away from the camp and destroyed by fire, skin and flesh and dung together. And the man who burns them, before he returns to the camp, must wash his clothes and bathe like the other.
This ceremony you are to observe for all time. On the tenth day of the seventh month you will keep a fast; no work is to be done by citizen or by alien that day. It an is a day of atonement on your behalf, to cleanse you from all fault, and make you clean in the Lord's sight; it must be all repose; so that you can observe the fast, year after year. He who then holds the office of high priest, duly anointed to serve in place of his father, will make atonement, clad in linen robe and sacred vestments; purify sanctuary, tabernacle, altar, priests and people. You will continue for all time to make intercession, once a year, for the children of Israel, and for all the faults they have committed.
And Aaron carried out the commands which the Lord had given to Moses.
Chapter 17
And the Lord spoke to Moses, bidding him tell Aaron and his sons and all Israel, Here is a commandment the Lord has for you. Any Israelite who kills sheep or ox or goat, within the camp or without, and does not make an offering to the Lord at the tabernacle door, shall pay for it with his life; blood has flowed, and the shedder of it is lost to his people. Whatever beasts they kill on their farms, the sons of Israel must bring to the priests as victims, consecrating them to the Lord's honour at the tabernacle door, and immolating them as welcome-offerings to him. And the priest will pour out the blood at the altar which stands before the tabernacle, and burn the fats for the Lord to accept the smell of its burning. You have prostituted yourselves to the worship of false gods; to them you must offer victims no longer. Such is the law they and their descendants must obey for all time; tell them that if any Israelite or any alien living among them offers burnt-sacrifice or victim without bringing it to the door of the tabernacle which bears record of me, and offering it to the Lord, he is lost to his people.
Any Israelite, or alien dwelling among you, who consumes the blood when he eats, becomes my enemy; I will sever him from my people. It is the blood that animates all living things, and I have destined it to make atonement for your souls upon the altar, blood for the purgation of your souls. That is why I have warned the sons of Israel that neither they nor the aliens who dwell among them must consume the blood when they eat. Any Israelite, or alien living among you, who hunts down a beast or snares a bird, such as you are allowed to eat, must drain its blood and cover it with earth. Because it animates all living things, I give the sons of Israel this warning: Never, on pain of death, turn it to your own use, the blood that holds the life.
Anyone, citizen or alien, who eats what has fallen dead or been the prey of a wild beast, must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be reckoned unclean till sundown. Then he will be clean again; but if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held to account for it.
Chapter 18
And the Lord spoke to Moses bidding him give the sons of Israel this message: I am the Lord your God; it is not for you to live by the customs of that Egyptian land in which you once dwelt, or to imitate the men of Chanaan, the new home I am giving you, and follow their observances. It is my decrees you will execute, my commands you will obey, following them closely; am I not the Lord your God? It is my laws, my decrees you must keep; they give life to the man who lives by them; am I not the Lord? And it is I, the Lord, who tell you that no man is to betake himself to a woman who is near of kin to him and mate with her.
You shall not come between your father's sheets, and mate with her that bore you; would you mate with your own mother? You shall not mate with her that is your father's wife; her shame is his. You shall not mate with your sister by either parent, born in the same house or born elsewhere. You shall not mate with the daughter of your own son or daughter; her shame is yours. You shall not mate with any daughter your father's wife bears him; she is your sister. You shall not mate with your father's sister, your own father's flesh and blood; nor with your mother's sister, your own mother's flesh and blood. You shall not come between your uncle's sheets and mate with his wife; she is bound to you by affinity. You shall not mate with your daughter-in-law; would you mate with the wife of your own son? You shall not mate with your brother's wife; her shame is his. You shall not mate with a woman and also with her daughter, no, nor with any grand-daughter of hers; they are flesh and blood of hers, and all such commerce is incestuous. You shall not make a concubine of your wife's sister, mating with her while your wife still lives. You shall not come nigh a woman and mate with her during her monthly time. You shall not defile yourself by bedding with your neighbour's wife.
You shall not yield up any child of yours to be devoted to the false god Moloch, doing dishonour to the name of your God; am I not the Lord? You shall not have commerce with a man as if it had been with a woman; such commerce is abominable. You shall not defile yourself by commerce with a beast; nor shall a woman allow any beast to have commerce with her; it is foully done.
Do not defile yourselves like the nations I am dispossessing to make room for you; the whole land is contaminated by their presence, and I am calling it to account for these ill deeds, till it vomits out its own inhabitants. Citizens alike and aliens, that dwell among you, must observe these laws and decrees I am giving you, and keep clear of all such abominations; the very abominations by which the former inhabitants of the land have contaminated it. Be sure that it will vomit you out like those others, if you do as they did. Whoever is guilty of any such abomination is lost to his people. Keep my commandments, and do not defile yourselves by imitating your forerunners; am I not the Lord your God?
