Leviticus 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Molech Worship and Spiritism
20 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or foreigner living 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[c] against that man and his family, and cut off from their people both him and all who follow[d] him in prostituting(E) themselves with Molech.
6 “Whoever turns to mediums[e](F) or spiritists[f] and prostitutes himself with them, I will turn[g] against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am Yahweh your God. 8 Keep My statutes and do them; I am Yahweh 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 blood is on his own hands.[h]
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 shamed his father.(I) Both of them must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.[i] 12 If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law,(J) both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is on their own hands.[j] 13 If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman,(K) they have both committed a detestable thing.(L) They must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.[k] 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother,(M) it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned with fire,(N) so that there will be no depravity among you. 15 If a man has sexual intercourse with[l] an animal, he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal. 16 If a woman comes near any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal.(O) They must be put to death; their own blood is on them. 17 If a man marries his sister,(P) whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have sexual relations,[m](Q) it is a disgrace.(R) They must be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his punishment. 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 must 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 punishment. 20 If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has shamed his uncle;(U) they will bear their guilt and die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is impurity.(V) He has shamed his brother;(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 Yahweh your God who set you apart from the peoples. 25 Therefore you must 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, Yahweh, 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 blood is on their own hands.”[o]
Footnotes
- Leviticus 20:3 Lit will set My face
- Leviticus 20:4 Lit country ever close their eyes from that man when he
- Leviticus 20:5 Lit will set My face
- Leviticus 20:5 Lit prostitute themselves with
- Leviticus 20:6 Or spirits of the dead
- Leviticus 20:6 Or familiar spirits
- Leviticus 20:6 Lit will set My face
- Leviticus 20:9 Lit on him
- Leviticus 20:11 Lit on them
- Leviticus 20:12 Lit on them
- Leviticus 20:13 Lit on them
- Leviticus 20:15 Lit man gives his emission to
- Leviticus 20:17 Lit and he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness
- Leviticus 20:27 Lit is in them
- Leviticus 20:27 Lit on them
Leviticus 20
Lexham English Bible
Molech Worship and Spiritism
20 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “And to the Israelites[b] you shall say, ‘If there is anyone[c] from the Israelites[d] or[e] from the alien who is dwelling in Israel, who gives any of[f] his offspring to Molech, he must surely be put to death; the people of the land must stone him with stones.[g] 3 And I myself will set my face against that man, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he has given some of[h] his offspring to Molech, so that he makes my sanctuary unclean[i] and profanes[j] my holy name.[k] 4 And if the people of the land ever shut their eyes from[l] that man at his giving some of[m] his offspring to Molech, not putting him to death, 5 then[n] I myself will set my face against that man and against his clan, and I will cut him off and all those from the midst of their people who prostitute after Molech. 6 As for[o] the person who turns to the mediums and the soothsayers to prostitute after them, I will set[p] my face against that person, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people.
7 “‘And you shall consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, because I am Yahweh your God. 8 And you shall keep my statutes, and you shall do them; I am Yahweh who consecrates you.
Family and Sexual Offenses
9 “‘If there is anyone[q] who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father and his mother—his blood is upon him.
10 “‘As for[r] a man who commits adultery with a man’s wife, who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man who commits adultery and the woman who commits adultery shall surely be put to death. 11 As for[s] a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death—their blood is on them. 12 As for[t] a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed a perversion—their blood is on them.
13 “‘As for[u] the man who lies with a male as lying with a woman, they have committed a detestable thing; they shall surely be put to death—their blood is on them.
14 “‘As for[v] a man who marries a woman and her mother, that is depravity; they shall burn him and them, so that it shall not become depravity in the midst of you all.
15 “‘As for[w] a man who has sexual relations[x] with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 16 As for[y] a woman who approaches any animal to copulate with it, you shall kill[z] the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death—their blood is on them.
17 “‘As for[aa] a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and he sees her nakedness and she herself sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off before[ab] the eyes of their people;[ac] he has exposed his sister’s nakedness—he must bear his guilt. 18 As for[ad] a man who lies with a menstruating woman, he exposes[ae] her nakedness—her source he exposes and she herself reveals her blood’s source—both of them shall be cut off from the midst of their people. 19 And you shall not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister, and you shall not expose your father’s sister, because such a person[af] has dishonored his close relative—they must bear their guilt. 20 As for[ag] a man who lies with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness—they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 As for[ah] a man who marries his brother’s wife, it is an abomination; he has exposed his brother’s nakedness—they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 “‘And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations, and you shall do them, so that[ai] the land, to which I am bringing you to inhabit it, shall not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not follow the statutes of the nation that I am driving out from before you,[aj] because they did all these things, and I detested them. 24 So[ak] I said to you, “You yourselves shall take possession of their land, and I myself shall give it to you to possess it—a land flowing with milk and honey”; I am Yahweh your God, who has set you apart[al] from the nations. 25 And you shall distinguish between the clean and the unclean animal and between the unclean and the clean bird; and you shall not defile yourselves with the animal or[am] with the bird or[an] with anything that moves along the ground that I have set apart for you as unclean.[ao] 26 And you shall be holy for me, because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have singled you out from the nations to be mine.
27 “‘And a man or a woman, if a spirit of the dead or a spirit of divination is in them, they shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones[ap]—their blood is on them.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 20:1 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 20:2 Literally “a man a man”
- Leviticus 20:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Leviticus 20:2 Or “and”
- Leviticus 20:2 Literally “from”
- Leviticus 20:2 Hebrew “the stone”
- Leviticus 20:3 Literally “from”
- Leviticus 20:3 Literally “to make unclean my sanctuary”
- Leviticus 20:3 Hebrew “to profane”
- Leviticus 20:3 Literally “the name of my holiness”
- Leviticus 20:4 Or “disregard”
- Leviticus 20:4 Literally “from”
- Leviticus 20:5 Or “and”
- Leviticus 20:6 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:6 Hebrew “and I will set”
- Leviticus 20:9 Literally “a man a man”
- Leviticus 20:10 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:11 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:12 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:13 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:14 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:15 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:15 Literally “he gives his lying down”
- Leviticus 20:16 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:16 Or “and you shall kill”
- Leviticus 20:17 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:17 Literally “in”
- Leviticus 20:17 Literally “the sons/children of their people”
- Leviticus 20:18 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:18 Or “and he exposes”
- Leviticus 20:19 Hebrew “he”
- Leviticus 20:20 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:21 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:22 Or “and”
- Leviticus 20:23 Literally “from your faces”
- Leviticus 20:24 Or “And”
- Leviticus 20:24 Literally “I have set you apart”
- Leviticus 20:25 Or “and”
- Leviticus 20:25 Or “and”
- Leviticus 20:25 Literally “to make unclean”
- Leviticus 20:27 Hebrew “the stone”
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software