Imamat 21:4

21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. ¹ 

Imamat 21:15

21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, ²  for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

Imamat 19:16

19:16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. ³  You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. ⁴  I am the Lord.

Imamat 23:29

23:29 Indeed, ⁵  any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. ⁶ 

Imamat 17:8

17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man ⁷  from the house of Israel or ⁸  from the foreigners who reside ⁹  in their ¹⁰  midst, who offers ¹¹  a burnt offering or a sacrifice

Imamat 19:8

19:8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquity ¹²  because he has profaned ¹³  what is holy to the Lord. ¹⁴  That person will be cut off from his people. ¹⁵ 

Imamat 20:26

20:26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.

Imamat 21:1

Rules for the Priests

21:1 The Lord said to Moses: “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron – say to them, ‘For a dead person ¹⁶  no priest ¹⁷  is to defile himself among his people, ¹⁸ 

Imamat 21:14

21:14 He must not marry ¹⁹  a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people ²⁰  as a wife.

Imamat 17:10

Prohibition against Eating Blood

17:10 “‘Any man ²¹  from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside ²²  in their ²³  midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, ²⁴ 

Imamat 25:45

25:45 Also you may buy slaves ²⁵  from the children of the foreigners who reside with you, and from their families that are ²⁶  with you, whom they have fathered in your land, they may become your property.

Imamat 10:3

10:3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke: ‘Among the ones close to me I will show myself holy, ²⁷  and in the presence of all the people I will be honored.’” ²⁸  So Aaron kept silent.

Imamat 20:17

20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with ²⁹  his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. ³⁰  He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. ³¹ 

Imamat 25:32

25:32 As for ³²  the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities which they possess, ³³  the Levites must have a perpetual right of redemption.

Imamat 9:1

Inauguration of Tabernacle Worship

9:1 On the eighth day ³⁴  Moses summoned ³⁵  Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

Imamat 20:2

20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel ³⁶  who gives any of his children ³⁷  to Molech ³⁸  must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. ³⁹ 

Imamat 25:33

25:33 Whatever someone among the Levites might redeem – the sale of a house which is his property in a city – must revert in the jubilee, ⁴⁰  because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the Israelites.

Imamat 4:15

4:15 the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter ⁴¹  the bull before the Lord.

Imamat 18:27

18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, ⁴²  and the land has become unclean.

Imamat 20:4

20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes ⁴³  to that man ⁴⁴  when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death,

Imamat 4:27

For the Common Person

4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual ⁴⁵  sins by straying unintentionally ⁴⁶  when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, ⁴⁷  and he pleads guilty

Imamat 19:10

19:10 You must not pick your vineyard bare, ⁴⁸  and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

Imamat 19:15

Justice, Love, and Propriety

19:15 “‘You ⁴⁹  must not deal unjustly in judgment: ⁵⁰  you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. ⁵¹  You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ⁵² 

Imamat 25:6

25:6 You may have the Sabbath produce ⁵³  of the land to eat – you, your male servant, your female servant, your hired worker, the resident foreigner who stays with you, ⁵⁴ 

Imamat 17:13

17:13 “‘Any man from the Israelites ⁵⁵  or from the foreigners who reside ⁵⁶  in their ⁵⁷  midst who hunts a wild animal ⁵⁸  or a bird that may be eaten ⁵⁹  must pour out its blood and cover it with soil,

Imamat 23:22

23:22 When you gather in the harvest ⁶⁰  of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, ⁶¹  and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’” ⁶² 

Imamat 22:18

22:18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man ⁶³  from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel ⁶⁴  presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering,

Imamat 25:41

25:41 but then ⁶⁵  he may go free, ⁶⁶  he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. ⁶⁷ 

Imamat 20:5

20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, ⁶⁸  to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. ⁶⁹ 

Imamat 25:25

25:25 “‘If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his near redeemer is to come to you and redeem what his brother sold. ⁷⁰ 

Imamat 25:49

25:49 or his uncle or his cousin ⁷¹  may redeem him, or anyone of the rest of his blood relatives – his family ⁷²  – may redeem him, or if ⁷³  he prospers he may redeem himself.