Chapter 19
The Lord, too, spoke to Moses, bidding him give the whole company of Israel this message: You must be men set apart, as I am set apart, I, the Lord your God. Worshippers of such a God, you must reverence father and mother, and keep my day of rest; worshippers of such a God, you must not betake yourselves to idols, make molten images at your pleasure.
If you immolate a victim by way of welcome-offering, to win the Lord's favour, eat it on the day of its immolation, or the day after; whatever remains on the third day must be destroyed by fire. The man who eats of it when two days have passed defiles it and displeases me; he will be held to account for profaning what is consecrated to the Lord; he shall be lost to his people.
When you reap the crops on your land, do not rase all to the level of the ground, or pick up the scattered ears; do not hoard up the clusters or the grapes that have fallen. Leave something for poor men and wanderers to glean; remember what God you worship.
Do not steal, and lie, and deceive one another. Do not violate the honour of your God by swearing falsely in my name; the Lord's name. Do not wrong your neighbour or despoil him by violence; do not withhold the wages of your hired servants till morning comes. Do not miscall the deaf, or put a stumbling-block in the blind man's way; you have the vengeance of your God to fear; the Lord's vengeance. Do not pervert justice by giving false awards, whether by taking a man's poverty into account, or by flattering the great; give every man his just due. Do not whisper calumnies in the public ear, and swear away your neighbour's life; the Lord hears you. Do not nurse resentment against your brother; put yourself in the right by confronting him with his fault. Do not seek revenge, or bear a grudge for wrong done to you by your fellow-citizens; you shall love your neighbour as yourself; your Lord is his.
Keep true to my commandments; do not mate any beast of yours with one of another sort, or sow your field with a mixed crop, or wear garments woven of two different fabrics.
If a man has commerce with a slave-woman promised in marriage, but not yet redeemed or set free, both shall be beaten, but they shall not be put to death, as if she were a free woman. The man must offer a ram to the Lord at the tabernacle door for wrong done, and so the priest will make intercession before the Lord for the fault he has committed, and the Lord will be merciful, and pardon his fault.
When you reach your own country and plant fruit-trees there, you must strip them of the fruit they bear, as something unclean, not for your eating, till the fourth year; then you must offer the whole crop to the Lord as an acceptable sacrifice. You must not gather the fruit on them for your own eating till the fifth year; the Lord your God comes first.
Do not eat anything that has the blood still in it.
Do not consult omens, or pay regard to dreams. There must be no tonsuring of heads and mutilating of beards, no gashing your bodies when a man dies, no branding them with marks and designs; the Lord forbids it. Do not expose any daughter of yours to dishonour; so you will bring dishonour on the whole land, and fill it with lewdness. Keep your observance for my sabbaths, your reverence for my sanctuary. Do not betake yourselves to sorcerers, or consult wizards, to your defilement; you are the Lord's worshippers.
Rise up from your seat in reverence for grey hairs; honour the aged, as you do fear God, the Lord your God. If an alien comes to dwell in your land, and settles down among you, do not treat him disdainfully; welcome him as if he were native born, and do him kindness as if he were one of yourselves, remembering that you were aliens once, in the land of Egypt; the Lord your God remembers. There must be no tampering with justice, with the rule or the weight or the measure you employ; an even scale, a true balance, a bushel, a full pint-measure; ever just the Lord your God is, that rescued you from Egypt.
Remember all these laws, all these decrees of mine, and live by them; the Lord's decrees.
Chapter 20
And the Lord spoke to Moses, giving him this message for the sons of Israel: If any Israelite or alien living among you sacrifices a child of his to the false god Moloch, his life must pay for it; he must be stoned publicly. On such a man my ban rests, and I will not let him live among my people any longer, once he has outraged my sanctuary, dragged my holy name in the dust, by sacrificing his child to Moloch. Does the people neglect its duty, defy my commandments? Does it condone the sacrifice, and refuse to kill him? Then shall my ban rest upon all his kindred too and I will rid my people of the man who played the wanton with Moloch, and all who consented to it. If anyone betakes himself to sorcerers and wizards, on him too my ban shall rest for prostituting himself to such arts, and I will rid my people of him. Keep yourselves apart, and be a holy people; remembering what God you worship. Keep these commandments of mine and live by them; I, the Lord, have set you apart.
If a man curses father or mother, his life must pay for it; he has put himself beyond hope of pardon, in cursing father or mother.
