Leviticus 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Penalties for Violations of Holiness
20 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say further to the Israelites:
“Any of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside in Israel who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death.(A) 3 I myself will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people, because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.(B) 4 And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes to them, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death,(C) 5 I myself will set my face against them and against their family and will cut them off from among their people, them and all who follow them in prostituting themselves to Molech.
6 “If any turn to mediums or spiritualists, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people.(D) 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.(E) 8 Keep my statutes and observe them: I am the Lord; I sanctify you.(F) 9 All who curse father or mother shall be put to death; having cursed father or mother, their bloodguilt is upon them.(G)
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of[a] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.(H) 11 The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.(I) 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion; their bloodguilt is upon them.(J) 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.(K) 14 If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you.(L) 15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.(M) 16 If a woman approaches any animal and has sexual relations with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.
17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall be subject to punishment.(N) 18 If a man lies with a woman during her period and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has laid bare her flow of blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people.(O) 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to lay bare one’s own flesh; they shall be subject to punishment.(P) 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall be subject to punishment; they shall die childless.(Q) 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.(R)
22 “You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out.(S) 23 You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(T) 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.’(U) 25 You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.(V) 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.(W)
27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritualist shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.”(X)
Footnotes
- 20.10 Heb repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.