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Leviticus 18-20
Young's Literal Translation
Leviticus 18-20
Young's Literal Translation
18 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, I [am] Jehovah your God;
3 according to the work of the land of Egypt in which ye have dwelt ye do not, and according to the work of the land of Canaan whither I am bringing you in, ye do not, and in their statutes ye walk not.
4 `My judgments ye do, and My statutes ye keep, to walk in them; I [am] Jehovah your God;
5 and ye have kept My statutes and My judgments which man doth and liveth in them; I [am] Jehovah.
6 `None of you unto any relation of his flesh doth draw near to uncover nakedness; I [am] Jehovah.
7 `The nakedness of thy father and the nakedness of thy mother thou dost not uncover, she [is] thy mother; thou dost not uncover her nakedness.
8 `The nakedness of the wife of thy father thou dost not uncover; it [is] the nakedness of thy father.
9 `The nakedness of thy sister, daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, born at home or born without; thou dost not uncover their nakedness.
10 `The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter: thou dost not uncover their nakedness; for theirs [is] thy nakedness.
11 `The nakedness of a daughter of thy father's wife, begotten of thy father, she [is] thy sister; thou dost not uncover her nakedness.
12 `The nakedness of a sister of thy father thou dost not uncover; she [is] a relation of thy father.
13 `The nakedness of thy mother's sister thou dost not uncover; for she [is] thy mother's relation.
14 `The nakedness of thy father's brother thou dost not uncover; unto his wife thou dost not draw near; she [is] thine aunt.
15 `The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law thou dost not uncover; she [is] thy son's wife; thou dost not uncover her nakedness.
16 `The nakedness of thy brother's wife thou dost not uncover; it [is] thy brother's nakedness.
17 `The nakedness of a woman and her daughter thou dost not uncover; her son's daughter, and her daughter's daughter thou dost not take to uncover her nakedness; they [are] her relations; it [is] wickedness.
18 `And a woman unto another thou dost not take, to be an adversary, to uncover her nakedness beside her, in her life.
19 `And unto a woman in the separation of her uncleanness thou dost not draw near to uncover her nakedness.
20 `And unto the wife of thy fellow thou dost not give thy seed of copulation, for uncleanness with her.
21 `And of thy seed thou dost not give to pass over to the Molech; nor dost thou pollute the name of thy God; I [am] Jehovah.
22 `And with a male thou dost not lie as one lieth with a woman; abomination it [is].
23 `And with any beast thou dost not give thy copulation, for uncleanness with it; and a woman doth not stand before a beast to lie down with it; confusion it [is].
24 `Ye are not defiled with all these, for with all these have the nations been defiled which I am sending away from before you;
25 and the land is defiled, and I charge its iniquity upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants:
26 and ye -- ye have kept My statutes and My judgments, and do not [any] of all these abominations, the native and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst,
27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done who [are] before you, and the land is defiled),
28 and the land doth not vomit you out in your defiling it, as it hath vomited out the nation which [is] before you;
29 for any one who doth [any] of all these abominations -- even the persons who are doing [so], have been cut off from the midst of their people;
30 and ye have kept My charge, so as not to do [any] of the abominable statutes which have been done before you, and ye do not defile yourselves with them; I [am] Jehovah your God.'
19 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Speak unto all the company of the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Ye are holy, for holy [am] I, Jehovah, your God.
3 `Each his mother and his father ye do fear, and My sabbaths ye do keep; I [am] Jehovah your God.
4 `Ye do not turn unto the idols, and a molten god ye do not make to yourselves; I [am] Jehovah your God.
5 `And when ye sacrifice a sacrifice of peace-offerings to Jehovah, at your pleasure ye do sacrifice it;
6 in the day of your sacrificing it is eaten, and on the morrow, and that which is left unto the third day with fire is burnt,
7 and if it be really eaten on the third day, it [is] an abomination, it is not pleasing,
8 and he who is eating it his iniquity doth bear, for the holy thing of Jehovah he hath polluted, and that person hath been cut off from his people.
