Leviticus 20
20
Punishment for Child Sacrifice
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Say to the people of Israel, #See ch. 18:21Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3#See ch. 17:10 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary #ch. 19:30; Ezek. 5:11; 23:38, 39 unclean and #See ch. 18:21to profane my holy name. 4And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not #Deut. 17:2, 3, 5put him to death, 5then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in #See Ex. 34:15whoring after Molech.
6“If #See ch. 19:31 a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, #See ch. 17:10I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7#See ch. 11:44Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8#See ch. 18:4 Keep my statutes and do them; #ch. 21:8, 15, 23; 22:32; Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 37:28I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9For #See Ex. 21:17 anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; #ver. 11, 12, 13, 16, 27; [2 Sam. 1:16; 1 Kgs. 2:32, 33, 37]his blood is upon him.
Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10“If a #ch. 18:20; Deut. 22:22; John 8:4, 5man commits adultery with the wife of#20:10 Hebrew repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11#See ch. 18:8If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12#ch. 18:15 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed #ch. 18:23perversion; their blood is upon them. 13#See ch. 18:22If 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 is upon them. 14#ch. 18:17; Deut. 27:23If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15#ch. 18:23; Ex. 22:19; Deut. 27:21If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16#[See ver. 15 above]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 is upon them.
17 # ch. 18:9; Deut. 27:22 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18#ch. 18:19; [ch. 15:24]If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19#ch. 18:12, 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked #ch. 18:6one’s relative; they shall bear their iniquity. 20#ch. 18:14If 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#ch. 18:16If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity.#20:21 Literally menstrual impurity He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 # See ch. 18:4 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not #ch. 18:25, 28vomit you out. 23#ch. 18:3, 24, 30; Deut. 9:5And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24But #Ex. 3:17; 6:8 I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land #See Ex. 3:8 flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, #Ex. 33:16; 1 Kgs. 8:53; [Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 1 Kgs. 8:53]who has separated you from the peoples. 25#See ch. 11:2-47; Deut. 14:4-20You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26#Ex. 19:6 You shall be holy to me, #ver. 7; See ch. 11:44for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 # See ch. 19:31 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be #ver. 2 stoned with stones; #ver. 9their blood shall be upon them.”
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Vayikra (Lev) 20
20
1(LY: v) Adonai said to Moshe, 2“Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If someone from the people of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living in Isra’el sacrifices one of his children to Molekh, he must be put to death; the people of the land are to stone him to death. 3I too will set myself against him and cut him off from his people, because he has sacrificed his child to Molekh, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. 4If the people of the land look the other way when that man sacrifices his child to Molekh and fail to put him to death, 5then I will set myself against him, his family and everyone who follows him to go fornicating after Molekh, and cut them off from their people.
6“‘The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them — I will set myself against him and cut him off from his people. 7Therefore consecrate yourselves — you people must be holy, because I am Adonai your God. (RY: vii, LY: vi) 8Observe my regulations, and obey them; I am Adonai, who sets you apart to be holy.
9“‘A person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother, his blood is on him.
10“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, that is, with the wife of a fellow countryman, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 11The man who goes to bed with his father’s wife has disgraced his father sexually, and both of them must be put to death; their blood is on them. 12If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them. 13If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they must be put to death; their blood is on them. 14If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity; they are to be put to death by fire, both he and they, so that there will not be depravity among you. 15If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal. 16If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them. 17If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and has sexual relations with her, and she consents, it is a shameful thing; they are to be cut off publicly — he has had sexual relations with his sister, and he will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. 18If a man goes to bed with a woman in her menstrual period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her blood, and she has exposed the source of her blood; both of them are to be cut off from their people. 19You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister; a person who does this has had sexual relations with his close relative; they will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. 20If a man goes to bed with his uncle’s wife, he has disgraced his uncle sexually; they will bear the consequences of their sin and die childless. 21If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness; he has disgraced his brother sexually; they will be childless.
22“‘You are to observe all my regulations and rulings and act on them, so that the land to which I am bringing you will not vomit you out. (LY: vii) 23Do not live by the regulations of the nation which I am expelling ahead of you; because they did all these things, which is why I detested them. 24But to you I have said, “You will inherit their land; I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Adonai your God, who has set you apart from other peoples. (Maftir) 25Therefore you are to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and between clean and unclean birds; do not make yourselves detestable with an animal, bird or reptile that I have set apart for you to regard as unclean. 26Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I, Adonai, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.
27“‘A man or woman who is a spirit-medium or sorcerer must be put to death; they are to stone them to death; their blood will be on them.’”
Haftarah K’doshim: ‘Amos 9:7–15 (A); Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 20:2–20 (S)
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah K’doshim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37; 5:43–48; 15:1–11; 19:16–30; 22:33–40; Mark 7:1–23; 12:28–34; Luke 10:25–39; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:13–26; Ya‘akov (James) 2:1–9; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:13–21
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