If a man commits adultery by having commerce with his neighbour's wife, the lives of both, adulterer and adulteress, must pay for it. If a man has commerce with his step-mother, coming between his own father's sheets, the lives of both must pay for it: they must find no mercy. No mercy must be shewn when a man has commerce with his daughter-in-law; order has been violated, and both must die. No mercy, either, when a man has commerce with another man as if he had been a woman; either is guilty of a foul deed, and both must die. The man who mates with daughter and mother both, is guilty of a foul deed; he and they must be burnt alive, and such guilt as theirs be found in your midst no longer. If a man has commerce with a beast, his life must pay for it; the beast too must be killed; and the woman who allows a beast to have commerce with her, must die with the beast; no mercy must be shewn to any such. If a man takes his own sister to his bed, whether she is his father's daughter or his mother's, to her shame and his, it is great disgrace; both must be held to account for it, and be put to death publicly, for bringing shame on one another. If a man has commerce with a woman in her monthly time, and intrudes upon the flowing of her blood, both must be lost to their people.
You shall not mate with any sister of your father or your mother; the man who does this dishonours his own flesh and blood, and both will be held to account for it. If a man has commerce with the wife of his father's brother, or his mother's brother, bringing shame on his own kindred, man and woman will be held to account; they shall not live to breed children. The man who takes his brother's wife in marriage does a forbidden thing, bringing shame on his own brother; children they shall have never.
Remember these laws and decrees of mine, and live by them, or you too will be vomited up again by the land you are soon to invade and occupy; it is not for you to imitate the practices of the nations I am driving out to make room for you. Was it not these very practices that made me their enemy? And now, if I bid you take possession of their land, a land all milk and honey, and make it your home, it is because I, the Lord your God, have set you apart among all the nations of the world; and you too must set what is clean apart from what is unclean, whether beast or bird; you are not to incur defilement over such beasts and birds and other living things as I have bidden you hold abominable. You must be set apart for my service, as I am set apart, I, your God, who have chosen you out among all the nations of the world, to belong to me.
If man or woman is possessed by a spirit of witchcraft or divination, their lives must pay for it by stoning; they have put themselves beyond hope of pardon.
Chapter 21
The Lord also spoke to Moses giving him a message for the priests, the sons of Aaron: When a fellow-citizen dies, a priest is not to expose himself to defilement, unless it be the funeral of one of his near kin, father or mother, son or daughter, a brother of his or a sister that is a virgin unwed. Nay, he must not expose himself to defilement even for the ruler among the people.
Priests are not to shave their heads or beards, or make gashes in their skin for mourning. They are men set apart for their God, and must never bring reproach on his name; they burn incense to the Lord, offer their God his consecrated loaves, and shall they not be holy? They must not wed harlots, or women dishonoured, or those whom their husbands have rejected, these men vowed to the service of their God, who set out the consecrated loaves before him. They must be set apart, as I, the Lord, am set apart, the Lord that hallows them. If the daughter of a priest is convicted of playing the harlot, and bringing dishonour on her father's name, she must be given to the flames.
The high priest, that one who is chief among his brethren, whose brow has been anointed with the holy oil, and his hands consecrated for the priestly office, who wears the sacred vestments, may never bare his head, or rend his garments, or go near a dead body upon any occasion. Though it be his father or mother, he must not expose himself to defilement, but keep within the Lord's holy precincts, so as not to bring defilement on them, a man consecrated to his God by the holy oil that anointed him; the Lord's own priest. And when he marries, he must marry a virgin; not a widow, or a rejected wife, or a harlot, or a woman dishonoured; she must be a virgin of his own clan, so that the stock of his family is not debased by the blood of common folk; I, the Lord, have set him apart.
The Lord, too, spoke to Moses, bidding him tell Aaron: No descendant of yours that has any blemish shall be allowed to offer his God the consecrated loaves, nor is to come forward and do him service. Such are the blind, the lame, one whose nose is deformed in size or twisted awry, one who has a crushed hand or foot, is hunch-backed or blear-eyed, or wall-eyed, has a continual scab or itch on him, or a rupture. No one of the priestly line of Aaron who has such a blemish must come forward to sacrifice to the Lord, or offer his God the consecrated loaves. He is allowed to eat the bread which is offered in the sanctuary, but he must have no access to the veil, must not go near the altar; my sanctuary must not be profaned by any blemish. I, the Lord, have set priests apart for myself.
All these commands Moses handed on to Aaron, and to his sons, and to the people of Israel.
