Leviticus 18–20

Rules About Sexual Relations

18The Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. ³In the past you lived in Egypt, but you must not do what was done in that country. And you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their customs. ⁴You must obey my rules and follow them. I am the Lord your God. ⁵Obey my laws and rules; a person who obeys them will live because of them. I am the Lord.

⁶“ ‘You must never have sexual relations with your close relatives. I am the Lord.

⁷“ ‘You must not shame your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have sexual relations with her. ⁸You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would shame your father.

⁹“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either the daughter of your father or your mother. It doesn’t matter if she was born in your house or somewhere else.

¹⁰“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would bring shame on you.

¹¹“ ‘If your father and his wife have a daughter, she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her.

¹²“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative. ¹³You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister; she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your father’s brother, because this would shame him. She is your aunt.

¹⁵“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. Do not have sexual relations with her.

¹⁶“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. That would shame your brother.

¹⁷“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. And do not have sexual relations with this woman’s granddaughter, either the daughter of her son or her daughter; they are her close relatives. It is evil to do this.

¹⁸“ ‘While your wife is still living, you must not take her sister as another wife. Do not have sexual relations with her.

¹⁹“ ‘You must not go near a woman to have sexual relations with her during her monthly period, when she is unclean.

²⁰“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and make yourself unclean with her.

²¹“ ‘You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, because this would show that you do not respect your God. I am the Lord.

²²“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with a man as you would a woman. That is a hateful sin.

²³“ ‘You must not have sexual relations with an animal and make yourself unclean with it. Also a woman must not have sexual relations with an animal; it is not natural.

²⁴“ ‘Don’t make yourself unclean by any of these wrong things. I am forcing nations out of their countries because they did these sins, and I am giving their land to you. ²⁵The land has become unclean, and I punished it for its sins, so the land is throwing out those people who live there.

²⁶“ ‘You must obey my laws and rules, and you must not do any of these hateful sins. These rules are for the citizens of Israel and for the people who live with you. ²⁷The people who lived in the land before you did all these hateful things and made the land unclean. ²⁸If you do these things, you will also make the land unclean, and it will throw you out as it threw out the nations before you. ²⁹Anyone who does these hateful sins must be cut off from the people. ³⁰Keep my command not to do these hateful sins that were done by the people who lived in the land before you. Don’t make yourself unclean by doing them. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Other Laws

19The Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell all the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy.

³“ ‘You must respect your mother and father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

⁴“ ‘Do not worship idols or make statues or gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

⁵“ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, offer it in such a way that will be accepted. ⁶You may eat it the same day you offer it or on the next day. But if any is left on the third day, you must burn it up. ⁷If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is unclean, and it will not be accepted. ⁸Anyone who eats it then will be guilty of sin, because he did not respect the holy things that belong to the Lord. He must be cut off from the people.

⁹“ ‘When you harvest your crops on your land, do not harvest all the way to the corners of your fields. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. ¹⁰Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards, and don’t pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for poor people and for people traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹“ ‘You must not steal. You must not cheat people, and you must not lie to each other. ¹²You must not make a false promise by my name, or you will show that you don’t respect your God. I am the Lord.

¹³“ ‘You must not cheat your neighbor or rob him. You must not keep a hired worker’s salary all night until morning. ¹⁴You must not curse a deaf person or put something in front of a blind person to make him fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵“ ‘Be fair in your judging. You must not show special favor to poor people or great people, but be fair when you judge your neighbor. ¹⁶You must not spread false stories against other people, and you must not do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.

¹⁷“ ‘You must not hate your fellow citizen in your heart. If your neighbor does something wrong, tell him about it, or you will be partly to blame. ¹⁸Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

¹⁹“ ‘Obey my laws. You must not mate two different kinds of cattle or sow your field with two different kinds of seed. You must not wear clothing made from two different kinds of material mixed together.

²⁰“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a slave girl of another man, but this slave girl has not been bought or given her freedom, there must be punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because the woman was not free. ²¹The man must bring a male sheep as his penalty offering to the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ²²The priest will offer the sheep as a penalty offering before the Lord for the man’s sin, to remove the sins of the man so he will belong to the Lord. Then he will be forgiven for his sin.

²³“ ‘In the future, when you enter your country, you will plant many kinds of trees for food. After planting a tree, wait three years before using its fruit. ²⁴In the fourth year the fruit from the tree will be the Lord’s, a holy offering of praise to him. ²⁵Then in the fifth year, you may eat the fruit from the tree. The tree will then produce more fruit for you. I am the Lord your God.

²⁶“ ‘You must not eat anything with the blood in it.

“ ‘You must not try to tell the future by signs or black magic.

²⁷“ ‘You must not cut the hair on the sides of your heads or cut the edges of your beard. ²⁸You must not cut your body to show sadness for someone who died or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

²⁹“ ‘Do not dishonor your daughter by making her become a prostitute. If you do this, the country will be filled with all kinds of sin.

³⁰“ ‘Obey the laws about Sabbaths, and respect my Most Holy Place. I am the Lord.

³¹“ ‘Do not go to mediums or fortune-tellers for advice, or you will become unclean. I am the Lord your God.

³²“ ‘Show respect to old people; stand up in their presence. Show respect also to your God. I am the Lord.

³³“ ‘Do not mistreat foreigners living in your country, ³⁴but treat them just as you treat your own citizens. Love foreigners as you love yourselves, because you were foreigners one time in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

³⁵“ ‘Do not cheat when you measure the length or weight or amount of something. ³⁶Your weights and balances should weigh correctly, with your weighing baskets the right size and your jars holding the right amount of liquid. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt.

³⁷“ ‘Remember all my laws and rules, and obey them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Warnings About Various Sins

20The Lord said to Moses, ²“You must also tell the people of Israel these things: ‘If a person in your country gives one of his children to Molech, that person must be killed. It doesn’t matter if he is a citizen or a foreigner living in Israel; you must throw stones at him and kill him. ³I will be against him and cut him off from his people, because he gave his children to Molech. He showed that he did not respect my holy name, and he made my Holy Place unclean. ⁴The people of the community might ignore that person and not kill the one who gave his children to Molech. ⁵But I will be against him and his family, and I will cut him off from his people. I will do this to anyone who follows him in being unfaithful to me by worshiping Molech.

⁶“ ‘I will be against anyone who goes to mediums and fortune-tellers for advice, because that person is being unfaithful to me. So I will cut him off from his people.

⁷“ ‘Be my holy people. Be holy because I am the Lord your God. ⁸Remember and obey my laws. I am the Lord, and I have made you holy.

⁹“ ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother, so he has brought his own death on himself.

Punishments for Sexual Sins

¹⁰“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman are guilty of adultery and must be put to death. ¹¹If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has shamed his father, and both the man and his father’s wife must be put to death. They have brought it on themselves.

¹²“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death.…