Leviticus 20:9-21

Family and Sexual Offenses

9 " 'If [there is] {anyone} who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father and his mother--his blood [is] upon him.
10 " 'As for a man who commits adultery with a man's wife, who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, [both] the man who commits adultery and the woman who commits adultery shall surely be put to death.
11 As for a man who lies with his father's wife, he has exposed his father's nakedness; both of them shall be put to death--their blood [is] on them.
12 As for a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed a perversion--their blood [is] on them.
13 " 'As for the man who lies with a male [as] lying [with] a woman, they have committed a detestable thing; they shall surely be put to death--their blood [is] on them.
14 " 'As for a man who marries a woman and her mother, that [is] depravity; they shall burn him and them, so that it shall not become depravity in the midst of you [all].
15 " 'As for a man who {has sexual relations} with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
16 As for a woman who approaches any animal to copulate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death--their blood [is] on them.
17 " 'As for a man who takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and he sees her nakedness and she herself sees his nakedness, it [is] a disgrace, and they shall be cut off {before} the eyes of {their people}; he has exposed his sister's nakedness--he must bear his guilt.
18 As for a man who lies with a menstruating woman, he exposes her nakedness--her source he exposes and she herself reveals her blood's source--both of them shall be cut off from the midst of their people.
19 And you shall not expose the nakedness of your mother's sister, and you shall not expose your father's sister, because such a person has dishonored his close relative--they must bear their guilt.
20 As for a man who lies with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle's nakedness--they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21 As for a man who marries his brother's wife, it [is] an abomination; he has exposed his brother's nakedness--they shall be childless.

Leviticus 20:9-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 20

In this chapter several laws are, repeated, enforced with a penalty annexed to them, and the breach them made capital, to deter from it, as giving seed to Molech, Le 20:1-5; going after such that have familiar spirits, or are wizards, Le 20:6; by shunning which, and other sins, a regard would be shown to holiness, Le 20:7,8; such as cursing parents, Le 20:9; committing adultery, Le 20:10; incestuous copulations, and marriages, and beastly actions, Le 20:11-21; all which it became the Israelites to avoid, lest, when come into the land of Canaan, they should be cast out of it, as the old inhabitants were for the same things, Le 20:22-24; and therefore, that they might appear to be a distinct people from others, they were to put a difference between clean and unclean creatures, Le 20:25,26; and the chapter is closed with a law, making it death for any person to have a familiar spirit, or to be a wizard, Le 19:27.

Footnotes 18

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.