Imamat 7:27

7:27 Any person who eats any blood – that person will be cut off from his people.’” ⁷⁴ 

Imamat 9:15

The Offerings for the People

9:15 Then he presented the people’s offering. He took the sin offering male goat which was for the people, slaughtered it, and performed a decontamination rite with it ⁷⁵  like the first one. ⁷⁶ 

Imamat 9:23

9:23 Moses and Aaron then entered into the Meeting Tent. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

Imamat 6:29

6:29 Any male among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. ⁷⁷ 

Imamat 26:12

26:12 I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people.

Imamat 7:25

7:25 If anyone eats fat from the animal from which he presents a gift to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people. ⁷⁸ 

Imamat 17:9

17:9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it ⁷⁹  to the Lord – that person will be cut off from his people. ⁸⁰ 

Imamat 19:18

19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge ⁸¹  against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. ⁸²  I am the Lord.

Imamat 23:30

23:30 As for any person ⁸³  who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate ⁸⁴  that person from the midst of his people! ⁸⁵ 

Imamat 9:7

9:7 Moses then said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and make your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement on behalf of yourself and on behalf of the people; ⁸⁶  and also make the people’s offering and make atonement on behalf of them just as the Lord has commanded.”

Imamat 16:24

16:24 Then he must bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his clothes, and go out and make his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering. So he is to make atonement ⁸⁷  on behalf of himself and the people. ⁸⁸ 

Imamat 25:47

25:47 “‘If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers ⁸⁹  and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that ⁹⁰  he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member ⁹¹  of a foreigner’s family,

Imamat 7:6

7:6 Any male among the priests may eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy. ⁹² 

Imamat 7:20

7:20 The person who eats meat from the peace offering sacrifice which belongs to the Lord while his uncleanness persists ⁹³  will be cut off from his people. ⁹⁴ 

Imamat 9:18

9:18 Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram – the peace offering sacrifices which were for the people – and Aaron’s sons handed ⁹⁵  the blood to him and he splashed it against the altar’s sides.

Imamat 9:22

9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them and descended from making the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering.

Imamat 9:24

9:24 Then fire went out from the presence of the Lord ⁹⁶  and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar, and all the people saw it, so they shouted loudly and fell down with their faces to the ground. ⁹⁷ 

Imamat 16:33

16:33 and he is to purify ⁹⁸  the Most Holy Place, ⁹⁹  he is to purify the Meeting Tent and the altar, ¹⁰⁰  and he is to make atonement for ¹⁰¹  the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

Imamat 17:3-4

17:3 “Blood guilt ¹⁰²  will be accounted to any man ¹⁰³  from the house of Israel ¹⁰⁴  who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, ¹⁰⁵  17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent ¹⁰⁶  to present it as ¹⁰⁷  an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. ¹⁰⁸ 

Imamat 18:29

18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. ¹⁰⁹ 

Imamat 20:6

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums ¹¹⁰ 

20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits ¹¹¹  to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face ¹¹²  against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Imamat 20:18

20:18 If a man has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them ¹¹³  must be cut off from the midst of their people.

Imamat 4:3

For the Priest

4:3 “‘If the high priest ¹¹⁴  sins so that the people are guilty, ¹¹⁵  on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord ¹¹⁶  for a sin offering. ¹¹⁷ 

Imamat 7:21

7:21 When a person touches anything unclean (whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or an unclean detestable creature) ¹¹⁸  and eats some of the meat of the peace offering sacrifice which belongs to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people.’” ¹¹⁹ 

Imamat 16:15

16:15 “He must then slaughter the sin offering goat which is for the people. He is to bring its blood inside the veil-canopy, ¹²⁰  and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the atonement plate and in front of the atonement plate.

Imamat 20:3

20:3 I myself will set my face ¹²¹  against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, ¹²²  because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ¹²³ 

Imamat 25:10

25:10 So you must consecrate the fiftieth year, ¹²⁴  and you must proclaim a release ¹²⁵  in the land for all its inhabitants. That year will be your jubilee; ¹²⁶  each one of you must return ¹²⁷  to his property and each one of you must return to his clan.

[21:4]  ¹ tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).

[21:15]  ² tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[19:16]  ³ tn The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; BDB 940 s.v. רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious (HALOT 1237 s.v. II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”

[19:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129).

