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This article is part of a series of Bible passages, which together are mainly about how the Bible says the Jewish race developed and were given laws, how they settled in ancient Israel, and how it says God sometimes punished them for disobeying his commands, which led to them changing their ways.
This is Part 2 (of 2) in Section 4: "Some Of The Laws Of Moses".
Some parts of the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation are very unpleasant. If you become offended by anything, please read An Attempt to Explain Gruesome Bible Passages.
Deuteronomy chapter 5 (TEV)
1 Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them,
"People of Israel, listen to all the laws that I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure that you obey them.
Deuteronomy chapter 24 (TEV)
5 "When a man is newly married, he is not to be drafted into military service or any other public duty; he is to be excused from duty for one year, so that he can stay at home and make his wife happy.
6"When you lend someone something, you are not to take as security his millstones used for grinding his grain. This would take away the family's means of preparing food to stay alive.
7 "If any of you kidnap Israelites and make them your slaves or sell them into slavery, you are to be put to death. In this way your nation will get rid of this evil.
10 "When you lend someone something, do not go into his house to get the garment he is going to give you as security; 11 wait outside and let him bring it to you himself. 12 If he is poor, do not keep it overnight; 13 return it to him each evening, so that he can have it to sleep in. Then he will be grateful, and the Lord your God will be pleased with you.
14 "Do not cheat poor and needy hired servants, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your towns. 15 Each day before sunset pay them for that day's work; they need the money and have counted on getting it. If you do not pay them, they will cry out against you to the Lord, and you will be guilty of sin.
17 "Do not deprive foreigners and orphans of their rights; and do not take a widow's garment as security for a loan. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God set you free; that is why I have given you this command.
19 "When you gather your crops and fail to bring in some of the grain that you have cut, do not go back for it; it is to be left for the foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
20 "When you have picked your olives once, do not go back and get those that are left; they are for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
21 "When you have gathered your grapes once, do not go back over the vines a second time; the grapes that are left are for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
22 "Never forget that you were slaves in Egypt; that is why I have given you this command.
Deuteronomy chapter 23 (TEV)
24 "When you walk along a path in someone else's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but you must not carry any away in a container.
25 "When you walk along a path in someone else's grainfield, you may eat all the grain you can pull off with your hands, but you must not cut any grain with a sickle.
Deuteronomy chapter 15 (TEV)
1 "At the end of every seventh year you are to cancel the debts of those who owe you money. 2 This is how it is to be done. Each of you who has lent money to any Israelite is to cancel the debt; you must not try to collect the money; the Lord himself has declared the debt canceled. 3 You may collect what a foreigner owes you, but you must not collect what any of your own people owe you.
4 "The Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving you. Not one of your people will be poor 5 if you obey him and carefully observe everything that I command you today. 6 The Lord will bless you, as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations, but you will not have to borrow from any; you will have control over many nations, but no nation will have control over you.
7 "If in any of the towns in the land that the Lord your God is giving you there are Israelites in need, then do not be selfish and refuse to help them. 8 Instead, be generous and lend them as much as they need. 9 Do not refuse to lend them something, just because the year when debts are canceled is near. Do not let such an evil thought enter your mind. If you refuse to make the loan, they will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty. 10 Give to them freely and unselfishly, and the Lord will bless you in everything you do. 11 There will always be some Israelites who are poor and in need, and so I command you to be generous to them.
Deuteronomy chapter 22 (TEV)
1 "If you see an Israelite's cow or sheep running loose, do not ignore it; take it back. 2 But if its owner lives a long way off or if you don't know who owns it, then take it home with you. When its owner comes looking for it, give it to him. 3 Do the same thing if you find a donkey, a piece of clothing, or anything else that an Israelite may have lost.
4 "If an Israelite's donkey or cow has fallen down, don't ignore it; help him get the animal to its feet again.
Exodus chapter 23 (TEV)
4 "If you happen to see your enemy's cow or donkey running loose, take it back to him. 5 If his donkey has fallen under its load, help him get the donkey to its feet again; don't just walk off.
6 "Do not deny justice to a poor person when he appears in court.
7 "Do not make false accusations, and do not put an innocent person to death, for I will condemn anyone who does such an evil thing.
