Leviticus 20
New American Standard Bible
On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:
‘Anyone from the sons of Israel or from the strangers residing in Israel (A)who gives any of his [a]children to Molech, shall certainly be put to death; (B)the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his [b]children to Molech, (C)so as to defile My sanctuary and (D)to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land, however, [c]should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his [d]children to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the prostitute with him, by playing the prostitute with Molech.
6 ‘As for the person who turns to [e](E)mediums and to spiritists, to play the prostitute with them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and (F)be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 So (G)you shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
9 ‘(H)If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall certainly be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and has brought his [f]own death upon himself.
10 ‘(I)If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 11 (J)If there is a man who sleeps with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death, they have brought their [g]own deaths upon themselves. 12 (K)If there is a man who sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed [h]incest, and have brought their [i]own deaths upon themselves. 13 (L)If there is a man who sleeps with a male as those who sleep with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they must be put to death. They have brought their [j]own deaths upon themselves. 14 (M)If there is a man who [k]marries a woman and her mother, it is an outrageous sin; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no such outrageous sin in your midst. 15 (N)If there is a man who has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. 16 If there is a woman who approaches any animal to [l]mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they must be put to death. They have brought their [m]own deaths upon themselves.
17 ‘(O)If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. 18 (P)If there is a man who sleeps with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; so both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 (Q)You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has uncovered his [n]blood relative; they will bear their guilt. 20 (R)If there is a man who sleeps with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. 21 (S)If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is [o]detestable; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.
22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to [p]live will not (T)vomit you out. 23 Furthermore, you shall not [q]follow (U)the customs of the nation which I am going to drive out before you, because they did all these things; (V)therefore I have felt disgust for them. 24 So I have said to you, “(W)You are to take possession of their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has (X)singled you out from the peoples. 25 (Y)You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make [r]yourselves detestable by animal or by bird, or by anything [s]that crawls on the ground, which I have distinguished for you as unclean. 26 So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I (Z)have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine.
27 ‘Now a man or a woman (AA)who is a medium or a spiritist [t]must be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; they have brought their [u]own deaths upon themselves.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 20:2 Lit seed
- Leviticus 20:3 Lit seed
- Leviticus 20:4 Lit hiding they hide their eyes from
- Leviticus 20:4 Lit seed
- Leviticus 20:6 Or ghosts and spirits
- Leviticus 20:9 Lit bloodguilt upon
- Leviticus 20:11 Lit bloodguilt upon
- Leviticus 20:12 Lit disgracefulness
- Leviticus 20:12 Lit bloodguilt upon
- Leviticus 20:13 Lit bloodguilt upon
- Leviticus 20:14 Lit takes
- Leviticus 20:16 Lit lie
- Leviticus 20:16 Lit bloodguilt upon
- Leviticus 20:19 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 20:21 Or an abomination
- Leviticus 20:22 Lit dwell in it
- Leviticus 20:23 Lit walk in
- Leviticus 20:25 Lit your souls
- Leviticus 20:25 Lit with which the ground crawls
- Leviticus 20:27 Lit among them must
- Leviticus 20:27 Lit bloodguilt upon
Leviticus 20
International Standard Version
Prohibiting Child Sacrifice
20 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis that when an Israeli or a resident alien[a] who lives in Israel offers[b] his child to Molech, he is certainly to be put to death.[c] The people who live in the land are to stone him with stones. 3 As for me, I’ll oppose that man. I’ll eliminate him from contact with his people[d] for sacrificing his children to Molech, thereby defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. 4 If the people avoid dealing[e] with that man when he offers his child to Molech—that is, if they fail to execute him— 5 then I’ll oppose that man and his family and eliminate him from contact with his people,[f] along with all the prostitutes who accompany him and who have committed prostitution with Molech.”
Consulting the Dead Prohibited
6 “I’ll oppose and eliminate from contact with his people[g] whoever consults mediums or familiar spirits, thereby committing spiritual prostitution with them. 7 Therefore, separate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and observe them. I am the Lord, who has set you apart.”
Honoring Parents
9 “Anyone who curses his father or mother is certainly to be put to death.[h] He has cursed his father or mother, so his guilt will remain his responsibility.”
Honoring the Seventh Commandment
10 “If anyone commits adultery with another man’s wife, including when someone commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress are to die.
11 “If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness, so both of them are to be put to death. Their guilt will remain their responsibility.
12 “If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, the two are to be put to death. They’ve committed a repulsive act. Their guilt[i] will remain their responsibility.
13 “If a man has sexual relations with another male as he would with a woman, both have committed a repulsive act. They are certainly to be put to death.
14 “If a man takes a wife along with her mother, that’s wickedness. They are to be burned with fire—that is, both him and them, so that there will be no wickedness in your midst.
15 “If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he is to be put to death, and you are also to kill the animal.
16 “If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual relations with it, both the woman and the animal are to be put to death. Their guilt[j] will remain their responsibility.
17 “If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, so that he exposes her nakedness and she exposes his nakedness, it’s a shameful thing. They are to be eliminated from contact with their people[k] in front of their people’s children. He has exposed his sister’s nakedness. He’ll continue to bear responsibility for[l] his iniquity.
18 “If a man has sexual relations with a menstruating woman, he has exposed her nakedness, laying bare her fountain. He has exposed the source of her blood. Both are to be eliminated from contact with their people.[m]
19 “You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, because that is laying bare the nakedness of his close relative. They’ll continue to bear responsibility for[n] their iniquity.
20 “If a man has sexual relations with his uncle’s wife, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness. They are to bear responsibility for[o] punishment of their sin. They’ll die childless.
21 “If a man takes his brother’s wife, it’s immoral.[p] He has exposed his brother’s nakedness. They’ll be childless.”
Living Distinctively in Holiness
22 “Be sure to keep all my statutes and observe all my ordinances, so that the land where I’m about to bring you to live won’t vomit you out. 23 You are not to live[q] by the customs of the nations, whom I’ve cast away right in front of you. Because they did all of these things, I detested them. 24 But I’ve promised[r] you that you’ll inherit the land that I’m about to give you as your permanent possession[s]—a land flowing with milk and honey.
“I am your God. I’ve separated you from the people. 25 You are to differentiate between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean. You are not to make yourselves detestable on account of any animal, bird, or any creeping creature of the ground that I’ve separated for you as unclean.
26 “You are to be holy toward me, because I, the Lord, am holy. I’ve separated you from among the people to be mine.
27 “Moreover, a man or a woman who has a ritual spirit or a familiar spirit is certainly to die. They are to be stoned to death with boulders. They will continue to bear responsibility for their guilt.”[t]
Footnotes
- Leviticus 20:2 Or foreigner who lives with you
- Leviticus 20:2 Or gives
- Leviticus 20:2 Lit. to die, he’ll die
- Leviticus 20:3 The Heb. lacks from contact with his people
- Leviticus 20:4 Lit. people conceal their face from
- Leviticus 20:5 The Heb. lacks from contact with his people
- Leviticus 20:6 The Heb. lacks contact with his people
- Leviticus 20:9 Lit. to die, he’ll die
- Leviticus 20:12 Lit. blood
- Leviticus 20:16 Lit. blood
- Leviticus 20:17 The Heb. lacks from contact with their people
- Leviticus 20:17 The Heb. lacks responsibility for
- Leviticus 20:18 The Heb. lacks from contact with their people
- Leviticus 20:19 The Heb. lacks responsibility for
- Leviticus 20:20 The Heb. lacks responsibility for
- Leviticus 20:21 Lit. an impurity
- Leviticus 20:23 Lit. walk
- Leviticus 20:24 Lit. said
- Leviticus 20:24 Lit. you to inherit
- Leviticus 20:27 Lit. blood
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