Leviticus 20
20
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3I also will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death; 5then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot after him, to play the harlot with Molech, from among their people.
6And the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 7Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God. 8And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you. 9For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
10And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 12And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. 13And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 14And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a shameful thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. 18And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath made naked her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister; for he hath made naked his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. 20And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is impurity: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
22Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them; that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, vomit you not out. 23And ye shall not walk in the customs of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey: I am Jehovah your God, who hath separated you from the peoples. 25Ye shall therefore make a distinction between the clean beast and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by bird, or by anything wherewith the ground teemeth, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26And ye shall be holy unto me: for I, Jehovah, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that ye should be mine.
27A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.
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Leviticus 20: ASV
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Leviticus 20
20
Penalties for Various Sins. 1#The term Molech may refer to a deity, perhaps with an underworld association, and the activity forbidden here may be connected with divination. Cf. Dt 18:10; 2 Kgs 17:17; 21:6. In the kingdom of Judah the cult appears to have been practiced in the Valley of Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem on the west and south (2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 32:35). The Lord said to Moses: 2Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing in Israel, who gives offspring to Molech shall be put to death.#Lv 18:21; Dt 12:31; 18:10; 2 Kgs 16:3; 17:17; 21:6; 23:10; Jer 32:35. The people of the land shall stone that person. 3#Ez 23:39. I myself will turn against and cut off#Lv 7:20. that individual from among the people; for in the giving of offspring to Molech, my sanctuary was defiled#Lv 15:31. and my holy name was profaned. 4If the people of the land condone the giving of offspring to Molech, by failing to put the wrongdoer to death, 5I myself will turn against that individual and his or her family, and I will cut off from their people both the wrongdoer and all who follow this person by prostituting themselves with Molech.
6Should anyone turn to ghosts and spirits and prostitute oneself with them,#Lv 19:31. I will turn against that person and cut such a one off from among the people. 7Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God,#Lv 11:44. am holy. 8Be careful, therefore, to observe my statutes. I, the Lord, make you holy.
9Anyone who curses father or mother shall be put to death;#Curses father or mother…put to death: this is more than a simple expletive uttered in anger against one’s parents. See note on Ex 21:17. #Lv 19:3; Ex 21:17; Dt 21:18–21; Prv 20:20; Mt 15:4; Mk 7:10. and having cursed father or mother, such a one will bear the bloodguilt.#Bloodguilt: these penalties, beginning with cursing one’s parents, reflect the concerns of a patriarchal society that the breakdown of one’s relations with one’s parents can lead to the breakdown of all other familial relationships, resulting in the breakdown of society. 10#See 18:6–23 and notes there. It appears that the inclusion of various penalties in 20:10–21 accounts for the different order of the cases here compared to the order found in 18:6–23. The reason why the offenses in 20:10–21 carry different penalties, however, is not clear. Perhaps the cases in vv. 17–21 were considered slightly less serious, being condemned but not criminally prosecuted. If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife,#Lv 18:20. both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. 11If a man disgraces his father by lying with his father’s wife,#Lv 18:8. the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 12If a man lies with his daughter-in-law,#Lv 18:15. both of them shall be put to death; they have done what is perverse; their bloodguilt is upon them. 13If a man lies with a male as with a woman,#Lv 18:22. they have committed an abomination; the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 14If a man marries a woman and her mother also,#Lv 18:17. that is shameful conduct; the man and the two women as well shall be burned to death, so that shamefulness may not be found among you. 15If a man has sexual relations with an animal,#Lv 18:23. the man shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16If a woman goes up to any animal to mate with it,#Lv 18:23. you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall both be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 17If a man marries his sister,#Lv 18:9. his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have intercourse with each other, that is disgraceful; they shall be publicly cut off#Cut off: see note on 7:20. from the people; the man shall bear the penalty of having had intercourse with his own sister. 18If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has intercourse with her, he has laid bare the source of her flow and she has uncovered it.#Lv 18:19. The two of them shall be cut off from the people. 19You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister,#Lv 18:12–13. because that dishonors one’s own flesh; they shall bear their penalty. 20If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he disgraces his uncle;#Lv 18:14. they shall bear the penalty; they shall die childless. 21If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is severe defilement and he has disgraced his brother;#Lv 18:16. they shall be childless.
22Be careful to observe all my statutes and all my decrees; otherwise the land where I am bringing you to dwell will vomit you out.#Lv 18:25, 28. 23Do not conform, therefore, to the customs of the nations#Lv 18:30. whom I am driving out of your way, because all these things that they have done have filled me with disgust for them. 24But to you I have said:#Ex 3:8, 17. You shall take possession of their land. I am giving it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the Lord, am your God, who have set you apart from other peoples. 25#Lv 11:2–47; Dt 14:4–20. You, too, must set apart, then, the clean animals from the unclean, and the clean birds from the unclean, so that you do not make yourselves detestable through any beast or bird or any creature which creeps on the ground that I have set apart for you as unclean. 26To me, therefore, you shall be holy; for I, the Lord, am holy,#Lv 11:44. and I have set you apart from other peoples to be my own.
27A man or a woman who acts as a medium or clairvoyant#Lv 19:31; Ex 22:17; Dt 18:11. shall be put to death. They shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.
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