9 `And in your reaping the harvest of your land ye do not completely reap the corner of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather,
10 and thy vineyard thou dost not glean, even the omitted part of thy vineyard thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I [am] Jehovah your God.
11 `Ye do not steal, nor feign, nor lie one against his fellow.
12 `And ye do not swear by My name to falsehood, or thou hast polluted the name of thy God; I [am] Jehovah.
13 `Thou dost not oppress thy neighbour, nor take plunder; the wages of the hireling doth not remain with thee till morning.
14 `Thou dost not revile the deaf; and before the blind thou dost not put a stumbling block; and thou hast been afraid of thy God; I [am] Jehovah.
15 `Ye do not do perversity in judgment; thou dost not lift up the face of the poor, nor honour the face of the great; in righteousness thou dost judge thy fellow.
16 `Thou dost not go slandering among thy people; thou dost not stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I [am] Jehovah.
17 `Thou dost not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou dost certainly reprove thy fellow, and not suffer sin on him.
18 `Thou dost not take vengeance, nor watch the sons of thy people; and thou hast had love to thy neighbour as thyself; I [am] Jehovah.
19 `My statutes ye do keep: thy cattle thou dost not cause to gender [with] diverse kinds; thy field thou dost not sow with diverse kinds, and a garment of diverse kinds, shaatnez, doth not go up upon thee.
20 `And when a man lieth with a woman with seed of copulation, and she a maid-servant, betrothed to a man, and not really ransomed, or freedom hath not been given to her, an investigation there is; they are not put to death, for she [is] not free.
21 `And he hath brought in his guilt-offering to Jehovah, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, a ram [for] a guilt-offering,
22 and the priest hath made atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering before Jehovah, for his sin which he hath sinned, and it hath been forgiven him because of his sin which he hath sinned.
23 `And when ye come in unto the land, and have planted all [kinds] of trees [for] food, then ye have reckoned as uncircumcised its fruit, three years it is to you uncircumcised, it is not eaten,
24 and in the fourth year all its fruit is holy -- praises for Jehovah.
25 And in the fifth year ye do eat its fruit -- to add to you its increase; I [am] Jehovah your God.
26 `Ye do not eat with the blood; ye do not enchant, nor observe clouds.
27 `Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard.
28 `And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I [am] Jehovah.
29 `Thou dost not pollute thy daughter to cause her to go a-whoring, that the land go not a-whoring, and the land hath been full of wickedness.
30 `My sabbaths ye do keep, and My sanctuary ye do reverence; I [am] Jehovah.
31 `Ye do not turn unto those having familiar spirits; and unto wizards ye do not seek, for uncleanness by them; I [am] Jehovah your God.
32 `At the presence of grey hairs thou dost rise up, and thou hast honoured the presence of an old man, and hast been afraid of thy God; I [am] Jehovah.
33 `And when a sojourner sojourneth with thee in your land, thou dost not oppress him;
34 as a native among you is the sojourner to you who is sojourning with you, and thou hast had love to him as to thyself, for sojourners ye have been in the land of Egypt; I [am] Jehovah your God.
35 `Ye do not do perversity in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight, or in liquid measure;
36 righteous balances, righteous weights, a righteous ephah, and a righteous hin ye have; I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;
37 and ye have observed all my statutes, and all my judgments, and have done them; I [am] Jehovah.'
20 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `And unto the sons of Israel thou dost say, Any man of the sons of Israel, and of the sojourners who is sojourning in Israel, who giveth of his seed to the Molech, is certainly put to death; the people of the land do stone him with stones;
3 and I -- I set My face against that man, and have cut him off from the midst of his people, for of his seed he hath given to the Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary, and to pollute My holy name.
4 `And if the people of the land really hide their eyes from that man, in his giving of his seed to the Molech, so as not to put him to death,
5 then I have set My face against that man, and against his family, and have cut him off, and all who are going a-whoring after him, even going a-whoring after the Molech, from the midst of their people.
