- Leviticus
- <
- 18
- >

18
1 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. 3 Don't follow the ways of Egypt where you used to live, and don't follow the ways of Canaan where I'm going to take you. Don't adopt their practices. 4 Do what I tell you and keep my rules. I am the Lord your God. 5 If you keep my rules and do what I tell you, you will live. I am the Lord.
6 Don't have sex with a close relative. 7 Don't shame your father by having sex with your mother. She is your mother; don't have sex with her. 8 Don't have sex with any of your father's wives and shame your father. 9 Don't have sex with your sister,*This clearly includes a half-sister or a step-sister. whether she's your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, or whether she was born in the same house as you or somewhere else. 10 Don't have sex with your granddaughter, your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, because that would be a shameful thing for you. 11 Don't have sex with the daughter of any of your father's wives or the daughter of your father. She is your sister. 12 Don't have sex with your father's sister. She is a close relative of your father. 13 Don't have sex with your mother's sister. She is a close relative of your mother. 14 Don't bring shame on your uncle by having sex with his wife. She is your aunt. 15 Don't have sex with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. Don't have sex with her. 16 Don't have sex with your brother's wife and bring shame on your brother. 17 Don't have sex with both a woman and her daughter. Don't have sex with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are her close relatives. That is something I loathe. 18 Don't marry your wife's sister and have sex with her while your wife is still alive. They will be hostile wives to one other. 19 Don't have sex with a woman during the time she is unclean because of her period. 20 Don't commit any sex act with any other man's wife. This would pollute you and make you unclean.
21 Don't give any of your children as a human sacrifice to Molech,†Molech was a pagan god. The sacrifices were of children placed alive into the metal idols hands which had been heated with fire. for you must not disgrace the character of your God. I am the Lord.
22 Don't have sex with a man as with a woman. That is something disgusting. 23 Don't have sex with any animal. This would pollute you and make you unclean. 24 A woman must not give herself to an animal to have sex with it. That is something disgusting. Don't pollute yourselves and make yourselves unclean by doing anything like this. That's the reason I'm expelling these nations from the land—they polluted themselves because of all these practices. 25 Even the land has become polluted, so I am punishing it for the sins committed by the people who live there, and the land will vomit them out.
26 You, however, must do what I tell you and keep my rules. You must not do any of these disgusting acts, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you. 27 The people who lived in the land before you practiced all these disgusting things, and the land became polluted. 28 If you pollute the land, it will vomit you out just like it did the nations before you.
29 Consequently anyone who does any of these disgusting things must be expelled from their people. 30 You must accept my demand that you don't follow any of these disgusting practices done before you arrived. Don't pollute yourselves and make yourselves unclean. I am the Lord your God.”

- Leviticus
- <
- 18
- >

*18:9 This clearly includes a half-sister or a step-sister.

†18:21 Molech was a pagan god. The sacrifices were of children placed alive into the metal idols hands which had been heated with fire.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher