Leviticus 20
Christian Standard Bible
Molech Worship and Spiritism
20 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or alien residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech(A) must be put to death; the people of the country are to stone him.(B) 3 I will turn[a] against that man and cut him off from his people, because he gave his offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary(C) and profaning my holy name.(D) 4 But if the people of the country look the other way when that man[b] gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will turn against that man and his family, and cut off from their people both him and all who follow[c] him in prostituting(E) themselves with Molech.
6 “Whoever turns to mediums[d](F) or spiritists[e] and prostitutes himself with them, I will turn against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sets you apart.
Family and Sexual Offenses
9 “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.(G) He has cursed his father or mother; his death is his own fault.[f]
10 “If a man commits adultery(H) with a married woman—if he commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 11 If a man sleeps with his father’s wife, he has violated the intimacy that belongs to his father.[g](I) Both of them must be put to death; their death is their own fault.[h] 12 If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law,(J) both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely; their death is their own fault. 13 If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman,(K) they have both committed a detestable act.(L) They must be put to death; their death is their own fault. 14 If a man marries[i] a woman and her mother,(M) it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned,(N) so that there will be no depravity among you. 15 If a man has sexual intercourse with[j] an animal, he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal.(O) They must be put to death; their death is their own fault. 17 If a man marries his sister,(P) whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have sexual relations,[k](Q) it is a disgrace.(R) They are to be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his iniquity. 18 If a man sleeps with a menstruating woman and has sexual intercourse with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood.(S) Both of them are to be cut off from their people. 19 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister,(T) for it is exposing one’s own blood relative; both people will bear their iniquity. 20 If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has violated the intimacy that belongs to his uncle;[l](U) they will bear their guilt and die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is impurity.(V) He has violated the intimacy that belongs to his brother;[m](W) they will be childless.
Holiness in the Land
22 “You are to keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.(X) 23 You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.(Y) 24 And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.(Z) I am the Lord your God who set you apart from the peoples. 25 Therefore you are to distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated(AA) by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.(AB) 26 You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine.(AC)
27 “A man or a woman who is[n] a medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They are to be stoned; their death is their own fault.”
Footnotes
- 20:3 Lit will set my face, also in vv. 5,6
- 20:4 Lit country ever close their eyes from that man when he
- 20:5 Lit prostitute themselves with
- 20:6 Or spirits of the dead
- 20:6 Or familiar spirits
- 20:9 Lit his blood on him
- 20:11 Lit has uncovered his father’s nakedness
- 20:11 Lit their blood on them, also in vv. 12,13,16,27
- 20:14 Lit takes, also in vv. 17,21
- 20:15 Lit man gives his emission to
- 20:17 Lit and he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness
- 20:20 Lit has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness
- 20:21 Lit has uncovered his brother’s nakedness
- 20:27 Lit is in them
Leviticus 20
Common English Bible
Worship of Molech forbidden
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 You will also say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or any immigrant living in Israel who gives their children to Molech must be executed. The common people will stone such a person. 3 Moreover, I will set my own face against such a person, cutting them off from their people, because they gave their children to Molech, making my sanctuary unclean and degrading my holy name by doing so. 4 But if the common people choose to look the other way when someone gives their children to Molech and do not execute such a person, 5 I will set my own face against such a person and their extended family, cutting off from their people both the guilty party and anyone with them who faithlessly followed Molech. 6 I will also oppose anyone who resorts to dead spirits or spirits of divination and faithlessly follows those things. I will cut such an individual off from their people.
Sexual prohibitions
7 You must be holy and keep yourselves holy because I am the Lord your God. 8 You will keep my rules and do them; I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 9 If anyone curses their father or mother, they must be executed. They have cursed their own father and mother; that person’s blood is on their own heads. 10 If a man commits adultery with a married woman, committing adultery with a neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be executed. 11 If a man has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be executed; their blood is on their own heads. 12 If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be executed. They have acted perversely; their blood is on their own heads. 13 If a man has sexual intercourse with a man as he would with a woman, the two of them have done something detestable. They must be executed; their blood is on their own heads. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother as well, it is shameful. They will be burned with fire—the man and the two women—so that no such shameful thing will be found among you. 15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be executed and you must kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any kind of animal to mate with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be executed; their blood is on their own heads. 17 If a man marries his sister—his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter—and they have sexual contact with each other, it is a disgrace. They will be cut off in the sight of their people. Such a man has had sexual contact with his sister; he will be liable to punishment. 18 If a man sleeps with a woman during her menstrual period and has sexual contact with her, he has exposed the source of her blood flow and she has uncovered the same. Both of them will be cut off from their people. 19 You must not have sexual contact with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, because that exposes your own close relative; both of you will be liable to punishment. 20 If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. The man and the aunt will be liable to punishment; they will die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is indecent. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; the man and the woman will be childless.
Conclusion concerning conduct
22 You must keep all my rules and all my regulations, and do them so that the land I am bringing you to, where you will live, won’t vomit you out. 23 You must not follow the practices[a] of the nations that I am throwing out before you, because they did all these things and I was disgusted with them. 24 But I have told you, “You will certainly possess their fertile land; I am giving it to you to possess. It is a land full of milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from all other peoples. 25 So you must separate between clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. Do not become detestable through some animal, bird, or anything that moves on the fertile ground that I have separated from you as unclean. 26 You must be holy to me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from all other peoples to be my own. 27 If someone, whether male or female, is a medium with the dead or a diviner,[b] they must be executed. They will be stoned; their blood is on their own head.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 20:23 Or rules or customs
- Leviticus 20:27 Or has a spirit of the dead or a spirit of divination
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