6 `And the person who turneth unto those having familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I have even set My face against that person, and cut him off from the midst of his people.
7 `And ye have sanctified yourselves, and ye have been holy, for I [am] Jehovah your God;
8 and ye have kept My statutes and have done them; I [am] Jehovah, sanctifying you.
9 `For any man who revileth his father and his mother is certainly put to death; his father and his mother he hath reviled: his blood [is] on him.
10 `And a man who committeth adultery with a man's wife -- who committeth adultery with the wife of his neighbour -- the adulterer and the adulteress are surely put to death.
11 `And a man who lieth with his father's wife -- the nakedness of his father he hath uncovered -- both of them are certainly put to death; their blood [is] on them.
12 `And a man who lieth with his daughter-in-law -- both of them are certainly put to death; confusion they have made; their blood [is] on them.
13 `And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to death; their blood [is] on them.
14 `And a man who taketh the woman and her mother -- it [is] wickedness; with fire they burn him and them, and there is no wickedness in your midst.
15 `And a man who giveth his lying with a beast is certainly put to death, and the beast ye do slay.
16 `And a woman who draweth near unto any beast to lie with it -- thou hast even slain the woman and the beast; they are certainly put to death; their blood [is] on them.
17 `And a man who taketh his sister, a daughter of his father or daughter of his mother, and he hath seen her nakedness, and she seeth his nakedness: it is a shame; and they have been cut off before the eyes of the sons of their people; the nakedness of his sister he hath uncovered; his iniquity he beareth.
18 `And a man who lieth with a sick woman, and hath uncovered her nakedness, her fountain he hath made bare, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood, -- even both of them have been cut off from the midst of their people.
19 `And the nakedness of thy mother's sister, and of thy father's sister, thou dost not uncover; because his relation he hath made bare; their iniquity they bear.
20 `And a man who lieth with his aunt, the nakedness of his uncle he hath uncovered; their sin they bear; childless they die.
21 `And a man who taketh his brother's wife -- it [is] impurity; the nakedness of his brother he hath uncovered; childless they are.
22 `And ye have kept all My statutes, and all My judgments, and have done them, and the land vomiteth you not out whither I am bringing you in to dwell in it;
23 and ye walk not in the statutes of the nation which I am sending away from before you, for all these they have done, and I am wearied with them;
24 and I say to you, Ye -- ye do possess their ground, and I -- I give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey; I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath separated you from the peoples.
25 `And ye have made separation between the pure beasts and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the pure, and ye do not make yourselves abominable by beast or by fowl, or by anything which creepeth [on] the ground which I have separated to you for unclean;
26 and ye have been holy to Me; for holy [am] I, Jehovah; and I separate you from the peoples to become Mine.
27 `And a man or woman -- when there is in them a familiar spirit, or who [are] wizards -- are certainly put to death; with stones they stone them; their blood [is] on them.'
Leviticus 18-20
New International Version
Leviticus 18-20
New International Version
Unlawful Sexual Relations
18 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.(A) 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.(B) 4 You must obey my laws(C) and be careful to follow my decrees.(D) I am the Lord your God.(E) 5 Keep my decrees and laws,(F) for the person who obeys them will live by them.(G) I am the Lord.
6 “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
7 “‘Do not dishonor your father(H) by having sexual relations with your mother.(I) She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;(J) that would dishonor your father.(K)
9 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister,(L) either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.(M)
10 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
11 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister;(N) she is your father’s close relative.
13 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister,(O) because she is your mother’s close relative.
14 “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.(P)
15 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.(Q) She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.(R)
16 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife;(S) that would dishonor your brother.
17 “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.(T) Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister(U) as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19 “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness(V) of her monthly period.(W)
20 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife(X) and defile yourself with her.
