Leviticus 18

CHAPTER 18

Statutes on the Nakedness of Relatives

¹Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^aI am Yahweh your God.

³‘You shall not do according to what is ^adone in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do according to what is ^bdone in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.

⁴‘You are to do My judgments and keep My statutes, to walk in them; ^aI am Yahweh your God.

⁵‘So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, ^awhich if a man does them, he shall live by them; I am Yahweh.

⁶‘None of you shall approach any blood relative ¹of his to uncover nakedness; I am Yahweh.

⁷‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness.

⁸‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.

⁹‘^aThe nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover.

¹⁰‘The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for ¹their nakedness is yours.

¹¹‘The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, ¹born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness.

¹²‘^aYou 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‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.

¹⁵‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness.

¹⁶‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.

¹⁷‘^aYou shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is ¹lewdness.

¹⁸‘And you shall not ¹marry a woman in addition to ²her sister ³as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹‘^aAlso you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her ^bmenstrual impurity.

²⁰‘^aAnd you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her.

²¹‘And you shall not give any of your seed ^ato pass them over to Molech, nor shall you ^bprofane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

²²‘^aAnd you shall not lie with a male as ¹one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

²³‘^aAlso you shall not lie with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to ¹mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴‘So do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these ^athe nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.

²⁵‘So the land has become defiled, ^aand I have brought its ¹punishment upon it. And the land ^bhas vomited out its inhabitants.

²⁶‘But as for you, you shall keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native nor the sojourner who sojourns among you

²⁷(for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled);

²⁸so 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 does any of these abominations, ¹those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people.

³⁰‘Thus you are to keep ^aMy charge, that you do not do any of the abominable statutes which have been done before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; ^bI am Yahweh your God.’”