Leviticus18
English Standard Version
1And the Lord to , ,
2 to the of and to them, I am the Lord your .
3You shall not as they in the of , where you , and you shall not as they in the of , to which I am you. You shall in their .
4You shall my and my and in them. I am the Lord your .
5You shall therefore my and my ; a them, he shall by them: I am the Lord.
6 of you shall any one of his to . I am the Lord.
7You shall not the of your , which is the of your ; she is your , you shall not her .
8You shall not the of your ; it is your .
9You shall not the of your , your or your , whether in the or in .
10You shall not the of your or of your , is your own .
11You shall not the of your , in your family, since she is your .
12You shall not the of your ; she is your .
13You shall not the of your , for she is your .
14You shall not the of your , that is, you shall not his ; she is your .
15You shall not the of your ; she is your , you shall not her .
16You shall not the of your ; it is your .
17You shall not the of a and of her , and you shall not her or her to her ; they are ; it is .
18And you shall not a woman as a to her , her while her sister is still .
19You shall not a to her while she is in her .
20And you shall with your and so make yourself with her.
21You shall not any of your to them to , and so the of your : I am the Lord.
22You shall not with a as a ; it is an .
23And you shall with any and so make yourself with it, neither shall any an to with it: it is .
24Do not make yourselves by of these , for by these the I am you have become ,
25and the became , so that I its , and the its .
26But you shall my and my and do of these , either the or the who you
27(for the of the , were you, of , so that the became ),
28lest the vomit you when you make it , as it the that was you.
29For who any of these , the who them shall be from their .
30So my never to of these that were you, and never to make yourselves by them: I am the Lord your .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 18.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Unlawful marriages and fleshly lusts. (1-30).
vv1-30
Here is a law against all conformity to the corrupt usages of the heathen. Also laws against incest, against brutal lusts, and barbarous idolatries; and the enforcement of these laws from the ruin of the Canaanites. God here gives moral precepts. Close and constant adherence to God's ordinances is the most effectual preservative from gross sin. The grace of God only will secure us; that grace is to be expected only in the use of the means of grace. Nor does He ever leave any to their hearts' lusts, till they have left him and his services.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
מַעֲשֶׂה: an action (good or bad); generally, a transaction; abstractly, activity; by implication, a product (specifically, a poem) or (generally) property
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מִצְרַיִם: Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt
Cross References
Leviticus 18Paul explicitly quotes Leviticus 18:5 ('the man which doeth those things shall live in them') regarding legal righteousness.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul quotes the phrase 'the man that doeth them shall live in them' to contrast law and faith.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Provides the foundational promise of life for keeping the statutes and judgments.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus echoes the life promise of Leviticus 18:5 to the lawyer: 'this do, and thou shalt live.'
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul condemns a man having 'his father's wife' as incest not even named among the Gentiles.
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Specifies the capital penalty for giving seed to Molech, expanding on verse 21.
Supported by John Calvin
Prescribes the capital punishment for the homosexual act forbidden as an abomination in verse 22.
Supported by John Calvin
Establishes the penalty for bestiality, which is prohibited in verse 23.
Supported by John Calvin
Repeats warning against walking in the manners of the nations cast out before them.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Jesus' statement 'if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments' echoes the promise of verse 5.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Reuben's sin with Bilhah, his father's concubine, violates the prohibition against uncovering a father's wife's nakedness.
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Jacob's dying words denounce Reuben for defiling his couch, referring back to the incest forbidden here.
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Prohibits making sons or daughters pass through the fire, parallel to Molech worship.
Supported by John Calvin
Condemns the pagan practice of burning children in the fire to their gods.
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Apostolic theological application of the 'do and live' principle of Leviticus 18.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Warning that the land will vomit Israel out if they commit these abominations.
Supported by John Calvin
Ezekiel explicitly cites God's giving of statutes which 'if a man do, he shall even live in them.'
Supported by Matthew Poole
The formal covenant curse pronounced upon anyone who lies with his father's wife, echoing verse 8.
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The levirate marriage law provides a specific, divinely mandated exception to the general prohibition in verse 16.
John the Baptist's rebuke to Herod: 'It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.'
Historical fulfillment where Josiah defiled Topheth to stop child sacrifices to Molech.
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Prophetic condemnation of Israel building high places to cause children to pass through fire to Molech.
Supported by John Calvin
New Testament parallel exposing the same unnatural practices as errors worthy of judgment.
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Pronounces a formal curse upon anyone who lies with any manner of beast.
Supported by John Calvin
Ezekiel denounces Jerusalem for uncovering their fathers' nakedness and humbling women set apart for pollution.
The penal counterpart to verse 8, prescribing the death penalty for lying with a father's wife.
Tamar appeals to the prohibition of sibling incest, pleading with Amnon not to do such folly.
Prescribes the specific penalty (childlessness) for taking a brother's wife, reinforcing the prohibition of verse 16.
Declares the death penalty for both the adulterer and adulteress, backing the prohibition in verse 20.
Parallels the prohibition against profaning the name of your God.
Supported by John Calvin
Reinforces the command not to do after the customs of Egypt or Canaan.
Supported by Matthew Poole