18 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Say to the Israelites, I am the Lord your God.
3 You shall not do as was done in the land of Egypt in which you dwelt, nor shall you do as is done in the land of Canaan to which I am bringing you; neither shall you walk in their statutes.
4 You shall do My ordinances and keep My statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.
5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My ordinances which, if a man does, he shall live by them. I am the Lord.(A)
6 None of you shall approach anyone close of kin to him to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
7 The nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother, you shall not uncover; she is your mother; you shall not have intercourse with her.
8 The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness.
9 You shall not have intercourse with or uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father or of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad.
10 You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; their nakedness you shall not uncover, for they are your own flesh.
11 You must not have intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter; begotten by your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness.
12 You shall not have intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s near kinswoman.
13 You shall not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.
14 You shall not have intercourse with your father’s brother’s wife; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.
15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife; you shall not have intercourse with her.
16 You shall not have intercourse with your brother’s wife; she belongs to your brother.
17 You shall not marry a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to have intercourse; they are [her] near kinswomen; it is wickedness and an outrageous offense.
18 You must not marry a woman in addition to her sister, to be a rival to her, having sexual relations with the second sister when the first one is alive.
19 Also you shall not have intercourse with a woman during her [menstrual period or similar] uncleanness.
20 Moreover, you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her.
21 You shall not give any of your children to pass through the fire and sacrifice them to Molech [the fire god], nor shall you profane the name of your God [by giving it to false gods]. I am the Lord.
22 You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.(B)
23 Neither shall you lie with any beast and defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman yield herself to a beast to lie with it; it is confusion, perversion, and degradedly carnal.
24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for in all these things the nations are defiled which I am casting out before you.
25 And the land is defiled; therefore I visit the iniquity of it upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants.
26 So you shall keep My statutes and My ordinances and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither the native-born nor any stranger who sojourns among you,
27 For all these abominations have the men of the land done who were before you, and the land is defiled—
28 [Do none of these things] lest the land spew you out when you defile it as it spewed out the nation that was before you.
29 Whoever commits any of these abominations shall be cut off from among [his] people.
30 So keep My charge: do not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you and defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.
Cross references
- Leviticus 18:5 : Luke 10:25-28; Rom. 10:4, 5; Gal. 3:12.
- Leviticus 18:22 : I Cor. 6:9, 10.
