Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (A)I am the Lord your God. (B)You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and (C)you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. (D)You shall follow my rules[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. (E)I am the Lord your God. (F)You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; (G)if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. (H)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. (I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. (J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 (K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 (L)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 of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a (M)rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness (N)while her sister is still alive.

19 (O)“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 (P)And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to (Q)offer them[b] to (R)Molech, and so (S)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 (T)You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 (U)And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is (V)perversion.

24 (W)“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, (X)for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the (Y)land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land (Z)vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But (AA)you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the (AB)native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 (AC)So keep my charge never to practice (AD)any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: (AE)I am the Lord your God.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 18:4 Or my just decrees; also verse 5
  2. Leviticus 18:21 Hebrew to make them pass through [the fire]

18 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, I am Hashem Eloheichem.

After what is done in Eretz Mitzrayim, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after what is done in Eretz Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their chukkot.

Ye shall do My mishpatim, and be shomer over My chukkot, to walk therein: I am Hashem Eloheichem.

Ye shall therefore be shomer over My chukkot, and My mishpatim; which if an ish do, he shall live by them: I am Hashem.

None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to legallot ervah (to uncover nakedness, i.e., incestuously dishonor); I am Hashem.

The nakedness of thy av, or the nakedness of thy em, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy em; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

The nakedness of the wife of thy av shalt thou not uncover; it is the nakedness of thy av.

The nakedness of thy achot (sister), the bat of thy av, or bat of thy em, whether she be moledet bais (born at home), or moledet chutz (born outside), even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

10 The nakedness of the bat of thy ben, or the bat of thy bat, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover; for theirs is thine own nakedness.

11 The nakedness of the bat of the wife of thy av, begotten of thy av, she is thy achot (sister), thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achot of thy av; she is thy father’s near kinswoman [i.e., close relative].

13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achot (sister) of thy em: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.

14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the achi avicha (the brother of thy father), thou shalt not approach to his wife; she is thine dodah.

15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy kallah (daughter-in-law); she is the wife of thy ben; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

16 Thou shalt not uncover the ervah (nakedness) of thy brother’s wife; it is thy brother’s nakedness.

17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of an isha and her bat, neither shalt thou take the bat of her ben, or the bat of her bat, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is zimmah (wickedness).

18 Neither shalt thou take your wife’s achot (sister), to be a rival wife, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime.

19 Also thou shalt not approach unto an isha to uncover her nakedness, as long as she has her tumah from her period of niddah.

20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife. You shall not give your shikhvat zera to make tamei with her.

21 And thou shalt not let any of thy zera pass through [the eish, i.e., be sacrificed and burned or cremated] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the Shem Eloheicha; I am Hashem.

22 Thou shalt not lie with zachar, as with isha: it is to’evah (abomination, detestable)

23 Neither shalt thou lie with any behemah. You shall not give your shikhvat to make tamei with it; neither shall any isha present herself to a behemah to have relations with it: it is tevel (perversion).

24 Make not yourselves tamei in any of these things; for in all these the Goyim which I cast out before you became tamei;

25 And HaAretz became tamei; therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and HaAretz itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

26 Ye shall therefore be shomer over My chukkot and My mishpatim, and shall not commit any of these to’evot; no, neither any of your ezrach, nor any ger that sojourneth among you;

27 (For all these to’evot have the anshei HaAretz done, which were before you, and HaAretz is tamei;)

28 That HaAretz vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the Goyim that were before you.

29 For whosoever shall commit any of these to’evot, even the nefashot that commit them shall be cut off (i.e., suffer the death penalty [see Daniel 9:26 regarding Moshiach’s death penalty] from among their people.

30 Therefore shall ye be shomer over My charge, that ye commit not any one of these chukkot hato’evot, which were committed before you, and that ye make not yourselves tamei therein: I am Hashem Eloheichem.