Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(A)‘I am the Lord your God. ^3 (B)According to ^[a]the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and ^(C)according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ^[b]ordinances. ^4 (D)You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. ⁵ You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. ⁷ The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸ The nakedness of your ^(E)father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. ^9 (F)The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (G)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. ^14 (H)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her ^(I)daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. ¹⁸ Nor shall you take a woman ^(J)as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

¹⁹ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as ^(K)long as she is in her ^(L)customary impurity. ^20 (M)Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your ^(N)neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. ²¹ And you shall not let any of your descendants ^(O)pass through ^(P)the fire to ^(Q)Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ²² You shall not lie with ^(R)a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. ²³ Nor shall you mate with any ^(S)animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

^24 (T)‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ^(U)for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. ²⁵ For ^(V)the land is defiled; therefore I ^(W)visit^[c] the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land ^(X)vomits out its inhabitants. ^26 (Y)You shall therefore ^[d]keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ²⁷ (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), ²⁸ lest ^(Z)the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹ For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be ^[e]cut off from among their people.

³⁰ ‘Therefore you shall keep My ^[f]ordinance, so ^(AA)that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: ^(AB)I am the Lord your God.’ ”

^10 (A)‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. ¹¹ The man who lies with his ^(B)father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. ¹² If a man lies with his ^(C)daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. ^13 (D)If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her ^(E)mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. ¹⁵ If a man mates with an ^(F)animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. ¹⁶ If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

¹⁷ ‘If a man takes his ^(G)sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be ^[a]cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his ^[b]guilt. ^18 (H)If a man lies with a woman during her ^[c]sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has ^[d]exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be ^[e]cut off from their people.

¹⁹ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your ^(I)mother’s sister nor of your ^(J)father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. ²⁰ If a man lies with his ^(K)uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. ²¹ If a man takes his ^(L)brother’s wife, it is an ^[f]unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.