[23:29]  ⁵ tn The particular כִּי (ki) is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the NJPS translation).

[23:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “it [i.e., that person; literally “soul,” feminine] shall be cut off from its peoples [plural]”; NLT “from the community.”

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).

[17:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has an alternative sense (“or”).

[17:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “causes to go up.”

[19:8]  ¹² tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

[19:8]  ¹³ sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[19:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the holiness of the Lord.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[21:1]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).

[21:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).

[21:1]  ¹⁸ tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[21:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”

[21:14]  ²⁰ tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[17:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).

[17:10]  ²² tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:10]  ²³ tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will give my faces against [literally “in”] the soul/person/life [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, feminine] who eats the blood and I will cut it [i.e., that נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] off from the midst of its people.” The uses of נֶפֶשׁ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 244-45). No matter which translation of נֶפֶשׁ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have נֶפֶשׁ and that this נֶפֶשׁ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. 11 below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).

[25:45]  ²⁵ tn The word “slaves” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied here.

[25:45]  ²⁶ tn Heb “family which is” (i.e., singular rather than plural).

[10:3]  ²⁷ tn The Niphal verb of the Hebrew root קָדַשׁ (qadash) can mean either “to be treated as holy” (so here, e.g., BDB 873 s.v. קָּדַשׁ, LXX, NASB, and NEB) or “to show oneself holy” (so here, e.g., HALOT 1073 s.v. קדשׁnif.1, NIV, NRSV, NLT; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:595, 601-3; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 133-34). The latter rendering seems more likely here since, in the immediate context, the Lord himself had indeed shown himself to be holy by the way he responded to the illegitimate incense offering of Nadab and Abihu. They had not treated the Lord as holy, so the Lord acted on his own behalf to show that he was indeed holy.

[10:3]  ²⁸ tn In this context the Niphal of the Hebrew root כָּבֵד (kaved) can mean “to be honored” (e.g., NASB and NIV here), “be glorified” (ASV, NRSV and NLT here), or “glorify oneself, show one’s glory” (cf. NAB; e.g., specifically in this verse HALOT 455 s.v. כבדnif.3; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:595, 603-4; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 126, 134). Comparing this clause with the previous one (see the note above), the point may be that when the Lord shows himself to be holy as he has done in 10:1-2, this results in him being honored (i.e., reverenced, feared, treated with respect) among the people. This suggests the passive rendering. It is possible, however, that one should use the reflexive rendering here as in the previous clause. If so, the passage means that the Lord showed both his holiness and his glory in one outbreak against Nadab and Abihu.

[20:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse,” though some English versions translate it as “marry” (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV).

[20:17]  ³⁰ tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:17]  ³¹ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

[25:32]  ³² tn Heb “And.”

[25:32]  ³³ tn Heb “the houses of the cities of their property.”

[9:1]  ³⁴ sn This eighth day is the one after the seven days of ordination referred to in Lev 8:33-35.

[9:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “called to”; CEV, NLT “called together.”

[20:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”

[20:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.

[20:2]  ³⁸ tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.

[20:2]  ³⁹ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).

[25:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “And which he shall redeem from the Levites shall go out, sale of house and city, his property in the jubilee.” Although the end of this verse is clear, the first part is notoriously difficult. There are five main views. (1) The first clause of the verse actually attaches to the previous verse, and refers to the fact that their houses retain a perpetual right of redemption (v. 32b), “which any of the Levites may exercise” (v. 33a; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 418, 421). (2) It refers to property that one Levite sells to another Levite, which is then redeemed by still another Levite (v. 33a). In such cases, the property reverts to the original Levite owner in the jubilee year (v. 33b; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 321). (3) It refers to houses in a city that had come to be declared as a Levitical city but had original non-Levitical owners. Once the city was declared to belong to the Levites, however, an owner could only sell his house to a Levite, and he could only redeem it back from a Levite up until the time of the first jubilee after the city was declared to be a Levitical city. In this case the first part of the verse would be translated, “Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites” (NRSV, NJPS). At the first jubilee, however, all such houses became the property of the Levites (v. 33b; P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 353). (4) It refers to property “which is appropriated from the Levites” (not “redeemed from the Levites,” v. 33a) by those who have bought it or taken it as security for debts owed to them by Levites who had fallen on bad times. Again, such property reverts back to the original Levite owners at the jubilee (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 177). (5) It simply refers to the fact that a Levite has the option of redeeming his house (i.e., the prefix form of the verb is taken to be subjunctive, “may or might redeem”), which he had to sell because he had fallen into debt or perhaps even become destitute. Even if he never gained the resources to do so, however, it would still revert to him in the jubilee year. The present translation is intended to reflect this latter view.

