Leviticus 20
Penalties for Violations of Holiness
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones.
3I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death,
5then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
6“‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
7“‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the LORD your God.
8You shall keep my statutes, and do them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
9“‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon himself.
10“‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11“‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
12“‘If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
13“‘If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
14“‘If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.
15“‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
16“‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
17“‘If a man takes his sister—his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter—and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.
18“‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made her fountain naked, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister, for he has made his close relative naked. They shall bear their iniquity.
20If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.
21“‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
22“‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.
23You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
25“‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you.
26You shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27“‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be upon themselves.’”
Leviticus 20 prescribes severe penalties, including death and excommunication, for violations of Israel's holiness code. The chapter addresses religious apostasy (child sacrifice to Molech, consulting mediums), sexual immorality (adultery, incest, bestiality), and dishonoring parents. These laws emphasize that Israel's covenant relationship with the holy God requires absolute separation from pagan practices and moral corruption that characterized surrounding nations.
Context
This chapter provides the judicial penalties for violating the holiness laws outlined in chapters 18-19, completing the Holiness Code section of Leviticus.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-8Penalties for Religious ApostasyDeath penalty prescribed for child sacrifice to Molech and consulting mediums, with call to holiness.
- 9Dishonoring ParentsDeath penalty established for cursing one's father or mother.
- 10-21Sexual Violations and Their PunishmentsVarious forms of sexual immorality addressed with penalties ranging from death to excommunication.
- 22-27Call to Separation and HolinessIsrael commanded to distinguish themselves from other nations and maintain ritual purity as God's chosen people.
Penalties for Violations of Holiness
20:1–20:27God commands Moses to establish death penalties for various violations of holiness including child sacrifice to Molech, consulting mediums, cursing parents, adultery, and sexual perversions. These laws emphasize the requirement for Israel to be holy as God is holy.
person_contrast
Moses, typically associated with divine obedience and covenant law, here uniquely confronts the intersection of idolatry and legal punishment, marking one of scripture's starkest juxtapositions between worship and death.
Leviticus 20:3
Exodus 31:14lexicalYou shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for…
Leviticus 18:21lexical“‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am the…
Ezekiel 23:38lexicalMoreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.
Numbers 19:20lexicalBut the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the assembly, beca…
Leviticus 20:6
Leviticus 19:31lexical“‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am the LORD you…
Isaiah 19:3lexicalThe spirit of the Egyptians will fail within them. I will destroy their counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers,…
1 Samuel 28:9lexicalThe woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who have familiar spirits and the…
Deuteronomy 31:16lexicalThe LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute aft…
2 Chronicles 33:6lexicalHe also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination,…
Leviticus 20:13
Leviticus 18:22lexical“‘You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. That is detestable.
Leviticus 20:17
Leviticus 18:9lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, wheth…
Leviticus 18:13lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.
Leviticus 18:12lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s near kinswoman.
Ezekiel 23:18lexicalSo she uncovered her prostitution and uncovered her nakedness. Then my soul was alienated from her, just like my soul wa…
Leviticus 18:11lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sist…
Leviticus 20:19
Leviticus 18:13lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.
Leviticus 18:12lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s near kinswoman.
Leviticus 18:9lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, wheth…
Leviticus 18:6lexical“‘None of you shall approach any close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 18:11lexical“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sist…
Leviticus 20:21
Ezekiel 22:10lexicalIn you have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness. In you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.
Leviticus 18:19lexical“‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.
Leviticus 20:24
Deuteronomy 31:20lexicalFor when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have ea…
Deuteronomy 11:9lexicaland that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspri…
Deuteronomy 26:15lexicalLook down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us,…
Numbers 13:27lexicalThey told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fr…
Deuteronomy 6:3lexicalHear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the L…
Leviticus 20:25
Genesis 7:8lexicalClean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground
Leviticus 11:47lexicalto make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living t…
Leviticus 10:10lexicalYou are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
Ezekiel 22:26lexicalHer priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the hol…
Genesis 8:17lexicalBring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thin…
Leviticus 20:27
2 Kings 21:6lexicalHe made his son to pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar sp…
Isaiah 8:19lexicalWhen they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shoul…
1 Samuel 28:9lexicalThe woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who have familiar spirits and the…
Deuteronomy 18:11lexicalor a charmer, or someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
1 Samuel 28:3lexicalNow Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. Saul had sent awa…
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