Deuteronomy chapter 25 (NLT)
13 "You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, 14 and you must use full and honest measures. 15 Yes, use honest weights and measures, so that you will enjoy a long life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 16 Those who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the LORD your God.
Exodus chapter 23 (NLT)
8 "Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe always hurts the cause of the person who is in the right.
9 "Do not oppress the foreigners living among you. You know what it is like to be a foreigner. Remember your own experience in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus chapter 13 (GWT)
1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron,
2 "If anyone has a sore, a rash, or an irritated area on his skin that turns into an infectious skin disease, he must be taken to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons who are also priests. 3 The priest will examine the disease. If the hair in the diseased area has turned white, and the diseased area looks deeper than the rest of his skin, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest has examined him, he must declare him unclean. 4 But if the irritated area is white and does not look deeper than the rest of the skin, and the hair has not turned white, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days.
5 On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the disease looks the same and has not spread, the priest must put him in isolation for another seven days.
6 On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the diseased area has faded and not spread, the priest must declare him clean. It is only a rash. The person must wash his clothes and will be clean.
7 But if the rash has spread after he has shown himself to the priest to be declared clean, he must show himself to the priest again. 8 The priest will examine him one more time, and if the rash has spread, the priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.
9 "If anyone has an infectious skin disease, he must be taken to the priest. 10 The priest will examine him. If there is a white sore that has turned the hair white, and if there is raw flesh in the sore, 11 he has a chronic skin disease. Without putting him in isolation, the priest must declare him unclean because he is unclean. 12 If skin disease develops and covers the whole person from head to foot (so far as the priest can see), 13 the priest will examine him. If the disease does cover his whole body, the priest must declare the diseased person clean. His body has turned white. The person is clean. 14 But if raw flesh appears, he will be unclean. 15 The priest will examine the raw flesh and declare him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.
16 But if the raw flesh turns white again, he must go to the priest. 17 The priest will examine him again, and if the diseased area has turned white, the priest must declare the diseased person clean. He is clean.
18 "If a boil on the skin has healed 19 and in its place there is a white sore or a pink area, it must be shown to the priest. 20 The priest will examine it. If it looks deeper than the rest of the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest must declare the person unclean. An infectious skin disease has developed in the boil.
21 But if the priest examines the affected area and the hair in it is not white or the affected area is not deeper than the rest of the skin but has faded, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days. 22 If the area has spread, the priest must declare him unclean. It is a skin disease. 23 But if the irritated area has not spread, it is a scar caused by the boil. The priest must declare him clean.
24 "If anyone has a burn on his skin and the raw flesh of the burn turns into a pink or bright white area, 25 the priest will examine it. If the hair on the affected area has turned white and the affected area looks deeper than the rest of the skin, an infectious skin disease has developed in the burn. The priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.
26 But if the priest examines it and the hair in it is not white and the affected area is not deeper than the rest of the skin but has faded, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days.
27 On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the area has spread, the priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease. 28 If the irritated area does not spread but has faded, it is only a sore caused by the burn. The priest must declare him clean, because it is a scar caused by the burn.
29 "If a man or a woman has some disease on the head or chin, 30 the priest will examine the disease. If it looks deeper than the rest of the skin and there is thin yellow hair on it, the priest must declare the person unclean. It is a scab, a disease on the head or the chin.
31 But if the priest examines the scabby disease and it does not look deeper than the rest of the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest must put the person with the scabby disease in isolation for seven days.
32 On the seventh day the priest will examine the disease. If the scab has not spread, there is no yellow hair on it, and the scab does not look deeper than the rest of the skin, 33 the person will shave everything except the scab. The priest will put the person with the scab in isolation for another seven days.
34 On the seventh day the priest will examine the scab again. If the scab has not spread on the skin and does not look deeper than the rest of the skin, the priest must declare him clean. When he has washed his clothes, he will be clean.
35 But if the scab spreads after the person has been declared clean, 36 the priest will make another examination. If the scab has spread on the skin, the priest does not have to look for yellow hair. The person is unclean.
37 But if he sees that the scab hasn't spread and black hair grows on it, the scab is healed. The person is clean, so the priest must declare him clean.
38 "If a man or a woman has white irritated areas of skin, 39 the priest will make an examination. If the irritated areas on the skin are pale white, a rash has developed on the skin. The person is clean.
