Leviticus · Majority Standard Bible
Leviticus 20 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
2 “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones.
3 And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.
3 I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech,
4 If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death,
5 then I will set My face against that man and his family and cut off from among their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molech.
5 then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
6 Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
6 “‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
7 “‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Yahweh your God.
8 And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
8 You shall keep my statutes, and do them. I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.
9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
9 “‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon himself.
10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
10 “‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
11 “‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.
12 “‘If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
13 If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
13 “‘If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
14 If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.
14 “‘If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.
15 If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
15 “‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
16 If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
16 “‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
17 If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.
17 “‘If a man takes his sister—his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter—and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.
18 If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.
18 “‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made her fountain naked, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity.
19 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister, for he has made his close relative naked. They shall bear their iniquity.
20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.
20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.
21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.
21 “‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
22 You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.
22 “‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.
23 You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
23 You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.
24 But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
25 You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.
25 “‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you.
26 You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
26 You shall be holy to me, for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”
27 “‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be upon themselves.’”
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)