1 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: These regulations are for both Israelites and foreigners living among them. Anyone who sacrifices their children to Molech must be executed. The community must stone them to death. 3 I will disown them and expel them from their people, because by sacrificing their children to Molech they have polluted my sanctuary and disgraced my reputation. 4 If the community decides to look the other way and not execute those who sacrifice their children to Molech, then I will take action against them myself. 5 I will disown them and their family, and expel them from their people—and not just them, but everyone who follows them in spiritually prostituting themselves with Molech. 6 I will also disown and expel from their people anyone who goes to mediums or spiritists and in this way commits spiritual prostitution with them. 7 So dedicate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my rules and put them into practice. I am the Lord who makes you holy. 9 Anyone who curses their father or mother must be executed. They have cursed their father or mother; they bear the responsibility for their punishment. 10 Any man who commits adultery with someone else's wife must be executed, as well as the woman. 11 A man who has sex with his father's wife has brought shame on his father. Both the man and the woman must be executed. Both must surely be put to death; they bear the responsibility for their punishment. 12 A man who has sex with his daughter-in-law must be executed, as well as the woman. They have done something perverse; they bear the responsibility for their punishment. 13 Men who have sex with other men as with a woman have done something disgusting. They must be executed; they bear the responsibility for their punishment. 14 A man who marries both a woman and her mother has acted perversely. They must all be burned to death so that there will be no such wickedness among you. 15 A man who has sex with an animal must be executed, and the animal must be killed too. 16 A woman who gives herself to an animal to have sex with it must be executed, along with the animal. They must both be killed; they bear the responsibility for their punishment. 17 A man who marries his sister, whether she's his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and they have sex, has done something shameful. They must be expelled from their people in front of everybody. He has brought shame on his sister; he bears the responsibility for his punishment. 18 A man who has sex with a woman having her period has exposed where her blood flow comes from, and she has too. They must both be expelled from their people. 19 Don't have sex with your aunt, whether on your father's or your mother's side, because it brings shame on your own family. Both will bear responsibility for their sin. 20 A man who has sex with his uncle's wife brings shame on his uncle. They will bear responsibility for their sin; they shall die without having children. 21 A man who marries his brother's wife does something that is unclean. He has brought shame on his brother; the couple will have no children. 22 So keep all my rules and regulations, so that the land where I'm taking you to live won't vomit you out. 23 Don't follow the practices of the nations I'm expelling for you. I detested them because they did all these evil things. 24 But I have promised you that you will take over their land. I'm going to give it to you to own, a land that flows with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who has made you a distinctive people different from all others. 25 So make sure you observe the difference between clean and unclean animals and birds. Don't make yourselves unclean because of any animal or bird, or by anything that runs along the ground. I have made the difference clear: they are unclean for you. 26 You shall be holy to me because I am holy. I am the Lord, and I have made you a distinctive people different from all other nations. You belong to me. 27 Anyone, man or woman, who is a medium or a spiritist must be executed. They are to be stoned to death; they bear the responsibility for their punishment.”
Leviticus · Free Bible Version
Leviticus 20 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Deuteronomy 21:21; Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 24:23; Leviticus 24:14; Leviticus 20:27
- 3 Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 17:10; Ezekiel 23:38–39; Ezekiel 5:11; 2 Corinthians 6:16
- 4 Deuteronomy 17:2–5; Acts 17:30; 1 Samuel 3:13–14; 1 Kings 20:42; Deuteronomy 13:8
- 5 Psalm 106:39; Hosea 2:13; Hosea 2:5; Leviticus 17:7; Jeremiah 32:39
- 6 Leviticus 19:31; Isaiah 8:19; Deuteronomy 18:10–14; 1 Chronicles 10:13–14; Leviticus 20:27
- 7 Leviticus 11:44; Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15–16; Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:12
- 8 Exodus 31:13; James 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Revelation 22:14; Leviticus 21:8
- 9 Exodus 21:17; Mark 7:10; Deuteronomy 27:16; Matthew 15:4; Proverbs 20:20
- 10 John 8:4–5; Deuteronomy 22:22–24; Deuteronomy 5:18; Leviticus 18:20; Exodus 20:14
- 11 Deuteronomy 27:23; Deuteronomy 27:20; Leviticus 18:7–8; 1 Corinthians 5:1; Amos 2:7
- 12 Leviticus 18:15; Genesis 38:18; Leviticus 18:23; Deuteronomy 27:23; Genesis 38:16
- 13 1 Corinthians 6:9; Leviticus 18:22; Jude 7; 1 Timothy 1:10; Deuteronomy 23:17
- 14 Leviticus 18:17; Deuteronomy 27:23; Amos 2:7; Joshua 7:15; Joshua 7:25
- 15 Leviticus 18:23; Deuteronomy 27:21; Exodus 22:19
- 16 Exodus 19:13; Hebrews 12:20; Exodus 21:32; Exodus 21:28
- 17 Leviticus 18:9; Deuteronomy 27:22; Genesis 20:12; Ezekiel 22:11; 2 Samuel 13:12
- 18 Leviticus 18:19; Leviticus 15:24; Ezekiel 22:10; Ezekiel 18:6
- 19 Leviticus 18:6; Exodus 6:20; Leviticus 18:12–30
- 20 Leviticus 18:14; Job 18:19; Psalm 109:13; Jeremiah 22:30; Luke 1:25
- 21 Leviticus 18:16; Matthew 14:3–4
- 22 Leviticus 18:25–28; Ezekiel 36:27; Leviticus 18:4–5; Psalm 119:20; Psalm 105:45
- 23 Leviticus 18:24; Deuteronomy 9:5; Leviticus 18:30; Leviticus 18:3; Leviticus 18:27
- 24 Deuteronomy 14:2; Exodus 3:8; Exodus 6:8; Exodus 3:17; Deuteronomy 7:6
- 25 Deuteronomy 14:3–21; Leviticus 11:1–47; Ephesians 5:7–11; Acts 10:11–15; Acts 10:28
- 26 1 Peter 1:15–16; Leviticus 20:7; Leviticus 20:24; Leviticus 19:2; Deuteronomy 7:6
- 27 Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; 1 Samuel 28:7–9; Deuteronomy 18:10–12; Exodus 22:18
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… put no obstacle to godliness in our way, if we are ever carried away by ingratitude, and, forgetting their benefits to us, hold them in contempt, then the oracle will have place which says, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)