Leviticus chapter 13 (NIV)
40 "When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. 41 If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
42 But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on his head or forehead. 43 The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease, 44 the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.
45 "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.
47 "If any clothing is contaminated with mildew-any woolen or linen clothing, 48 any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather- 49 and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest. 50 The priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days.
51 On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mildew has spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a destructive mildew; the article is unclean. 52 He must burn up the clothing, or the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has the contamination in it, because the mildew is destructive; the article must be burned up.
53 "But if, when the priest examines it, the mildew has not spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather article, 54 he shall order that the contaminated article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days. 55 After the affected article has been washed, the priest is to examine it, and if the mildew has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it with fire, whether the mildew has affected one side or the other.
56 If, when the priest examines it, the mildew has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the contaminated part out of the clothing, or the leather, or the woven or knitted material.
57 But if it reappears in the clothing, or in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is spreading, and whatever has the mildew must be burned with fire.
58 The clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mildew, must be washed again, and it will be clean."
59 These are the regulations concerning contamination by mildew in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean.
Leviticus chapter 14 (NLT)
33 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34 "When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as an inheritance, I may contaminate some of your houses with an infectious mildew. 35 The owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, 'It looks like my house has some kind of disease.' 36 Before the priest examines the house, he must have the house emptied so everything inside will not be pronounced unclean. Then the priest will go in and inspect the house. 37 If he finds bright green or reddish streaks on the walls of the house and the contamination appears to go deeper than the wall's surface, 38 he will leave the house and lock it up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If the mildew on the walls of the house has spread, 40 the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated material will then be thrown into an area outside the town designated as ceremonially unclean. 41 Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in the unclean place outside the town. 42 Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that were removed, and the walls will be replastered.
43 "But if the mildew reappears after all these things have been done, 44 the priest must return and inspect the house again. If he sees that the affected areas have spread, the walls are clearly contaminated with an infectious mildew, and the house is defiled. 45 It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean. 46 Anyone who enters the house while it is closed will be considered ceremonially unclean until evening. 47 All who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing.
48 "But if the priest returns for his inspection and finds that the affected areas have not reappeared after the fresh plastering, then he will pronounce the house clean because the infectious mildew is clearly gone.
49 "To purify the house the priest will need two birds, some cedarwood, a scarlet cloth, and a hyssop branch. 50 He will slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot that is filled with fresh springwater. 51 Then he will dip the cedarwood, the hyssop branch, the scarlet cloth, and the living bird into the blood of the slaughtered bird, and he will sprinkle the house seven times. 52 After he has purified the house in this way, 53 he will release the living bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the house, and it will be ceremonially clean.
Numbers chapter 5 (TEV)
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Command the people of Israel to expel from the camp everyone with a dreaded skin disease or a bodily discharge and everyone who is unclean by contact with a corpse. 3 Send all these ritually unclean people out, so that they will not defile the camp, where I live among my people." 4 The Israelites obeyed and expelled them all from the camp.
Leviticus chapter 18 (NLT)
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Say this to your people, the Israelites: I, the LORD, am your God.
19 "Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity.
Leviticus chapter 12 (NLT)
2 When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is defiled during her menstrual period. 3 On the eighth day, the boy must be circumcised. 4 Then the woman must wait for thirty-three days until the time of her purification from the blood of childbirth is completed. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is holy. And she must not go to the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. 5 If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially defiled for two weeks, just as she is defiled during her menstrual period. She must then wait another sixty-six days to be purified from the blood of childbirth.
6 "When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a year-old lamb for a whole burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must take her offerings to the priest .... 7 The priest will then present them to the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions to be followed after the birth of a son or a daughter. 8 "If a woman cannot afford to bring a sheep, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the whole burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them, thus making atonement for her, and she will be ceremonially clean."
Numbers chapter 35 (NLT)
9 And the LORD said to Moses, 10 "Say this to the people of Israel: 'When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 designate cities of refuge for people to flee to if they have killed someone accidentally. 12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person's relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be killed before being tried by the community. 13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, 14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. 15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, resident foreigners, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.
