Matthew Henry Commentary Leviticus 19:1-37

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God. And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted: but every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from his people. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God. Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him: the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah. Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together. And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned shall be forgiven him. And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God. Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah. Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Jehovah. Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong. The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah." — Leviticus 19:1-37 (ASV)

There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the Ten Commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God (verse 2). This is to teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it!

Children are to be obedient to their parents (verse 3). The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem, outward respect and obedience, and care to please them and to make them comfortable. God only is to be worshipped (verse 4). Do not turn from the true God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you and make you forever miserable. Do not turn your eyes to them, much less your heart.

They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor (verse 9). Works of piety must always be attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of everything we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings (verse 11). Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not honestly acquired.

Reverence for the sacred name of God must be shown (verse 12). We must not withhold what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hired worker (verse 13). We must be protective of the reputation and safety of those who cannot help themselves (verse 14). Do not hurt anyone because they are unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to be careful not to do anything that may cause our weak brother to stumble. The fear of God should keep us from doing wrong things, even if they will not expose us to human anger.

Judges, and all in authority, are commanded to give judgment without partiality (verse 15). To be a tale-bearer, and to sow discord among neighbors, is as bad a role as a person can assume. We are to rebuke our neighbor in love (verse 17). Rather rebuke him than hate him for an injury done to yourself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother.

We should say, “I will do him the kindness of telling him of his faults.” We are to put off all malice and to put on brotherly love (verse 18). We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love for ourselves; in the same way, we should love our neighbor. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbor.

For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or similar things, is a sad affront to God (verse 31). They must be grossly ignorant who ask, “What harm is there in these things?” Here is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged (verse 32). Religion teaches good manners and obliges us to honor those to whom honor is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very considerate of strangers (verse 33). Strangers, and the widows and the fatherless, are God's particular care.

If we do them any wrong, it is at our peril. Strangers will be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to commend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures is commanded (verse 35). We must make it a matter of conscience to obey God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God.

And the nearer our lives and dispositions are to the precepts of God's law, the happier we will be, the happier we will make all around us, and the better we will adorn the gospel.