1 The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 “Each of you is to respect his mother and father. You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.
4 Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
6 It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.
7 If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted.
8 Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.
Note · Lévitique 19.1–8
Le culte appartient à une conduite entière
Le respect des parents, le repos et le rejet des idoles précèdent les règles du repas sacrificiel. La proximité de ces thèmes empêche de séparer totalement pratique religieuse et vie familiale. L’observance d’un rite ne peut servir de compensation à une conduite qui méprise les personnes.
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10 Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the Lord your God.
11 “Do not steal. Do not act deceptively or lie to one another.
12 Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God; I am the Lord.
13 “Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages due a hired worker must not remain with you until morning.
14 Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you are to fear your God; I am the Lord.
15 “Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.
16 Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.
17 “Do not harbor hatred against your brother. Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him.
18 Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Note · Lévitique 19.9–18
Laisser une part et refuser l’abus de pouvoir
Le pauvre et l’étranger doivent pouvoir glaner ; le salarié ne doit pas attendre indéfiniment son dû. Le sourd et l’aveugle ne doivent pas être exposés à une cruauté dont l’auteur profiterait. La crainte de Dieu rejoint ainsi les situations où la victime aurait moins de moyens de répondre.
19 “You are to keep my statutes. Do not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be punishment. They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.
21 However, he must bring a ram as his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
22 The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten.
24 In the fourth year all its fruit is to be consecrated as a praise offering to the Lord.
25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am the Lord your God.
26 “You are not to eat anything with blood in it. You are not to practice divination or witchcraft.
27 You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.
28 You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.
29 “Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
Note · Lévitique 19.19–29
Ne pas simplifier toutes les prescriptions en un seul principe
Mélanges, condition d’une esclave, récoltes et pratiques corporelles reçoivent des règles distinctes. Certaines restent difficiles à expliquer entièrement. Le cas de la femme esclave conserve une inégalité de statut qu’il faut reconnaître ; le texte ne permet pas de supposer son consentement là où il ne le décrit pas.
30 Keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary; I am the Lord.
31 “Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.
32 “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God; I am the Lord.
33 “When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him.
34 You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
35 “Do not be unfair in measurements of length, weight, or volume.
36 You are to have honest balances, honest weights, an honest dry measure, and an honest liquid measure; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”
Note · Lévitique 19.30–37
L’étranger doit être aimé et le commerce être juste
L’étranger reçoit une demande d’amour liée à la mémoire d’Égypte. Les personnes âgées sont honorées et les mesures commerciales doivent être fiables. La sainteté ne protège donc pas un cercle religieux au prix de la fraude envers les autres : elle se vérifie dans l’accueil et dans les échanges.