Leviticus 18–20

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.^{o 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.^{p 4}You must obey my laws^q and be careful to follow my decrees.^r I am the Lord your God.^{s 5}Keep my decrees and laws,^t for the person who obeys them will live by them.^u 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^v by having sexual relations with your mother.^w She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

⁸“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;^x that would dishonor your father.^y

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

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;^b she is your father’s close relative.

¹³“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister,^c 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.^d

¹⁵“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.^e She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.^f

¹⁶“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife;^g that would dishonor your brother.

¹⁷“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.^h 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 sisterⁱ 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^j of her monthly period.^k

²⁰“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife^l and defile yourself with her.

²¹“ ‘Do not give any of your children^m to be sacrificed to Molek,ⁿ for you must not profane the name of your God.^o I am the Lord.^p

²²“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;^q that is detestable.^r

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.^s

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^t became defiled.^{u 25}Even the land was defiled;^v so I punished it for its sin,^w and the land vomited out its inhabitants.^{x 26}But you must keep my decrees and my laws.^y The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, ²⁷for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸And if you defile the land,^z it will vomit you out^a 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. ³⁰Keep my requirements^b 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.^c’ ”

Various Laws

19The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel^d and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,^e am holy.^f

³“ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,^g and you must observe my Sabbaths.^h I am the Lord your God.ⁱ

⁴“ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.^j I am the Lord your God.^k

⁵“ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ⁶It 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.^{l 7}If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.^{m 8}Whoever eats it will be held responsibleⁿ because they have desecrated what is holy^o to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.^p

⁹“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges^q of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^{r 10}Do not go over your vineyard a second time^s or pick up the grapes that have fallen.^t Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.^u I am the Lord your God.

¹¹“ ‘Do not steal.^v

“ ‘Do not lie.^w

“ ‘Do not deceive one another.^x

¹²“ ‘Do not swear falsely^y by my name^z and so profane^a the name of your God. I am the Lord.

¹³“ ‘Do not defraud or rob^b your neighbor.^c

“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker^d overnight.^e

¹⁴“ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,^f but fear your God.^g I am the Lord.

¹⁵“ ‘Do not pervert justice;^h do not show partialityⁱ to the poor or favoritism to the great,^j but judge your neighbor fairly.^k

¹⁶“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander^l among your people.

“ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.^m I am the Lord.

¹⁷“ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.ⁿ Rebuke your neighbor frankly^o so you will not share in their guilt.

¹⁸“ ‘Do not seek revenge^p or bear a grudge^q against anyone among your people,^r but love your neighbor^s as yourself.^t I am the Lord.

¹⁹“ ‘Keep my decrees.^u

“ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“ ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.^v

“ ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.^w

²⁰“ ‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man^x 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. ²¹The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.^{y 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.^z

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. ²⁴In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,^a an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵But 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.^b

“ ‘Do not practice divination^c or seek omens.^d

²⁷“ ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.^e

²⁸“ ‘Do not cut^f 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,^g or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.^h

³⁰“ ‘Observe my Sabbathsⁱ and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.^j

³¹“ ‘Do not turn to mediums^k or seek out spiritists,^l for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

³²“ ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect^m for the elderlyⁿ and revere your God.^o I am the Lord.^p

³³“ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.^q Love them as yourself,^r for you were foreigners^s in Egypt.^t I am the Lord your God.

³⁵“ ‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.^{u 36}Use honest scales^v and honest weights, an honest ephah^dw and an honest hin.^ex I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.^y

³⁷“ ‘Keep all my decrees^z and all my laws^a and follow them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Punishments for Sin

20The 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.^b The members of the community are to stone him.^{c 3}I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;^d for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled^e my sanctuary^f and profaned my holy name.^{g 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,^{h 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.ⁱ

⁷“ ‘Consecrate yourselves^j and be holy,^k because I am the Lord your God.^{l 8}Keep my decrees^m and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.ⁿ

⁹“ ‘Anyone who curses their father^o or mother^p is to be put to death.^q Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.^r

¹⁰“ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife^s—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.^t

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

¹²“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,^w 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.^x 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,^y it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,^z so that no wickedness will be among you.^a

¹⁵“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,^b he is to be put to death,^c and you must kill the…