King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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The Lord told Moses
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
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to say to the people of Israel, "I am the Lord your God.
3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
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Do not follow the practices of the people of Egypt, where you once lived, or of the people in the land of Canaan, where I am now taking you.
4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
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Obey my laws and do what I command. I am the Lord your God.
5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
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Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. I am the Lord."
6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
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The Lord gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives.
7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
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Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
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Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
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Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you.
10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
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Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
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Do not have intercourse with a half sister; she, too, is your sister.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
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Do not have intercourse with an aunt, whether she is your father's sister or your mother's sister.
13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
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Do not have intercourse with your uncle's wife; she, too, is your aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
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Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
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or with your brother's wife.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
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Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest.
18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
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Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living.
19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
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Do not have intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, because she is ritually unclean.
20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
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Do not have intercourse with another man's wife; that would make you ritually unclean.
21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
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Do not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
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No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
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No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
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Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these acts, for that is how the pagans made themselves unclean, those pagans who lived in the land before you and whom the Lord is driving out so that you can go in.
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
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Their actions made the land unclean, and so the Lord is punishing the land and making it reject the people who lived there.
26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
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They did all these disgusting things and made the land unclean, but you must not do them. All of you, whether Israelites or foreigners living with you, must keep the Lord's laws and commands,
27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
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and then the land will not reject you, as it rejected the pagans who lived there before you.
29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
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You know that whoever does any of these disgusting things will no longer be considered one of God's people.
30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
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And the Lord said, "Obey the commands I give and do not follow the practices of the people who lived in the land before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by doing any of these things. I am the Lord your God."
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.