[4:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he shall slaughter.” The singular verb seems to refer to an individual who represents the whole congregation, perhaps one of the elders referred to at the beginning of the verse, or the officiating priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”

[18:27]  ⁴² tn Heb “for all these abominations the men of the land who were before you have done.”

[20:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[20:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”

[4:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”

[4:27]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”

[4:27]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

[19:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “And you shall not deal severely with your vineyard.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁹ tc Smr has the singular rather than the plural “you” of the MT, which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.

[19:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” (NASB similar); cf. NIV “do not pervert justice.”

[19:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”

[19:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”

[25:6]  ⁵³ tn The word “produce” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied; cf. NASB “the sabbath products.”

[25:6]  ⁵⁴ tn A “resident who stays” would be a foreign person who was probably residing as another kind of laborer in the household of a landowner (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 170-71). See v. 35 below.

[17:13]  ⁵⁵ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from the house of Israel” as in vv. 3, 8, and 10, but the LXX agrees with the MT.

[17:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:13]  ⁵⁷ tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain mss of Smr have “your” (plural) rather than “their” (cf. v. 10 above).

[17:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “[wild] game of animal.”

[17:13]  ⁵⁹ tn That is, it must be a clean animal, not an unclean animal (cf. Lev 11).

[23:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “And when you harvest the harvest.”

[23:22]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field in your harvest.”

[23:22]  ⁶² sn Compare Lev 19:9-10.

[22:18]  ⁶³ tn Heb “Man, man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 395-96 §123.c).

[22:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and from the foreigner [singular] in Israel.” Some medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate add “who resides” after “foreigner”: “the foreigner who resides in Israel” (cf., e.g., Lev 20:2 above).

[25:41]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here.

[25:41]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “may go out from you.”

[25:41]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[20:5]  ⁶⁸ tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.

[20:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[25:25]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “the sale of his brother.”

[25:49]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “the son of his uncle.”

[25:49]  ⁷² tn Heb “or from the remainder of his flesh from his family.”

[25:49]  ⁷³ tc The LXX, followed by the Syriac, actually has “if,” which is not in the MT.

[7:27]  ⁷⁴ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

[9:15]  ⁷⁵ tn The expression “and performed a decontamination rite [with] it” reads literally in the MT, “and decontaminated [with] it.” The verb is the Piel of חטא (kht’, Qal = “to sin”), which means “to decontaminate, purify” (i.e., “to de-sin”; see the note on Lev 8:15).

[9:15]  ⁷⁶ sn The phrase “like the first one” at the end of the verse refers back to the sin offering for the priests described in vv. 8-11 above. The blood of the sin offering of the common people was applied to the burnt offering altar just like that of the priests.

[6:29]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “holiness of holinesses [or holy of holies] it is” (also in 7:1).

[7:25]  ⁷⁸ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

[17:9]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “to make it,” meaning “to make the sacrifice.”

[17:9]  ⁸⁰ tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.

[19:18]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and you shall not retain [anger?].” This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305).

[19:18]  ⁸² sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ (lamed) as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).

[23:30]  ⁸³ tn Heb “And any person.”

[23:30]  ⁸⁴ tn See HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד hif. Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “destroy”; CEV “wipe out.”

[23:30]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “its people” (“its” is feminine to agree with “person,” literally “soul,” which is feminine in Hebrew; cf. v. 29).

[9:7]  ⁸⁶ tn Instead of “on behalf of the people,” the LXX has “on behalf of your house” as in the Hebrew text of Lev 16:6, 11, 17. Many commentaries follow the LXX here (e.g., J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:578; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 118) as do a few English versions (e.g., NAB), but others argue that, as on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), the offerings of the priests also effected the people, even though there was still the need to have special offerings made on behalf of the people as reflected in the second half of the verse (e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 56).

[16:24]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “And he shall make atonement.”

