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Leviticus 18-20
New International Version
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
- Leviticus 19:20 Or be an inquiry
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew uncircumcised
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 of a bushel or about 22 liters.
- Leviticus 19:36 A hin was a liquid measure having the capacity of about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters.
Leviticus 18-20
English Standard Version
Leviticus 18-20
English Standard Version
Unlawful Sexual Relations
18 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (A)I am the Lord your God. 3 (B)You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and (C)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 (D)You shall follow my rules[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. (E)I am the Lord your God. 5 (F)You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; (G)if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 (H)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 (I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 (J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 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, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 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 (K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 (L)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it 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 relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a (M)rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness (N)while her sister is still alive.
19 (O)“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 (P)And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to (Q)offer them[b] to (R)Molech, and so (S)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 (T)You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 (U)And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is (V)perversion.
24 (W)“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, (X)for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the (Y)land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land (Z)vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But (AA)you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the (AB)native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 (AC)So keep my charge never to practice (AD)any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: (AE)I am the Lord your God.”
The Lord Is Holy
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, (AF)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 (AG)Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and (AH)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 (AI)Do not turn to idols (AJ)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 (AK)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so (AL)that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is (AM)tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall (AN)bear his iniquity, because (AO)he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 (AP)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, 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 (AQ)“You shall not steal; (AR)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 (AS)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so (AT)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 (AU)“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. (AV)The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 (AW)You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall (AX)fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 (AY)“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 (AZ)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not (BA)stand up against the life[c] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 (BB)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but (BC)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you (BD)incur sin because of him. 18 (BE)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but (BF)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 (BG)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. (BH)You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but (BI)he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance 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 that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[d] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 (BJ)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. (BK)You shall not interpret omens or (BL)tell fortunes. 27 (BM)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any (BN)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 (BO)“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 (BP)You shall keep my Sabbaths and (BQ)reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 (BR)“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 (BS)“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall (BT)fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 (BU)“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 (BV)You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and (BW)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 (BX)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 (BY)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:[e] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And (BZ)you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Punishment for Child Sacrifice
20 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, (CA)Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 (CB)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, to make my sanctuary (CC)unclean and (CD)to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not (CE)put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in (CF)whoring after Molech.
6 “If (CG)a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, (CH)I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 (CI)Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 (CJ)Keep my statutes and do them; (CK)I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 For (CL)anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; (CM)his blood is upon him.
Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10 “If a (CN)man commits adultery with the wife of[f] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 (CO)If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 (CP)If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed (CQ)perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 (CR)If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 (CS)If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 (CT)If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 (CU)If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
17 (CV)“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 the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 (CW)If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period 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 (CX)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked (CY)one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 (CZ)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 (DA)If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity.[g] He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 (DB)“You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not (DC)vomit you out. 23 (DD)And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But (DE)I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land (DF)flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, (DG)who has separated you from the peoples. 25 (DH)You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 (DI)You shall be holy to me, (DJ)for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 (DK)“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be (DL)stoned with stones; (DM)their blood shall be upon them.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 18:4 Or my just decrees; also verse 5
- Leviticus 18:21 Hebrew to make them pass through [the fire]
- Leviticus 19:16 Hebrew blood
- Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision
- Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
- Leviticus 20:10 Hebrew repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of
- Leviticus 20:21 Literally menstrual impurity
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.