Leviticus 18 New American Standard Bible

Laws on Immoral Relations

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(A)I am the Lord your God. ³You shall not do ^[a]what is ^(B)done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do ^[b]what is ^(C)done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, ^[c]to live in accord with them; ^(D)I am the Lord your God. ⁵So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, ^(E)which, if ^[d]a person ^[e]follows them, then he will live by them; I am the Lord.

⁶‘None of you shall approach any blood relative ^[f]of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ⁷^(F)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ⁸^(G)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹As for ^(H)the nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born in the household or born outside the household, you shall not uncover their nakedness. ¹⁰The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for ^[g]their nakedness is yours. ¹¹The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹²^(I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ¹⁴^(J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵^(K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶^(L)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷^(M)You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is an outrageous sin. ¹⁸And you shall not ^[h]marry a woman in addition to her sister ^[i]as a second wife while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹‘^(N)Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her ^(O)menstrual impurity. ²⁰And ^(P)you shall not have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹You shall not give any of your children ^(Q)to ^[j]offer them to Molech, nor shall you ^(R)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ²²^(S)You shall not sleep with a male as ^[k]one sleeps with a female; it is an abomination. ²³^(T)Also you shall not have sexual intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to ^[l]mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these things ^(U)the nations which I am driving out from you have become defiled. ²⁵For the land has become defiled, ^(V)therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land ^(W)has vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the stranger who resides among you ²⁷(for the people of the land who were there before you did all these abominations, and the land has become defiled), ²⁸so that the land will not vomit you out should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which was there before you. ²⁹For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰So you are to keep ^(X)your ^[m]commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; ^(Y)I am the Lord your God.’”