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Leviticus 19:16

in Leviticus 19

You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.

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This verse in Leviticus 19

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer - רכיל rachil signifies a trader, a peddler, and is here applied to the person who travels about dealing in scandal and calumny, getting the secrets of every person and family, and retailing them wherever he goes. A more despicable character exists not: such a person is a pest to society, and should be exiled from the habitations of men.

This site's exposition

You must not pervert justice

on Leviticus 19:15-16

Partiality is forbidden in both directions, "to the poor or favoritism to the rich". Pity is named alongside fear as a way of judging wrongly.

This site's exposition

spreading slander among your people

Adam Clarke traces the word for slanderer to rachil, a trader or peddler, one who travels dealing in other people's secrets. Albert Barnes reads the second command as standing up as an accuser against a neighbor's life, or standing idle while it is in danger.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Or, 2, In witness-bearing: Neither shalt thou stand as a witness against the blood of thy neighbour, if his blood be innocent, nor join in confederacy with such bloody men as those described," Prov. i.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Thou shall not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Ye shall not steal--A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, chiefly in reference to common and little-thought-of vices to which mankind are exceedingly prone; such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling to violate truth in transactions of business, ridiculing bodily infirmities, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others.
Stand against the blood of thy neighbor - Either, to put his life in danger by standing up as his accuser (compare Mat 26:60); or, to stand by idly when thy neighbor’s life is in danger. Whichever interpretation we adopt, the clause prohibits that which might interfere with the course of justice.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • תֵלֵ֤ךְyou will go about

    telekhH1980 →1546 times

  • רָכִיל֙a slanderer

    rakhilH7400 →

  • בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָamong kinspeople<s> your

    beameikhaH5971 →1873 times

  • לֹ֥אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תַעֲמֹ֖דyou will stand

    taamodH5975 →521 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • דַּ֣ם[the] blood of

    damH1818 →360 times

  • רֵעֶ֑ךָneighbor your

    reekhaH7453 →188 times

  • אֲנִ֖יI

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃[am] Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Exodus 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.13 worksExodus 23:7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.10 worksProverbs 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.9 worksProverbs 11:13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.9 worksPsalms 15:3who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,8 worksProverbs 18:8The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.7 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 22:9Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.6 worksJeremiah 6:28All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.5 worksJeremiah 9:4“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.5 works1 Timothy 5:13At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.5 worksActs 6:11–13Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”4 works1 Kings 21:10–13But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”4 works1 Peter 2:1Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.4 worksExodus 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.4 worksPsalms 50:20You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.4 worksTitus 2:3Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.3 worksMatthew 26:60–61But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward3 works1 Timothy 3:11In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 23:1

    “You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 101:5

      Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

    • Proverbs 19:5

      A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

    • Deuteronomy 19:16–21

      If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

  • Through

    Proverbs 11:13

    A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 20:19

      He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.

    • Proverbs 25:9

      Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,

    • 1 Timothy 5:13

      At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.

  • Through

    Exodus 23:7

    Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 4:25

      Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

  • Through

    Proverbs 20:19

    He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 11:13

      A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

Where this verse is studied

About Leviticus

The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
Leviticus: the study guide →Read Leviticus 19 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Leviticus 19 →