Leviticus 19:16

You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. ¹  You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. ²  I am the Lord.

Ex 20:16; Ex 23:1; Ex 23:1,7; 1Ki 21:10-13; Ps 15:3; Pr 11:13; Pr 20:19; Jer 6:28; Jer 9:4; Eze 22:9; Mt 26:60,61; Mt 27:4; Ac 6:11-13; Ac 24:4-9; 1Ti 3:11; 2Ti 3:3; Tit 2:3; 1Pe 2:1

¹ 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.”

² 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).