[16:24]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people.” After “on behalf of himself” the LXX adds the expected “and on behalf of his household” (cf. vv. 6, 11, and 17).

[25:47]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “And if the hand of a foreigner and resident with you reaches” (cf. v. 26 for this idiom).

[25:47]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[25:47]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “offshoot, descendant.”

[7:6]  ⁹² tn Heb “holiness of holinesses [or holy of holies] it is”; NAB “most sacred”; TEV “very holy.”

[7:20]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and his unclean condition is on him.”

[7:20]  ⁹⁴ sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits (cf. TEV, CEV), or his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation), etc. See J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 100; J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:457-60; and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 241-42 for further discussion.

[9:18]  ⁹⁵ tn See the note on Lev 9:12.

[9:24]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “from to the faces of the Lord.” The rendering here is based on the use of “my faces” and “your faces” referring to the very “presence” of the Lord in Exod 33:14-15.

[9:24]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “fell on their faces.” Many English versions and commentaries render here “shouted for joy” (e.g., NIV; cf. NCV, NLT) or “shouted joyfully,” but the fact the people “fell on their faces” immediately afterward suggests that they were frightened as, for example, in Exod 19:16b; 20:18-21.

[16:33]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “to atone” (also later in this verse); see the note on “purifying the holy place” in 16:20.

[16:33]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “the sanctuary of the holy place.” Although this is the only place this expression occurs in the OT, it clearly refers to the innermost shrine behind the veil-canopy, where the ark of the covenant was located.

[16:33]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and the tent of meeting and the alter he shall atone.” The repetition of the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to atone”) at the beginning and end of the sequence appears to be strange, but the MT accents suggest that only “the Most Holy Place” goes with the verb at the beginning of the verse. Of course, the purging of “the Most Holy Place” has been the main emphasis of this chapter from the start (see vv. 2-3 and 11-17).

[16:33]  ¹⁰¹ tn At this point in the verse the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement”) takes its object with the preposition עַל (’al, “for”; literally, “upon”; contrast the first part of the verse and cf. the notes on Lev 1:4 and 16:20 above).

[17:3]  ¹⁰² tn The complex wording of vv. 3-4 requires stating “blood guilt” at the beginning of v. 3 even though it is not mentioned until the middle of v. 4. The Hebrew text has simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5-7; 7:26-27, etc.; cf. vv. 10-16 below for more details).

[17:3]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on Lev 15:2.

[17:3]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The original LXX adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).

[17:3]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”

[17:4]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the Lord for your acceptance as a soothing aroma, and slaughters it outside, and at the doorway of the tent of meeting has not brought it.”

[17:4]  ¹⁰⁷ tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.

[17:4]  ¹⁰⁸ sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.

[18:29]  ¹⁰⁹ sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:6]  ¹¹⁰ sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.

[20:6]  ¹¹¹ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:6]  ¹¹² tn Heb “I will give my faces.”

[20:18]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “and the two of them.”

[4:3]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[4:3]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”

[4:3]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”

[4:3]  ¹¹⁷ sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.

[7:21]  ¹¹⁸ sn For these categories of unclean animals see Lev 11.

[7:21]  ¹¹⁹ sn For the interpretation of this last clause see the note on Lev 7:20.

[16:15]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “and he shall bring its blood into from house to the veil-canopy.”

[20:3]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”

[20:3]  ¹²² sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.

[20:3]  ¹²³ tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”

[25:10]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “the year of the fifty years,” or perhaps “the year, fifty years” (GKC 435 §134.o, note 2).

[25:10]  ¹²⁵ tn Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “liberty”; TEV, CEV “freedom.” The characteristics of this “release” are detailed in the following verses. For substantial summaries and bibliography on the biblical and ancient Near Eastern material regarding such a “release” see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 427-34, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 270-74.

[25:10]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “A jubilee that shall be to you.” Although there has been some significant debate about the original meaning of the Hebrew word translated “jubilee” (יוֹבֵל, yovel; see the summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 434), the term most likely means “ram” and can refer also to a “ram’s horn.” The fiftieth year would, therefore, be called the “jubilee” because of the associated sounding of the “ram’s horn” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 172, and the literature cited there).

[25:10]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “you [plural] shall return, a man.”