Leviticus 18
Evangelical Heritage Version
Defilement of the Land by Sexual Immorality
18 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them this.”
Encouragement to Obedience
I am the Lord your God.
3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. Do not walk in[a] their religious practices. 4 Follow my ordinances and keep my regulations by walking in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my regulations and my ordinances. Anyone who does them will have life through them. I am the Lord.
Laws Against Incestuous Relationships
6 No one shall approach his own flesh and blood[b] to uncover their nakedness.[c] I am the Lord.
7 You shall not uncover the nakedness that is reserved for your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.
8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is nakedness that is reserved for your father.
9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your half-sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born in the household or outside it.
10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. That would be like uncovering your own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, the adopted child[d] of your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness.
12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She has the same flesh as your father.
13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, because she is the same flesh as your mother.
14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother by approaching 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. Her nakedness is reserved for your brother.
17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter. You shall not take[e] her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and so uncover nakedness that belongs to her. They are her flesh. It is a depraved act.
18 You shall not take a woman and then take her sister as a rival by uncovering her sister’s nakedness during that first wife’s lifetime.
Additional Sexual Laws
19 And you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during the period when she is unclean.
20 You shall not give the wife of your fellow citizen your deposit of semen for seed,[f] so that you become unclean with her.
21 You shall not dedicate any of your seed to Molek,[g] thereby defiling the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22 You shall not lie down with[h] a male as you do with a woman. It is an abomination.
23 And you shall not give your emission to any animal, so that you become unclean by it. No woman shall stand in front of an animal to let it mate with her. It is an unnatural perversion.
24 You must not make yourselves unclean in any of these ways, for in all these ways the nations that I am casting out before you have made themselves unclean. 25 In this way the land became unclean, so I have come to deal with its guilt, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.
26 But you yourselves must keep my regulations and ordinances. You must not practice any of these abominations. This applies both to the native and to the alien who resides among you. 27 Because the people of the land who were there before you practiced all these abominations, the land became unclean. 28 So do not let the land vomit you out for making it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was there before you. 29 If anyone does any of these abominations, the lives of those who practice them will be cut off from the midst of their people. 30 Keep my instructions. Do not perform any of the abominable[i] practices which were done before you arrived, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 18:3 The law codes use three different terms for obedience: walk in, do, and guard or keep the laws.
- Leviticus 18:6 Literally shall not draw near to any flesh (sheer) of his flesh (basar). The prohibition includes relationships of blood and marriage.
- Leviticus 18:6 This euphemism may include sexual misconduct that falls short of intercourse. See Noah and Ham in Genesis 9.
- Leviticus 18:11 An alternate interpretation is followed by many translations: The daughter of your father with another wife is your sister. You shall not uncover her nakedness. But it seems this offense was already covered in verse 9 and that the reference here is to a stepsister.
- Leviticus 18:17 This term can refer to marriage or to intercourse.
- Leviticus 18:20 Literally to the wife of your fellow citizen you shall not give your laying down or deposit for seed. The meaning of your laying down is uncertain. This particular wording may be intended to exclude surrogate arrangements, so the translation retains a literal rendering. The expression your laying down occurs in 18:23; 19:20; and 20:15 without the mention of seed.
- Leviticus 18:21 This sometimes refers to human sacrifice (chapter 20), but in the context of sexual sins it may include some other form of sexual immorality, such as semen dedication.
- Leviticus 18:22 The person who lies down with someone initiates sexual relations with another person, most often a man with a woman. Usually this term refers to unlawful relations.
- Leviticus 18:30 Or repulsive or disgusting
Leviticus 18
Lexham English Bible
Unlawful Sexual Relations
18 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites,[b] and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God. 3 You must not carry out[c] the practices of the land of Egypt, in which you lived, and you must not carry out[d] the practices of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you; and you must not follow their statutes. 4 You must carry out[e] my regulations, and you must observe[f] my statutes by following them; I am Yahweh your God. 5 And you shall observe[g] my statutes and my regulations by which the person doing them shall live;[h] I am Yahweh.
