Laws on Immoral Relations

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, and you shall not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes (practices, customs). ⁴ You are to follow My judgments (precepts, ordinances) and keep My statutes and live by them. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which, if a person keeps them, he shall live; I am the Lord.^(A)

⁶ ‘^[a]No one shall approach any blood relative of his ^[b]to uncover nakedness (have intimate relations). I am the Lord. ⁷ You shall not uncover the ^[c]nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, either the daughter of your father or of your mother, whether born at home or born elsewhere. ¹⁰ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; their nakedness you shall not uncover, for they are your own nakedness [that is, your own descendants]. ¹¹ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter; born to your father, she is your sister. ¹² You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ¹⁴ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother’s wife; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover their nakedness (have intimate relations with them); they are [her] blood relatives; it is an outrageous offense. ¹⁸ You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity and ceremonial uncleanness. ²⁰ You shall not have intimate relations with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your children to offer them [by fire as a sacrifice] to Molech [the god of the Ammonites], nor shall you profane the name of your God [by honoring idols as gods]. I am the Lord. ²² You shall not lie [intimately] with a male as one lies with a female; it is repulsive.^{(B) 23} You shall not have intimate relations with any animal to be defiled with it; nor shall a woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴ ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. ²⁵ For the land has become defiled; therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments (precepts) and shall not commit any of these repulsive acts, neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives temporarily among you ²⁷ (for all these repulsive acts have been done by the men who lived in the land before you, and the land has become defiled); ²⁸ [do none of these things] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you. ²⁹ For whoever commits any of these repulsive acts, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people [excluding them from the atonement made for them]. ³⁰ So keep My command: do not practice any of the repulsive customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves by them; I am the Lord your God.’”

On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Moreover, you shall say to the children of Israel,

‘Any Israelite or any stranger residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech (the god of the Ammonites) [as a human sacrifice] shall most certainly be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. ³ I will also set My face against that man [opposing him, withdrawing My protection from him] and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them], because he has given some of his children to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. ⁴ If the people of the land should ever tolerate that man when he gives any of his children [as a burnt offering] to Molech, and fail to put him to death [as My law requires], ⁵ then I shall set My face against that man and against his [extended] family, and I will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in ^[a]playing the prostitute (commit apostasy) with Molech.

⁶ ‘As for the person who turns to mediums [who consult the dead] or to spiritists, to play the prostitute after them, I shall set My face against that person and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].^{(A) 7} You shall consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God. ⁸ You shall keep My statutes and do them. I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

⁹ ‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he shall most certainly be put to death; he has cursed his father or mother; his blood is on him [that is, he bears full responsibility for the consequences].

¹⁰ ‘The man who commits adultery with another’s wife, even his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall most certainly be put to death.^{(B) 11} The man who lies [intimately] with his father’s wife has ^[b]uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them. ¹² If a man lies [intimately] with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall most certainly be put to death; they have committed incest; their blood is on them. ¹³ If a man lies [intimately] with a male as if he were a woman, both men have committed a detestable (perverse, unnatural) act; they shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them. ¹⁴ It is immoral and shameful if a man marries a woman and her mother; all three shall be burned in fire, so that there will be no immorality among you.^{(C) 15} If a man has intimate relations with an animal, he shall most certainly be put to death; you shall kill the animal also. ¹⁶ If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them.

¹⁷ ‘If a man 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 [responsibility for] his guilt. ¹⁸ If a man lies [intimately] with a woman during her menstrual cycle and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people [excluding them from the atonement made for them]. ¹⁹ You shall not uncover the nakedness of (have intimate relations with) your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a one has uncovered his blood relative; they will bear their guilt. ²⁰ If there is a man who lies [intimately] with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. ²¹ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is a hated and unclean thing; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

²² ‘Therefore keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out [as it did those before you].^{(D) 23} You shall not follow the statutes (laws, practices, customs) of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them. ²⁴ But I have said to you, “You are to inherit and take possession of their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land [of plenty] ^[c]flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples (pagan nations). ²⁵ You are therefore to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean. ²⁶ You are to be holy to Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples (nations) to be Mine.

²⁷ ‘A man or woman who is a medium [who pretends to consult the dead] or who is a spiritist shall most certainly be put to death, and be stoned with stones; their blood is on them.’”