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20 1-2 The Lord gave Moses these further instructions for the people of Israel:

“Anyone—whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you—who sacrifices his child as a burnt offering to Molech shall without fail be stoned by his peers. And I myself will turn against that man and cut him off from all his people, because he has given his child to Molech, thus making my Tabernacle[a] unfit for me to live in, and insulting my holy name. And if the people of the land pretend they do not know what the man has done and refuse to put him to death, then I myself will set my face against that man and his family and cut him off, along with all others who turn to other gods than me.

“I will set my face against anyone who consults mediums and wizards instead of me and I will cut that person off from his people. So sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. You must obey all of my commandments, for I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

“Anyone who curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death—for he has cursed his own flesh and blood.

10 “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, both the man and woman shall be put to death. 11 If a man sleeps with his father’s wife, he has defiled what is his father’s; both the man and the woman must die, for it is their own fault. 12 And if a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both shall be executed: they have brought it upon themselves by defiling each other. 13 The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have brought it upon themselves. 14 If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and with her mother, it is a great evil. All three shall be burned alive to wipe out wickedness from among you.

15 “If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he shall be executed and the animal killed. 16 If a woman has sexual intercourse with an animal, kill the woman and the animal, for they deserve their punishment.[b]

17 “If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, it is a shameful thing, and they shall publicly be cut off from the people of Israel. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman during her period of menstruation, both shall be excommunicated, for he has uncovered the source of her flow, and she has permitted it.

19 “Sexual intercourse is outlawed between a man and his maiden aunt—whether the sister of his mother or of his father—for they are near of kin; they shall bear their guilt. 20 If a man has intercourse with his uncle’s wife, he has taken what belongs to his uncle; their punishment is that they shall bear their sin and die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother’s wife,[c] this is impurity; for he has taken what belongs to his brother, and they shall be childless.

22 “You must obey all of my laws and ordinances so that I will not throw you out of your new land.[d] 23 You must not follow the customs of the nations I cast out before you, for they do all these things I have warned you against; that is the reason I abhor them. 24 I have promised you their land; I will give it to you to possess it. It is a land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God who has made a distinction between you and the people of other nations.

25 “You shall therefore make a distinction between the birds and animals I have given you permission to eat and those you may not eat. You shall not contaminate yourselves and make yourselves hateful to me by eating any animal or bird which I have forbidden, though the land teem with them. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from all other peoples to be mine.

27 “A medium or a wizard—whether man or woman—shall surely be stoned to death. They have caused their own doom.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:3 my Tabernacle, literally, “my sanctuary.”
  2. Leviticus 20:16 for they deserve their punishment, literally, “their blood shall be upon them.”
  3. Leviticus 20:21 his brother’s wife. However, marriage to his brother’s widow was required if she had no children. See Deuteronomy 25:5.
  4. Leviticus 20:22 so that I will not throw you out of your new land, literally, “that the land I give you will not vomit you out again.”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, “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.(A) The members of the community are to stone him.(B) I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(C) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(D) my sanctuary(E) and profaned my holy name.(F) 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,(G) 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.

“‘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.(H)

“‘Consecrate yourselves(I) and be holy,(J) because I am the Lord your God.(K) Keep my decrees(L) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(M)

“‘Anyone who curses their father(N) or mother(O) is to be put to death.(P) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.(Q)

10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife(R)—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.(S)

11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.(T) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(U)

12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,(V) 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.(W) 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,(X) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,(Y) so that no wickedness will be among you.(Z)

15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,(AA) he is to be put to death,(AB) 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(AC), the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed(AD) from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.(AE)

18 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,(AF) 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.(AG)

19 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,(AH) for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,(AI) he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.(AJ)

21 “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,(AK) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.(AL)

22 “‘Keep all my decrees and laws(AM) and follow them, so that the land(AN) where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations(AO) I am going to drive out before you.(AP) Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(AQ) 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.”(AR) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.(AS)

25 “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.(AT) 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(AU) because I, the Lord, am holy,(AV) and I have set you apart from the nations(AW) to be my own.

27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium(AX) or spiritist among you must be put to death.(AY) You are to stone them;(AZ) their blood will be on their own heads.’”