Leviticus 20

On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "You shall also say to the sons of Israel: 'Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel¹ who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; ² the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

3 'I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, ³so as to defile My sanctuary and ⁴to profane My holy name.

4 'If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard * that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death,

5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

6 'As for the person who turns to ⁵mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.

7 'You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and ⁶be holy, for I am the LORD your God.

8 '⁷You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

9 '⁸If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.

10 '⁹If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

11 '¹⁰If there is a man who lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

12 '¹¹If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

13 '¹²If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

14 '¹³If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst.

15 '¹⁴If there is a man who lies * with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal.

16 'If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

17 '¹⁵If there is a man who takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness; he bears his guilt.

18 '¹⁶If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

19 '¹⁷You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for such a one has made naked his blood relative; they will bear their guilt.

20 '¹⁸If there is a man who lies with his uncle's wife he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless.

21 '¹⁹If there is a man who takes his brother's wife, it is abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother's nakedness. They will be childless.

22 'You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not ²⁰spew you out.

23 'Moreover, you shall not follow ²¹the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and ²²therefore I have abhorred them.

24 'Hence I have said to you, "²³You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has ²⁴separated you from the peoples.

25 '²⁵You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.

26 'Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I ²⁶have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.

27 'Now a man or a woman ²⁷who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.' "

Leviticus 20 Commentary

Chapter 20

Law against sacrificing children to Moloch, Of children that curse their parents. (1-9) Laws repeated, Holiness enjoined. (10-27)

Verses 1-9 Are we shocked at the unnatural cruelty of the ancient idolaters in sacrificing their children? We may justly be so. But are there not very many parents, who, by bad teaching and wicked examples, and by the mysteries of iniquity which they show their children, devote them to the service of Satan, and forward their everlasting ruin, in a manner even more to be lamented? What an account must such parents render to God, and what a meeting will they have with their children at the day of judgment! On the other hand, let children remember that he who cursed father or mother was surely put to death. This law Christ confirmed. Laws which were made before are repeated, and penalties annexed to them. If men will not avoid evil practices, because the law has made these practices sin, and it is right that we go on that principle, surely they should avoid them when the law has made them death, from a principle of self-preservation. In the midst of these laws comes in a general charge, Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy. It is the Lord that sanctifies, and his work will be done, though it be difficult. Yet his grace is so far from doing away our endeavours, that it strongly encourages them. Work out your salvation, for it is God that worketh in you.

Verses 10-27 These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 18:21
• 2. Leviticus 20:27; Leviticus 24:14-23; Numbers 15:35, 36; Deuteronomy 21:21
• 3. Leviticus 15:31
• 4. Leviticus 18:21
• 5. Leviticus 19:31
• 6. Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16
• 7. Exodus 31:13
• 8. Exodus 21:17; Deuteronomy 27:16
• 9. Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:20; Deuteronomy 5:18
• 10. Leviticus 18:7, 8; Deuteronomy 27:20
• 11. Leviticus 18:15
• 12. Leviticus 18:22
• 13. Leviticus 18:17; Deuteronomy 27:23
• 14. Leviticus 18:23; Deuteronomy 27:21
• 15. Leviticus 18:9; Deuteronomy 27:22
• 16. Leviticus 15:24; Leviticus 18:19
• 17. Leviticus 18:12, 13
• 18. Leviticus 18:14
• 19. Leviticus 18:16
• 20. Leviticus 18:28
• 21. Leviticus 18:3
• 22. Leviticus 18:25
• 23. Exodus 13:5; Exodus 33:1-3
• 24. Exodus 33:16; Leviticus 20:26
• 25. Leviticus 10:10; Leviticus 11:1-47; Deuteronomy 14:3-21
• 26. Leviticus 20:24
• 27. Leviticus 19:31

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "seed"
• [b]. Lit "seed"
• [c]. Lit "hiding they hide their eyes from"
• [d]. Lit "seed"
• [e]. Or "ghosts and spirits"
• [f]. Lit "confusion;" i.e. a violation of divine order
• [g]. Lit "takes"
• [h]. Lit "lie"
• [i]. Lit "sick"
• [j]. Or "uncovered"
• [k]. Lit "flesh"
• [l]. Or "an impure deed"
• [m]. Lit "dwell in it"
• [n]. Lit "walk in the statutes"
• [o]. Lit "your souls"
• [p]. Lit "with which the ground creeps"
• [q]. Lit "spiritist among them"

Chapter Summary

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.