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Leviticus 18-20
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Sexual Relations

18 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall do my ordinances and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, by doing which a man shall live: I am the Lord.

6 “None of you shall approach any one near of kin to him to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which 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, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s near kinswoman. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, 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; she is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are your[a] near kinswomen; it is wickedness. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is yet alive.

19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any beast and defile yourself with it, neither shall any woman give herself to a beast to lie with it: it is perversion.

24 “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am casting out before you defiled themselves; 25 and the land became defiled, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for all of these abominations the men of the land did, who were before you, so that the land became defiled); 28 lest the land vomit you out, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whoever shall do any of these abominations, the persons that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you, and never to defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.”

Ritual and Moral Holiness

19 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.

5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, or on the morrow; and anything left over until the third day shall be burned with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be accepted, 8 and every one who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned a holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

11 “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

15 “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life[b] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall there come upon you a garment of cloth made of two kinds of stuff.

20 “If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave, betrothed to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord, to the door of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

23 “When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden;[c] three years it shall be forbidden to you, it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that they may yield more richly for you: I am the Lord your God.

26 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not practice augury or witchcraft. 27 You shall not round off the hair on you temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and the land become full of wickedness. 30 You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

31 “Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

32 “You shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them: I am the Lord.”

Penalties for Violations of Holiness

20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any man of the people of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who gives any of his children to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in playing the harlot after Molech.

6 “If a person turns to mediums and wizards, playing the harlot after them, I will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes, and do them; I am the Lord who sanctify you. 9 For every one who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his blood is upon him.

10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of[d] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. 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 blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed incest, their blood is upon them. 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 blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is wickedness; they shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the beast. 16 If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood 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 shameful thing, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman having her sickness, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked one’s near kin; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin, they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness, they shall be childless.

22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them; that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 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, who have separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 18:17 Gk: Heb lacks your
  2. Leviticus 19:16 Heb blood
  3. Leviticus 19:23 Heb their uncircumcision
  4. Leviticus 20:10 Heb repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of
Listen to Leviticus 18-20
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Leviticus 18-20
New International Version

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.(A) 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.(B) 4 You must obey my laws(C) and be careful to follow my decrees.(D) I am the Lord your God.(E) 5 Keep my decrees and laws,(F) for the person who obeys them will live by them.(G) I am the Lord.

6 “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.

7 “‘Do not dishonor your father(H) by having sexual relations with your mother.(I) She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

8 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;(J) that would dishonor your father.(K)

9 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister,(L) either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.(M)

10 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

11 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister;(N) she is your father’s close relative.

13 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister,(O) because she is your mother’s close relative.

14 “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.(P)

15 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.(Q) She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.(R)

16 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife;(S) that would dishonor your brother.

17 “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.(T) Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister(U) as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

19 “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness(V) of her monthly period.(W)

20 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife(X) and defile yourself with her.

21 “‘Do not give any of your children(Y) to be sacrificed to Molek,(Z) for you must not profane the name of your God.(AA) I am the Lord.(AB)

22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;(AC) that is detestable.(AD)

23 “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.(AE)

24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you(AF) became defiled.(AG) 25 Even the land was defiled;(AH) so I punished it for its sin,(AI) and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(AJ) 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.(AK) The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,(AL) it will vomit you out(AM) as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

29 “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements(AN) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(AO)’”

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(AP) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(AQ) am holy.(AR)

3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(AS) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(AT) I am the Lord your God.(AU)

4 “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(AV) I am the Lord your God.(AW)

5 “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.(AX) 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(AY) 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible(AZ) because they have desecrated what is holy(BA) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.(BB)

9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges(BC) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(BD) 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time(BE) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.(BF) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.(BG) I am the Lord your God.

11 “‘Do not steal.(BH)

“‘Do not lie.(BI)

“‘Do not deceive one another.(BJ)

12 “‘Do not swear falsely(BK) by my name(BL) and so profane(BM) the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob(BN) your neighbor.(BO)

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker(BP) overnight.(BQ)

14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(BR) but fear your God.(BS) I am the Lord.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice;(BT) do not show partiality(BU) to the poor or favoritism to the great,(BV) but judge your neighbor fairly.(BW)

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander(BX) among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.(BY) I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.(BZ) Rebuke your neighbor frankly(CA) so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge(CB) or bear a grudge(CC) against anyone among your people,(CD) but love your neighbor(CE) as yourself.(CF) I am the Lord.

19 “‘Keep my decrees.(CG)

“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.(CH)

“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(CI)

20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man(CJ) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.(CK) 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.(CL)

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,(CM) an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(CN)

“‘Do not practice divination(CO) or seek omens.(CP)

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(CQ)

28 “‘Do not cut(CR) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,(CS) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.(CT)

30 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(CU) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.(CV)

31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(CW) or seek out spiritists,(CX) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect(CY) for the elderly(CZ) and revere your God.(DA) I am the Lord.(DB)

33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.(DC) Love them as yourself,(DD) for you were foreigners(DE) in Egypt.(DF) I am the Lord your God.

35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.(DG) 36 Use honest scales(DH) and honest weights, an honest ephah[d](DI) and an honest hin.[e](DJ) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.(DK)

37 “‘Keep all my decrees(DL) and all my laws(DM) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.(DN) The members of the community are to stone him.(DO) 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(DP) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(DQ) my sanctuary(DR) and profaned my holy name.(DS) 4 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,(DT) 5 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.

6 “‘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.(DU)

7 “‘Consecrate yourselves(DV) and be holy,(DW) because I am the Lord your God.(DX) 8 Keep my decrees(DY) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(DZ)

9 “‘Anyone who curses their father(EA) or mother(EB) is to be put to death.(EC) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.(ED)

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

11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.(EG) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(EH)

12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,(EI) 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.(EJ) 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,(EK) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,(EL) so that no wickedness will be among you.(EM)

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

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

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

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

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

22 “‘Keep all my decrees and laws(EZ) and follow them, so that the land(FA) where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations(FB) I am going to drive out before you.(FC) Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.(FD) 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.”(FE) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.(FF)

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

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

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
  2. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
  3. Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
  4. Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 of a bushel or about 22 liters.
  5. Leviticus 19:36 A hin was a liquid measure having the capacity of about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters.
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Leviticus 21
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