Chapter 22
And the Lord spoke to Moses giving him this command for Aaron and his sons: They must beware what use they make of the offerings brought by Israel; they must not profane the honour of these consecrated things; of things consecrated to the Lord. Tell them, tell all who follow, that if any of their race comes near these sacred offerings in a state of defilement, he is lost to my service; the service of the Lord. Any of Aaron's race who is a leper, or has a running at the reins, must cease to have any share of the hallowed food, until he is cured. Anyone of them who has touched a thing defiled by death, or has lost the seed of procreation, or perhaps has touched some creeping animal, or anything whose touch defiles, remains unclean till sundown, so that he must not share the holy food. Not till he has bathed in water, and waited for the sun to go down, may he enjoy his privilege of sharing in it. The priests must not defile themselves by eating anything that falls dead, or has been a prey of a wild beast; they are the Lord's priests. They must observe my commands, and commit no fault; death shall overtake them, there in my sanctuary, if they profane it. It is I, the Lord, who have set them apart.
No one that is not of their family may share the holy food, no guest the priests entertains, no hired servant of his; only a slave bought with his money or born in his house has the privilege. If a priest's daughter marries out of her clan, she loses her right to these hallowed offerings; but if she becomes a widow, or is rejected by her husband and comes home childless, she may eat with her family as when she was still a maid. It is only those who belong to another clan that may not share it. If anyone partakes of the holy food through inadvertence, he must go to the sanctuary and make restitution to the priest of the same quantity, with a fifth part added. There must be no profaning what the sons of Israel have offered to their God; they will be held to account for it, if they eat this holy food. It is I, the Lord, who have set my priests apart.
And the Lord spoke to Moses bidding him tell Aaron and his sons and all Israel: When any Israelite, or any alien dwelling among you, would offer the Lord burnt-sacrifice, either in payment of a vow, or out of devotion, and must present it through your hands, it must be a male victim, ox or sheep or goat, without blemish. If it has any blemish, it is unacceptable, and must not be offered. And anyone who makes the Lord a welcome-offering, either in payment of a vow or out of devotion, must offer an ox or a sheep that is without blemish, if it is to be acceptable. It must have no blemish of any sort; if it is blind, or crippled, or scarred, disfigured by blisters or scab or mange, you must not offer it to the Lord, or burn it on the Lord's altar. Ox or sheep that has ears or tail cut off may be offered out of devotion, but not in payment of a vow. No beast that has suffered crushing or bruising or gelding may be offered to the Lord; there must be no such custom in your country. You must not offer to your God either bread or any other gift that comes from an alien; such gifts are tainted, there is a blemish in them, they shall find no acceptance with you.
And the Lord gave Moses this message: Calf, or lamb, or kid, when it is newly born, must be allowed to suck for a whole week; only on the eighth day and afterwards may it be offered to the Lord. Cow or ewe, the dam must not be slaughtered on the same day as its young. When you sacrifice a victim to the Lord by way of welcome-offering, to win his favour, you must eat it the same day, none must be left over till the morrow; the Lord will have his precepts observed. Remember these commandments of mine, and live by them; the Lord's commandments. Do not dishonour my holy name; it is among the sons of Israel that I would vindicate my holiness, I, the Lord, who have set you apart for myself, and rescued you from the land of Egypt, so as to be your God; am I not the Lord?
Chapter 23
The Lord also spoke to Moses, bidding him tell the sons of Israel: These are the feasts which the Lord will have you proclaim as specially set apart. You have six days to work in; the seventh day must be kept set apart as a day that is all repose; you must refrain from all work that day, and there must be repose in every dwelling-place of yours, in the Lord's honour. And these are the feasts you must observe as consecrated to the Lord when certain times of year come round. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, the Lord's Pasch begins and with the fifteenth day of the month comes the feast of unleavened bread; for a whole week you will eat your bread without leaven. This first day you shall hold in great honour and reverence, doing no servile work on it; you will offer burnt-sacrifice to the Lord, and these sacrifices shall continue all through the week. The seventh day, too, is one which is to be kept with special honour and reverence, and no servile work is to be done.
And next, the Lord spoke to Moses, bidding him give this message to the Israelites: When you have reached the land I mean to make yours, you will have a harvest to gather in. You must bring sheaves of corn, the first-fruits of your crop, to the priest, and he, the day following the sabbath, will consecrate each sheaf, lifting it up in the Lord's presence to win his favour for you. The same day on which the sheaf is hallowed, a yearling lamb without blemish must be offered to the Lord as a burnt-sacrifice; and with it, as a bloodless offering, a peck of flour, kneaded with oil, to burn before the Lord and please him with the smell of its burning. And you must add a quare of wine by way of libation. You must not eat bread or pearl-barley or porridge made from the new crop until you have brought your God this offering. This is a law you must observe at all times and everywhere.
