Leviticus 18

Leviticus Chapters

New Living Translation

1. Then the LORD said to Moses,
2. "Say this to your people, the Israelites: I, the LORD, am your God.
3. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.
4. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I, the LORD, am your God.
5. If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD.
6. "You must never have sexual intercourse with a close relative, for I am the LORD.
7. Do not violate your father by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must never have intercourse with her.
8. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your father's wives, for this would violate your father.
9. "Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was brought up in the same family or somewhere else.
10. "Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would violate you.
11. Do not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of any of your father's wives; she is your half sister.
12. Do not have intercourse with your aunt, your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative.
13. Do not have sexual intercourse with your aunt, your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
14. And do not violate your uncle, your father's brother, by having sexual intercourse with his wife; she also is your aunt.
15. Do not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife.
16. Do not have intercourse with your brother's wife; this would violate your brother.
17. "Do not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter or marry both a woman and her granddaughter, whether her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close relatives, and to do this would be a horrible wickedness.
18. "Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister.
19. "Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity.
20. "Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor's wife.
21. "Do not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
22. "Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.
23. "A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal, and a woman must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion.
24. "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the people I am expelling from the Promised Land have defiled themselves.
25. As a result, the entire land has become defiled. That is why I am punishing the people who live there, and the land will soon vomit them out.
26. You must strictly obey all of my laws and regulations, and you must not do any of these detestable things. This applies both to you who are Israelites by birth and to the foreigners living among you.
27. "All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and the land has become defiled.
28. Do not give the land a reason to vomit you out for defiling it, as it will vomit out the people who live there now.
29. Whoever does any of these detestable things will be cut off from the community of Israel.
30. So be careful to obey my laws, and do not practice any of these detestable activities. Do not defile yourselves by doing any of them, for I, the LORD, am your God."