21 “‘Do not give any of your children(Y) to be sacrificed to Molek,(Z) for you must not profane the name of your God.(AA) I am the Lord.(AB)
22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;(AC) that is detestable.(AD)
23 “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.(AE)
24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you(AF) became defiled.(AG) 25 Even the land was defiled;(AH) so I punished it for its sin,(AI) and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(AJ) 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.(AK) The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,(AL) it will vomit you out(AM) as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
29 “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements(AN) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(AO)’”
Various Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(AP) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(AQ) am holy.(AR)
3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(AS) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(AT) I am the Lord your God.(AU)
4 “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(AV) I am the Lord your God.(AW)
5 “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.(AX) 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(AY) 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible(AZ) because they have desecrated what is holy(BA) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.(BB)
9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges(BC) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(BD) 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time(BE) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.(BF) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.(BG) I am the Lord your God.
11 “‘Do not steal.(BH)
“‘Do not lie.(BI)
“‘Do not deceive one another.(BJ)
12 “‘Do not swear falsely(BK) by my name(BL) and so profane(BM) the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘Do not defraud or rob(BN) your neighbor.(BO)
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker(BP) overnight.(BQ)
14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(BR) but fear your God.(BS) I am the Lord.
15 “‘Do not pervert justice;(BT) do not show partiality(BU) to the poor or favoritism to the great,(BV) but judge your neighbor fairly.(BW)
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander(BX) among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.(BY) I am the Lord.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.(BZ) Rebuke your neighbor frankly(CA) so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge(CB) or bear a grudge(CC) against anyone among your people,(CD) but love your neighbor(CE) as yourself.(CF) I am the Lord.
19 “‘Keep my decrees.(CG)
“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.
“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.(CH)
“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(CI)
20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man(CJ) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.(CK) 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.(CL)
23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,(CM) an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(CN)
“‘Do not practice divination(CO) or seek omens.(CP)
27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(CQ)
28 “‘Do not cut(CR) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,(CS) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.(CT)
30 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(CU) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.(CV)
31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(CW) or seek out spiritists,(CX) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect(CY) for the elderly(CZ) and revere your God.(DA) I am the Lord.(DB)
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.(DC) Love them as yourself,(DD) for you were foreigners(DE) in Egypt.(DF) I am the Lord your God.
35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.(DG) 36 Use honest scales(DH) and honest weights, an honest ephah[d](DI) and an honest hin.[e](DJ) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.(DK)
37 “‘Keep all my decrees(DL) and all my laws(DM) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”
Punishments for Sin
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.(DN) The members of the community are to stone him.(DO) 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(DP) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(DQ) my sanctuary(DR) and profaned my holy name.(DS) 4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,(DT) 5 I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.
6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.(DU)
7 “‘Consecrate yourselves(DV) and be holy,(DW) because I am the Lord your God.(DX) 8 Keep my decrees(DY) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(DZ)
9 “‘Anyone who curses their father(EA) or mother(EB) is to be put to death.(EC) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.(ED)
10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife(EE)—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.(EF)
11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.(EG) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(EH)
12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,(EI) both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.(EJ) They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
14 “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother,(EK) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,(EL) so that no wickedness will be among you.(EM)
15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,(EN) he is to be put to death,(EO) and you must kill the animal.
16 “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
17 “‘If a man marries his sister(EP), the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed(EQ) from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.(ER)
18 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,(ES) he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.(ET)
19 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,(EU) for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,(EV) he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.(EW)
21 “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,(EX) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.(EY)
22 “‘Keep all my decrees and laws(EZ) and follow them, so that the land(FA) where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations(FB) I am going to drive out before you.(FC) Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(FD) 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.”(FE) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.(FF)
25 “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.(FG) Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to me(FH) because I, the Lord, am holy,(FI) and I have set you apart from the nations(FJ) to be my own.
27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium(FK) or spiritist among you must be put to death.(FL) You are to stone them;(FM) their blood will be on their own heads.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 of a bushel or about 22 liters.
- Leviticus 19:36 A hin was a liquid measure having the capacity of about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters.
New International Version (NIV) 
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