From that day, the next after the sabbath, when the sheaf of first-fruits was offered, you will count seven full weeks; and on the day after the end of the seventh week, that is, on the fiftieth day, you will offer the Lord a sacrifice out of your new harvesting. Each household must provide two loaves by way of first-fruits; a peck of flour cooked with leaven as first-fruits given to the Lord. With the loaves, you will offer seven yearling lambs without blemish, a calf chosen from the herd, and two rams; a burnt-sacrifice with your gifts to accompany it, for the Lord to accept the smell of its burning. And you must sacrifice a goat as a transgression-victim, and two yearling lambs by way of welcome-offering. These the priest will lift in the Lord's presence together with the first-fruits, and they shall be for his own use. You must keep this day with great honour and reverence, doing no servile work on it; that is a law you must observe at all times and everywhere. And when you reap your land, you will not rase all to the ground, or gather the stray ears; you will leave them for the poor man and the wanderer to glean; remember what God you worship.
And next, the Lord spoke to Moses, bidding him tell the Israelites: You must keep the first day of the seventh month as a day of rest; it shall be proclaimed holy with blowing of trumpets, to keep the Lord in mind of you. You must cease from all work, and offer the Lord burnt-sacrifice. And moreover (so ran the Lord's word to Moses) the tenth day of this seventh month is the day you are to honour by making atonement; it will be proclaimed holy, and you will fast on it, as well as offering the Lord burnt-sacrifice. During this day you are to do no servile work; it is a day of atonement, to win the Lord's mercy for you. If anyone does not fast that day, he is lost to his people; and I will rid the people, too, of anyone who does any work on it. It must be an unalterable rule with you at all times and everywhere to cease work on that day; it is to be all repose. The fast will begin on the evening of the ninth day, and from evening to evening you will rest.
And the Lord also spoke to Moses giving him this message for the Israelites: From the fifteenth day of this seventh month onwards, you will keep, for a whole week, the feast of Tent-dwelling. The first day is to be held in all honour and reverence; you will do no servile work on it. On each of the seven days you will offer the Lord burnt-sacrifice, and the eighth day too you must keep with all honour and reverence, with burnt-sacrifices to the Lord; the people must assemble together, and no servile work is to be done. These are the Lord's feasts, which you must proclaim with honour and reverence, bringing the Lord your offerings, burnt-sacrifice and the gifts that go with it, as the rite of each day prescribes; to make no mention of the sabbath, and of those offerings which you will make to the Lord in performance of a vow, or out of devotion.
This is how you will celebrate your week of feasting in the Lord's honour, at the time when the last of your crops have been gathered in, from the fifteenth day of the seventh month onwards. The first and the eighth days will be all repose. And on the first day you will pluck fruit from some favourite tree, and branches of palm, leafy boughs, and osiers from the river banks, and so keep holiday in the presence of the Lord your God. For a whole week every year you will honour this observance, making it a law at all times and everywhere. It is to be kept in the seventh month, and for seven days you will live in arbours; the whole race of Israel will become tent-dwellers, to remind those who come after you that I bade the sons of Israel dwell in tents when I rescued them from the land of Egypt; I, the Lord your God. So Moses gave word to the Israelites about the feasts they were to celebrate in the Lord's honour.
Chapter 24
And the Lord said to Moses, Bid the sons of Israel bring you oil of the olive, pure and clear, to feed at all times the lamps before the veil, where the ark bears record of me in the tabernacle that attests my covenant. Aaron shall set them there to burn before the Lord from evening to morning; a rite you shall observe continually, age after age. They shall be set there always in the Lord's presence, on the lamp-stand that is of pure gold.
Take flour, too, and bake twelve loaves of it, a peck of flour to each of them; these must be set on the table of pure gold that stands there before the Lord, six on each side of it. And put grains of fine incense on them; the bread is to be a token-sacrifice to the Lord. Every sabbath day new loaves shall be set there, Israel's covenanted gift in perpetuity; the old will be for the use of Aaron and his sons who are to eat them on holy ground; they are set apart for holy uses, reserved out of the Lord's offerings as the prerogative of the priests for ever.
There was a man who had been born in the camp of Israel, his mother an Israelite, his father an Egyptian; and this man, quarrelling there with a true-born Israelite, blasphemed the Lord's name in heaping curses upon him. So they brought him before Moses. (His mother's name was Salumith, daughter to Dabri, of the tribe of Dan.) And he was put under guard, while they waited to know the Lord's mind concerning him. And this was the word the Lord gave Moses: Take the blasphemer beyond the confines of the camp; let all those who were listening lay their hands on his head, and let the whole people put him to death by stoning. Tell the Israelites this: The man who curses his God will be held to account for it; he blasphemed the Lord's name, and he must die. Be he citizen or stranger, he must be stoned by the whole people; death for the blasphemer. Death, too, for anyone who smites a man and kills him. If he injures a beast, he can make it good; one beast will do as well as another; but if he causes injury to one of his fellow-countrymen, he must pay for it in the same coin, making amends for broken limb with broken limb, for eye with eye, for tooth with tooth; the loss he inflicted, he must undergo. Restitution for harm done to a beast; for harm done to a man, punishment. Your award must be the same, whether it was citizen or stranger that did the wrong; it is a just God you worship.
