Leviticus 19:16 (LSB)

Passage

You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:14 You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.

Leviticus 19:15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

Leviticus 19:16 You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.

Leviticus 19:17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, and so not bear sin because of him.

Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not keep your anger against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "slanderer", "people", "stand", "against", "life", and "neighbor". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "slanderer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "You shall do no injustice in judgment..." into verse 17's "You shall not hate your brother in...", so "shall" and "slanderer" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "slanderer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.