6 “‘None[i] of you shall approach anyone who is his close relative[j] to expose nakedness; I am Yahweh. 7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness or[k] your mother’s nakedness—she is your mother; you must not expose her nakedness. 8 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s wife—it is your father’s nakedness. 9 As for your sister’s nakedness, whether your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home[l] or born abroad,[m] you must not expose their nakedness. 10 As for the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, you must not expose their nakedness, because they are your nakedness. 11 As for the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, she is your sister, a relative of your father; you must not expose her nakedness. 12 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.[n] 13 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.[o] 14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not have sex with[p] his wife—she is your aunt. 15 You must not expose your daughter-in-law’s nakedness; she is your son’s wife; you must not expose her nakedness. 16 You must not expose the nakedness of your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You must not expose the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, or her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter; you must not take her as wife[q] to expose her nakedness; they are close relatives[r]—that is wickedness. 18 And you must not take as wife[s] a woman with her sister, to be a rival-wife, to expose her nakedness before her during[t] her life.
19 “‘And you must not have sex with[u] a woman to expose her nakedness during[v] her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you must not have sex[w] with your fellow citizen’s[x] wife, becoming unclean with her.
21 “‘And you shall not give any of[y] your offspring[z] in order to sacrifice them to Molech, nor[aa] shall you profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh. 22 And you shall not lie with a male as lying with[ab] a woman; that is a detestable thing. 23 And you shall not have sexual relations[ac] with any animal, becoming unclean with it; and a woman shall not stand before[ad] an animal to copulate with it—that is a perversion.
24 “‘You must not make yourself unclean in any of these things, because the nations whom I am driving out from your presence were made unclean by all of these. 25 So[ae] the land became unclean, and I have brought the punishment of[af] its guilt upon it, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But[ag] you (neither the native nor[ah] the alien who is dwelling in your midst) shall keep my statutes and my regulations, and you shall not practice[ai] any of these detestable things 27 (because the people of the land, who were before you,[aj] did all these detestable things, so the land became unclean), 28 so that the land will not vomit you out when you make it unclean just as it vomited out the nation that was before you.[ak] 29 Indeed, anyone who does any of these detestable things, even[al] those persons who do so shall be cut off from the midst of their people. 30 Thus[am] you shall keep my obligation to not do any of the statutes regarding[an] the detestable things that they did before you,[ao] so that you will not make yourselves unclean by them; I am Yahweh your God.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 18:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 18:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 18:3 Literally “do”
- Leviticus 18:3 Literally “do”
- Leviticus 18:4 Literally “do”
- Leviticus 18:4 Or “keep”
- Leviticus 18:5 Or “keep”
- Leviticus 18:5 Literally “which the man does them and he shall live in them”
- Leviticus 18:6 Literally “a man a man … not”
- Leviticus 18:6 Literally “the flesh of his body”
- Leviticus 18:7 Or “and”
- Leviticus 18:9 Literally “a relative of house”
- Leviticus 18:9 Literally “a relative of an outside place”
- Leviticus 18:12 Literally “the flesh of your father”
- Leviticus 18:13 Literally “the flesh of your mother”
- Leviticus 18:14 Literally “approach”
- Leviticus 18:17 The verb לקח is used to speak of marrying (“taking a wife”)
- Leviticus 18:17 Literally “flesh”; see vv. 6, 12, 13
- Leviticus 18:18 The verb לקח is used to speak of marrying (“taking a wife”)
- Leviticus 18:18 Literally “in”
- Leviticus 18:19 Literally “approach”
- Leviticus 18:19 Literally “in”
- Leviticus 18:20 Literally “you shall not give your lying down for semen”
- Leviticus 18:20 Or “neighbor’s”
- Leviticus 18:21 Literally “from”
- Leviticus 18:21 Or “descendants”
- Leviticus 18:21 Or “and not”
- Leviticus 18:22 Literally “of”
- Leviticus 18:23 Literally “give your lying down”
- Leviticus 18:23 Literally “to the faces of”
- Leviticus 18:25 Or “And”
- Leviticus 18:25 Literally “I have visited”
- Leviticus 18:26 Or “And”
- Leviticus 18:26 Or “and”
- Leviticus 18:26 Literally “do”
- Leviticus 18:27 Literally “to the faces of you”
- Leviticus 18:28 Literally “to the faces of you”
- Leviticus 18:29 Or “and”
- Leviticus 18:30 Or “And”
- Leviticus 18:30 Literally “of”
- Leviticus 18:30 Literally “to the faces of you”
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