So Moses gave word to the Israelites, and they, obedient to the Lord's command, took the blasphemer beyond the confines of the camp, and there stoned him.
Chapter 25
And there, on mount Sinai, the Lord spoke to Moses, bidding him give these commands to the sons of Israel. When you reach the land I mean to make yours, there will be times of repose to be kept in the Lord's honour. For six years you may sow your land, for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit; in the seventh year the land must have rest, lie fallow in the Lord's honour; no field must be sown no vineyard pruned. You shall not make a harvest of the land's aftergrowth, or hoard up, at vintage time, the dedicated grapes, in this year when all is repose; you shall leave them to be sustenance, as need arises, for yourself, your slaves and slave-women, your hired labourers, and the aliens in your household; for your beasts of burden, too, and for your cattle, the aftergrowth shall provide food enough.
Of these cycles of seven years you shalt count seven, forty-nine years in all, and then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the day of atonement, there shall be sounding of trumpets all through the land. The fiftieth year you shall set apart, by proclaiming release to all that dwell in your country; it is the year of jubilee, in which every man comes into his own lands again, and is restored to his old home. In this fiftieth year, the year of jubilee, you shall neither sow crops nor make a harvest of the aftergrowth, nor gather in the dedicated grapes; that would profane the jubilee; all must be eaten as it comes to hand.
In the year of jubilee, everyone will come into his own lands again. If, then, you are selling land to one of your fellow-countrymen, or buying it from him, do not drive a hard bargain with him. If you are buying, take into account the number of years since the jubilee, and pay him according to what value there is in the remaining harvests. If many years are still to run before the next jubilee, the price will be higher; if few, the price must be brought down. It is but the succession of so many harvests that he is selling you. Do not take advantage of your own fellow-countrymen; each of you has a divine vengeance to reckon with; the vengeance of the Lord, your God.
Do my bidding, remember the decrees I make, and carry them out; so you shall remain secure in your possession of the land; such crops it will bear as shall give you food to your hearts content, shall deliver you, come what enemy may, from fear of famine. Would you ask, how you are to live in the seventh year, since you have neither sowed nor gathered in crops? Be assured that in the sixth year my blessing shall be upon the land, and it will yield food for three years to come; you will still be enjoying the old harvest, when you sow in the eighth year, still be enjoying the old harvest, when the ninth year comes and you can reap the new.
The land must not be sold in perpetuity; it is mine, and you come into it as strangers whom I have settled there. Nothing that is yours must be sold but on the condition that it can be redeemed. If your brother Israelite falls on evil days, and must sell you his little plot of ground, his next of kin, if he will, may redeem what was sold. Or, if he has no near kinsman, but is able to find the money himself, let him pay the sale price, less the value of the crops since the time of the sale, and so recover possession. If he cannot find the money, then the buyer will remain in possession till the year of jubilee comes; that year, all which has been sold comes back to its true master, who held it in earlier days.
The man who sells a house within the walls of a city, is free to effect its redemption till a year has passed; if it remains unredeemed at the end of the year, it passes into the possession of the man who bought it, and of his heirs in perpetuity; there is no redeeming it now, even in the year of jubilee. But if the house stands in some unwalled village, there is the same right of redemption as if it were land; it will return to its true master in the year of jubilee, if he has not redeemed it first. The houses which the Levites own in their cities can always be redeemed, and if they are not redeemed they return to their masters in the jubilee year; that is because the Levites have been granted their cities in lieu of lands such as their brethren enjoy. The land round their cities must never be sold; it is their inalienable property.
If your brother-Israelite falls on evil days, or his strength fails him, and you give him lodging as if he were some alien guest of yours, you shall not claim interest over and above what you have spent on him. You have the vengeance of your God to fear; see to it that your brother has freedom to lodge with you. It is not for you to receive interest on what you spend, and entertain him to your own profit. Bethink you how I, the Lord your God, rescued you from Egypt and gave you a home in Chanaan, to make you mine.
