Leviticus Chapter 18 of 27 about 3 min read

Leviticus 18

What happens in this chapter

Chapter summary coming soon.

Verse 1. Then the LORD said to Moses,

Verse 2. “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.

Verse 3. You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

Verse 4. You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.

Verse 5. Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

Verse 6. None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

Verse 7. You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

Verse 8. You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

Verse 9. You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

Verse 10. You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

Verse 11. You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

Verse 12. You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

Verse 13. You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

Verse 14. You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

Verse 15. You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

Verse 16. You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

Verse 17. You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

Verse 18. You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

Verse 19. You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

Verse 20. You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

Verse 21. You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

Verse 22. You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

Verse 23. You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

Verse 24. Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.

Verse 25. Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

Verse 26. But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.

Verse 27. For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.

Verse 28. So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.

Verse 29. Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.

Verse 30. You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”