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.’”