Leviticus20
New American Standard
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2“You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Anyone from the sons of Israel or from the strangers residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech, shall certainly be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his children to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.
4If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his children to Molech, so as not to put him to death,
5then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the prostitute with him, by playing the prostitute with Molech.
6‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the prostitute with them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
7You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
8So you shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
9‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall certainly be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and has brought his own death upon himself.
10‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
11If there is a man who sleeps with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death, they have brought their own deaths upon themselves.
12If there is a man who sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed incest, and have brought their own deaths upon themselves.
13If there is a man who sleeps with a male as those who sleep with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they must be put to death. They have brought their own deaths upon themselves.
14If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is an outrageous sin; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no such outrageous sin in your midst.
15If there is a man who has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death; you shall also kill the animal.
16If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they must be put to death. They have brought their own deaths upon themselves.
17‘If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt.
18If there is a man who sleeps with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; so both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has uncovered his blood relative; they will bear their guilt.
20If there is a man who sleeps with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless.
21If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is detestable; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.
22‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.
23Furthermore, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I am going to drive out before you, because they did all these things; therefore I have felt disgust for them.
24So I have said to you, “You are to take possession of their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has singled you out from the peoples.
25You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have distinguished for you as unclean.
26So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine.
27‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; they have brought their own deaths upon themselves.’”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 20.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Law against sacrificing children to Moloch, Of children that curse their parents. (1–9). Laws repeated, Holiness enjoined. (10–27).
vv1-9
Are we shocked at the unnatural cruelty of the ancient idolaters in sacrificing their children? We may justly be so. But are there not very many parents, who, by bad teaching and wicked examples, and by the mysteries of iniquity which they show their children, devote them to the service of Satan, and forward their everlasting ruin, in a manner even more to be lamented? What an account must such parents render to God, and what a meeting will they have with their children at the day of judgment! On the other hand, let children remember that he who cursed father or mother was surely put to death. This law Christ confirmed. Laws which were made before are repeated, and penalties annexed to them. If men will not avoid evil practices, because the law has made these practices sin, and it is right that we go on that principle, surely they should avoid them when the law has made them death, from a principle of self-preservation. In the midst of these laws comes in a general charge, Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy. It is the Lord that sanctifies, and his work will be done, though it be difficult. Yet his grace is so far from doing away our endeavours, that it strongly encourages them. Work out your salvation, for it is God that worketh in you.
vv10-27
These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.
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
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
גֵּר: properly, a guest; by implication, a foreigner
גּוּר: properly, to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), i.e. sojourn (as a guest); also to shrink, fear (as in a strange place); also to gather forhostility (as afraid)
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
זֶרַע: seed; figuratively, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity
Cross References
Leviticus 20Direct parallel forbidding the giving of offspring to the pagan deity Molech.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicit law forbidding a man from marrying or uncovering the nakedness of his brother's wife.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Jesus explicitly cites and confirms the law of puting to death children who curse parents.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Internal chapter parallel repeating the core mandate to sanctify yourselves and be holy.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
New Testament command quoting the Levitical charge 'Be ye holy; for I am holy.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identical phrase of God setting His face against a person and cutting them off.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explicit covenant parallel declaring Yahweh as the One who sanctifies His covenant people.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The foundational covenant law declaring that anyone cursing father or mother must be executed.
Supported by John Calvin
John the Baptist rebukes Herod Antipas for taking his brother Philip's wife.
Supported by John Calvin
Warns Israel that the land will vomit or spue them out for committing abominations.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The foundational dietary code defining clean and unclean beasts, birds, and creeping things.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts humanly ignoring or winking at sins with God overlooking times of ignorance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Direct prohibition against turning to mediums, wizards, and familiar spirits.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The specific judicial penalty of death for both the adulterer and the adulteress.
Supported by John Calvin
Paul references the prohibition of a man sleeping with his father's wife as intolerable.
Illustrates execution by stoning followed by burning with fire as specified in verse 14.
Supported by JFB
The underlying moral prohibition against bestiality, here coupled with the death penalty.
God's presence separates and distinguishes Israel from all other people upon the earth.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Peter's vision of clean and unclean beasts, illustrating the breaking down of national barriers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Historical account of Saul seeking out a woman with a familiar spirit at Endor.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel prohibition against turning after those who have familiar spirits or wizards.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Civil law demanding capital punishment for practicing witchcraft.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The direct moral prohibition against uncovering the nakedness of one's father's wife.
The direct moral prohibition against lying with one's daughter-in-law.
The underlying moral prohibition against homosexual practice, labeled an abomination.
The underlying moral prohibition regarding relations during a woman's impurity.
Israel chosen to be a holy, peculiar people, severed from other nations.
Supported by John Calvin