16 "'But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed. 17 Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a large stone, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. 18 The same is true if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden weapon. It must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed. 19 The victim's nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must execute the murderer. 20 So if in premeditated hostility someone pushes another person or throws a dangerous object and the person dies, it is murder. 21 Or if someone angrily hits another person with a fist and the person dies, it is murder. In such cases, the victim's nearest relative must execute the murderer when they meet.
22 "'But suppose someone pushes another person without premeditated hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, 23 or accidentally drops a stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. 24 If this should happen, the assembly must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim's nearest relative. 25 They must protect the slayer from the avenger, and they must send the slayer back to live in a city of refuge until the death of the high priest.
26 "'But if the slayer leaves the city of refuge, 27 and the victim's nearest relative finds him outside the city limits and kills him, it will not be considered murder. 28 The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.
29 "'These are permanent laws for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.
30 "'All murderers must be executed, but only if there is more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 31 Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. 32 And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing the slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. 33 This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer. 34 You must not defile the land where you are going to live, for I live there myself. I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.'"
Deuteronomy chapter 1 (NLT)
5 Moses addressed the people of Israel while they were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River.
Deuteronomy chapter 4 (TEV)
5 "I have taught you all the laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Obey them in the land that you are about to invade and occupy. 6 Obey them faithfully, and this will show the people of other nations how wise you are. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, "What wisdom and understanding this great nation has!'
7 "No other nation, no matter how great, has a god who is so near when they need him as the Lord our God is to us. He answers us whenever we call for help. 8 No other nation, no matter how great, has laws so just as those that I have taught you today. 9 Be on your guard! Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes. Tell your children and your grandchildren 10 about the day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, when he said to me, "Assemble the people. I want them to hear what I have to say, so that they will learn to obey me as long as they live and so that they will teach their children to do the same.' 11 "Tell your children how you went and stood at the foot of the mountain which was covered with thick clouds of dark smoke and fire blazing up to the sky. 12 Tell them how the Lord spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all.
Deuteronomy chapter 4 (TEV)
15 "When the Lord spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain 16 that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all-whether man or woman, 17 animal or bird, 18 reptile or fish. 19 Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky-the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Deuteronomy chapter 31 (TEV)
9 So Moses wrote down God's Law and gave it to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the Lord's Covenant Box, and to the leaders of Israel. 10 He commanded them, "At the end of every seven years, when the year that debts are canceled comes around, read this aloud at the Festival of Shelters. 11 Read it to the people of Israel when they come to worship the Lord your God at the one place of worship. 12 Call together all the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns, so that everyone may hear it and learn to honor the Lord your God and to obey his teachings faithfully. 13 In this way your descendants who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God will hear it. And so they will learn to obey him as long as they live in the land that you are about to occupy across the Jordan."
This is the last file in this section. The next section is entitled "Should We Obey The Entire Law Of Moses? - What The Old And New Testaments Say", and the first file in it is entitled "What The Bible Says About Obedience To The Harsh Morality Laws Of Moses".
The main Bible pages on this site:
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Bible Part 1: Bible Quotations, The Holy Spirit, People And Their Stories |
| Bible Part 2: The Lives and Suffering of the Ancient Israelites | |
| Bible Part 3: The Bible, Articles About Alleged Inaccuracies in it, And Stories of People who Became Christians. | |
| If you have found parts of the Old Testament or the Book of Revelation offensive, please read An Attempt to Explain Gruesome Bible Passages. | |
The selections of Bible quotations have been put together by Diana Holbourn.
Throughout this series, wherever the initials TEV appear, they stand for Today's English Version (The Good News Bible).
Other initials:Don't be afraid to question the truth of what a religious authority figure tells you, or even the Bible or other holy books themselves, or certain people's interpretation of them. Nothing to do with religion or the supernatural is so well established in fact it shouldn't be questioned. To find out why caution is a good idea, visit:
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There are a lot of pages on this website with quotations from the Old Testament on them. Many of these are unfortunately rather gruesome, since the main theme of the Old Testament is warnings and stories about how it says societies were punished for mass lawless and hurtful behaviour, even to the extent of having war brought on them by God, that seem to have been designed to scare societies where crime and violence were rampant into behaving more ethically. In case there is any misunderstanding, it should be understood that this website does not endorse war as anything other than a last resort. The position of the website owner can be gleaned from the articles:
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