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Leviticus 20:10-21
New English Translation

10 If a man[a] commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife,[b] both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 11 If a man goes to bed with[c] his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness.[d] Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.[e] 12 If a man goes to bed[f] with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion;[g] their blood guilt is on themselves. 13 If a man goes to bed with[h] a male as one goes to bed with a woman,[i] the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 14 If a man has marital relations with both a woman and her mother,[j] it is lewdness.[k] Both he and they must be burned to death,[l] so there is no lewdness in your midst. 15 If a man has sexual relations[m] with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal to copulate with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.

17 “‘If a man has marital relations with[n] his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people.[o] He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity.[p] 18 If a man goes to bed[q] with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them[r] must be cut off from the midst of their people. 19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a person has exposed his own close relative.[s] They must bear their punishment for iniquity.[t] 20 If a man goes to bed[u] with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 21 If a man has marital relations with[v] his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness;[w] they will be childless.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:10 tn Heb “And a man who.” The syntax here and at the beginning of the following verses elliptically mirrors that of v. 9, which justifies the rendering as a conditional clause.
  2. Leviticus 20:10 tc The reading of the LXX minuscule mss has been followed here (see the BHS footnote a-a). The MT has a dittography, repeating “a man who commits adultery with the wife of” (see the explanation in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 328). The duplication found in the MT is reflected in some English versions, e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV.
  3. Leviticus 20:11 tn Heb “lies down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” acts as a euphemism, implying going to bed for sexual relations.
  4. Leviticus 20:11 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
  5. Leviticus 20:11 tn See the note on v. 9 above.
  6. Leviticus 20:12 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  7. Leviticus 20:12 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” (cf. KJV, ASV “they have wrought confusion”).
  8. Leviticus 20:13 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  9. Leviticus 20:13 tn Heb “[as the] lyings of a woman.” The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
  10. Leviticus 20:14 tn Heb “takes a woman and her mother.” The verb לָקַח (laqakh) is sometimes used idiomatically with אִשָּׁה (ʾishah) to mean “take a wife,” or “marry,” and may mean that here (cf. NIV, NASB). But the same expression in v. 21 probably does not imply marriage itself, but only the sexual act of marriage. This chapter uses different expressions for sexual relations, though the subtleties for exegesis are not clear. Since this Hebrew expression can imply marriage, the translation uses “marital relations” as the metaphor in vv. 14, 17, and 21.
  11. Leviticus 20:14 tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
  12. Leviticus 20:14 tn Heb “in fire they shall burn him and them.” The active plural verb sometimes requires a passive translation (GKC 460 §144.f, g), esp. when no active plural subject has been expressed in the context. The present translation specifies “burned to death” because the traditional rendering “burnt with fire” (KJV, ASV; NASB “burned with fire”) could be understood to mean “branded” or otherwise burned, but not fatally.
  13. Leviticus 20:15 tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.
  14. Leviticus 20:17 tn The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh) “to take” sometimes means to take a woman in marriage (cf. Gen 34:16; Lev 20:14; and see HALOT 534 s.v. לקח) as understood by, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV. It is possible that expression here simply means to have sexual relations, or that it does so in combination with the following two clauses. See note at v. 14.
  15. Leviticus 20:17 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
  16. Leviticus 20:17 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
  17. Leviticus 20:18 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  18. Leviticus 20:18 tn Heb “and the two of them.”
  19. Leviticus 20:19 tn Heb “his flesh.”
  20. Leviticus 20:19 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
  21. Leviticus 20:20 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  22. Leviticus 20:21 tn Heb “takes.” See notes at vv. 14 and 17. sn It must be assumed that the brother is still alive in this situation, since Deut 25:5 requires a man to marry his brother’s widow and have a child in his brother’s name. It is less clear whether the brother in this case has divorced his wife.
  23. Leviticus 20:21 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
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Leviticus 20:10-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of[a] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.(A) 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.(B) 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.(C) 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.(D) 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.(E) 15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.(F) 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.(G) 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.(H) 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.(I) 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.(J) 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 20.10 Heb repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of
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