And if your brother-Israelite is brought by poverty to sell his own liberty to you, do not submit him to bondage with your slaves; let him work in your household as if he were a hired servant or a free alien, till the year of jubilee comes. Then, with his children, he must be restored to his kindred and to his ancestral lands. The Israelites know no master but me, their rescuer from Egypt; they must not be bought and sold like slaves; do not use your power over him, then, to treat him ill, as you fear God's vengeance. Your men-slaves and women-slaves must come from the nations round about you; or they must be aliens who have come to dwell among you, or children of theirs born on your soil; these you may hold as chattels, passing them on to your children by right of inheritance, as belonging to you in perpetuity; but you must not lord it over your brother-Israelites.
If an alien comes to dwell among you and grows rich, and one of your brother Israelites sells his liberty to this man, or to some descendant of his, there is still opportunity for him to be redeemed after the sale. He may be redeemed by any of his clan, uncle or cousin or kinsman by blood or kinsman by affinity. Nay, if he can lay hands on the money, he may redeem himself. In doing so, he will reckon up the number of years from the time of his sale to the next jubilee, and divide the price he was sold for by the number of years, as if he was a hireling paid yearly wages. If there are many years to run before the jubilee, he must pay the full price for them; if there are few, he will settle his account by paying his master the value of those few years work. Full allowance must be made for the years he has served already; you shall not stand by and see him treated unjustly. And if, even so, he cannot find the price of his redemption, in the year of jubilee he and his children shall go free. They are no one's servants but mine, these sons of Israel whom I rescued from the land of Egypt.
Chapter 26
I am the Lord your God; and if I, the Lord, am your God, you must not make yourselves idols or carved figures, or set up monuments or engraved stones in any part of your country, so as to pay them worship. It is for you to observe my sabbaths, to reverence my sanctuary; the Lord's sanctuary. If you live by my law, if you remember my commands and obey them, rain shall fall on you when fall it should; the land will yield its increase, and the trees will be bowed with fruit, threshing not done with by vintage time, or vintage by seed-time; you shall have food to your hearts content. Securely you shall hold your lands; sleep safe in your beds, with peace on all your frontiers. I will rid you, too, of ravenous beasts, and never the sword shall lay your country waste. You shall rout your enemies, and beat them down before you; five of you putting a hundred aliens to flight, and a hundred of you ten thousand; so shall your enemies bite the dust at your approach. Under the eye of my favour you shall increase and multiply, all my promises to you I will make good; ever the old harvest shall suffice, till you rid yourselves of it to make room for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and never shall my love cast you off, still coming and going in the midst of you, I your God, and you my people. Was it not I, the Lord your God, that rescued you from your masters in Egypt, struck the chains from your necks, and gave you the upright carriage of free men?
Will you refuse me a hearing? Will you leave all my commands unfulfilled? Will you defy my laws, let my decrees go for nothing, neglect my bidding, annul my covenant with you? If so, this shall be my answer to you. I will be quick to punish you with dearth, and send fever to dim your eyes and waste your lives away; your crops shall be sown in vain, for the enemy to consume them. You shall feel my displeasure, when you are beaten down before your enemies, when you submit to tyrants who hate you, when you take flight before ever your foes attack.
And if you still refuse obedience, I will exact sevenfold punishment for your sins, till I have tamed this stubborn pride of yours. The skies shall be iron above you, and the earth bronze; all your labour will be spent in vain, earth will yield you no harvest, and the trees no fruit. Cross me, refuse me a hearing, and I will add fresh plagues, in sevenfold punishment of your sins. I will send wild beasts to prey upon you and your cattle, till you are few in number, and your roads lie deserted. And if you refuse to be chastened, and cross me still, I will cross you in my turn, punishing your sins sevenfold. I will let war loose upon you in return for breaking your covenant with me; and when you take refuge in the cities, I will send pestilence among you. And soon you will be fain to surrender to your enemies, when I have cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women can bake in one oven, and dole out the bread by weight to men that eat and are still hungry.
Will you refuse me a hearing, will you cross me, even then? If so, I will cross you in my turn, hot with anger, plaguing you sevenfold for your sins, till you must needs eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. I will destroy your hill-shrines, break your idols, and where your idols have fallen, you too will fall. Such will be my loathing for you that I will turn your cities into a wilderness, and your holy places into a desert; the fragrance of your sacrifices will be acceptable to me no more. I will make a havoc of your land, so that your very enemies, as they come to dwell there, will stand aghast. For yourselves, I will scatter you wide among the nations, and my sword shall be at work on what you have left behind you, turning your land into a desert, your cities into ruins. Then, in those days of desolation, your land will enjoy a sabbath indeed; while you are far away, exiled among your enemies, it will be at rest, it will repose in a sabbath of utter loneliness, that land which was never given rest by any sabbath of yours, while you dwelt there. Those of you who are left will be faint-hearted in the lands of your enemies, ready to take flight at the fall of a leaf, as if it were a sword threatening them, prostrate before ever their foes attack, stumbling over one another as if routed in battle, so little heart will be left among you to withstand your enemies. You will be lost among the Gentiles, swallowed up by a hostile country. Those few who live on will live on to pine away, still unpardoned, exiles in a land that hates them, in punishment for their sins, punishment for the sins of their fathers. So it must be, until they confess their sins and the sins of those fathers of theirs who rebelled against me and crossed me. I must cross them still, condemning them to exile in a land that hates them, until those defiled hearts learn to be ashamed.
