Leviticus 18:23-30

23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast to join herself with it; it is mixture.

24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these things the Gentiles which I cast out before you have defiled themselves;

25 and the land became defiled; therefore, I visited its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomited out her inhabitants.

26 Ye shall, therefore, keep my statutes and my rights and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither the natural of your own nor any stranger that sojourns among you.

27 (For all these abominations were done by the men of the land who were before you, and the land was contaminated.)

28 And will the land not vomit you out also for having contaminated it, as it vomited out the Gentiles that were before you?

29 For whoever shall commit any of these abominations, the persons that commit them shall be cut off from among his people.

30 Keep, therefore, my ordinance that ye commit not any one of these abominable laws which were committed before you, and do not defile yourselves in them; I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 18:23-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 18

In this chapter the Israelites are directed in general not to imitate the customs and practices of the Egyptians and Canaanites, but to keep the ordinances, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, Le 18:1-5; and they are instructed particularly to avoid incestuous marriages, Le 18:6-18; carnal copulation with a menstruous woman, Le 18:19; adultery, Le 18:20; letting any of their seed pass through the fire to Molech, Le 18:21; sodomy, Le 18:22; and bestiality, Le 18:23; and they are deterred from these things by observing to them the pollution and destruction which they brought on the inhabitants of Canaan, and would bring the same on them should they commit them, Le 18:24-30.