Then they will make atonement for their sins and I will remember my covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham, remember the land which they have left, sunk now in the enjoyment of its long repose, uninhabited because of their sins. They will make atonement at last for their sin in rejecting my decrees, forgetting my law. And it will prove that all the while, even when they were exiled among their enemies, they were not rejected, they were not forgotten altogether; I would not let them perish, would not annul my covenant with them. No, I am the Lord their God, and I will bethink me of the covenant I made long ago, when I rescued them from Egypt under the eyes of the Gentiles, and proclaimed myself the God who protects them, I, the Lord.
Such were the decrees and the laws by which the Lord bound the sons of Israel to himself on mount Sinai, with Moses for his spokesman. And the Lord spoke to Moses giving him this message for the Israelites: If anyone makes a vow by which he promises to God a life that belongs to him, he must pay a fixed ransom. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty must pay fifty silver pieces by sanctuary reckoning, and a woman of the same age must pay thirty. Between the ages of five and twenty, a boy must pay twenty silver pieces, a girl ten. From the age of one month to the age of five years, five silver pieces will be the price for a boy and three for a girl. A man of sixty or over will pay fifteen pieces, a woman of the same age ten. If the maker of the vow is poor, and cannot pay the full price, he must present himself before the priest, and pay whatever the priest judges to be within his means. If anyone vows such a beast as is fit to be immolated in the Lord's honour, that beast is consecrated, and there is no exchanging better for worse, or worse for better; if he sacrifices one beast in exchange for another, that other is none the less forfeit. If it is some unclean beast, which cannot be offered to the Lord in sacrifice, it must be brought before the priest, who will fix its value, according as he thinks it to be good or bad of its kind; and if the worshipper would pay to redeem it, he must add on a fifth part to this valuation.
If a man vows to consecrate his house to the Lord, the priest shall examine it and decide its worth. The valuation he makes shall be the price assigned to it, and if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover possession of the house.
If a man vows to consecrate to the Lord some piece of land which is part of his patrimony, it must be valued according to the worth of its yield; if it takes eight bushels to seed it, the price fixed will be fifty silver pieces. If he vows the field in the first year of a jubilee period, it must be estimated at its full worth; but if sometime has passed, then the priest will count up the years still left before the jubilee comes, and will lower the price accordingly. And if the worshipper would redeem it, he must pay that price and a fifth besides, to recover the field. If he does not wish to redeem it, and it is sold to some other, the worshipper has no further opportunity of redeeming it; and when jubilee time comes round, it will be forfeit to the Lord; a consecrated piece of ground belongs to the priests by right. If the piece of land consecrated to the Lord was bought, and not part of the worshipper's ancestral property, then the priest will reckon its value according to the number of years till jubilee time, and the worshipper will pay that sum to the Lord; when the jubilee comes, it will go back to its former owner, who sold it, since it is part of his patrimony. Every valuation must be made by sanctuary reckoning. The silver piece is worth twenty pence.
First-born creatures, which belong to the Lord already, cannot be the subject of a vow or a consecration; ox or sheep, it belongs to the Lord by right. But if it is the first-born of some unclean animal, you, the priest, shall put a value on it; if the worshipper would redeem it, let him pay that price and a fifth besides; if not, let it be sold at the price you have reckoned.
What is forfeit to the Lord, whether man or beast or piece of ground, can neither be sold nor be redeemed; once forfeit, it is set apart for holy uses, consecrated to the Lord. No human life that is forfeit can be redeemed; death is the only way.
The tenth part of what the land yields, whether grain crop or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord, and is consecrated to him; if anyone would redeem his tithe, he must pay a fifth part besides. There will be tithes, too, of oxen and sheep and goats; every tenth beast, as they pass under the herdsman's rod, must be consecrated to the Lord. No choice must be made of good or bad, and there must be no exchanging one beast for another. If any exchange is made, both beasts are forfeit to the Lord, and there is no redemption. Such are the commands the Lord gave Moses on mount Sinai, to be proclaimed to the sons of Israel.