Leviticus 20:1-27
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovereda her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncoverethb his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepethc on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Leviticus
*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness
Leviticus
Gordon Churchyard
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).
Chapter 20
Punishments for various *sins
v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.
v2 ‘Tell (this) to the *Israelites. “One of you, or a foreigner that lives in your country, might give one of his children to *Molech. You must kill that person. The people in your country must throw stones at him (until he is dead).
v3 I (the *LORD) will be against that man. I will *cut off (that man) from his people because he gave (one of) his children to *Molech. He has made my holy place really *unclean, and he has made my name bad.
v4 However, the people in (your) country might not kill that man. They may do nothing when that man gives (one of) his children to *Molech.
v5 But I (the *LORD) will be against that man and his family. I will *cut off that man and everybody who follows him from their people. It is as if they have had sex with *Molech!
v6 I (the *LORD) will be against anyone who asks someone to inquire of the spirits of dead people. It is as if that person is trying to have sex with (these spirits)! I (the *LORD) will *cut him off from his people.
v7 Make yourselves separate (from bad things) and be holy. (Do this,) because I am the *LORD your God.
v8 Obey my rules. Do what my rules (tell you to do). I am the *LORD who makes you holy.
v9 If a man *curses his father or his mother, that man must die. He is responsible for his own death because he has *cursed his father or his mother.
v10 If a man has sex with his neighbour’s wife or with any other man’s wife, both of them (the man and the woman) must die.
v11 If a man has sex with his father’s wife, both of them must die. They are responsible for their own deaths, because they caused shame to the man’s father.
v12 If a man has sex with his son’s wife, both of them must die. They are responsible for their own deaths. What they did was very wrong.
v13 If a man has sex with another man, both of them must die. They are responsible for their own deaths, because they have done something very nasty.
v14 If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is a very bad thing. Both he and the two women must die. Burn them in fire, so that this bad thing will not continue to be among you.
v15 If a man has sex with an animal, both he and the animal must die.
v16 If a woman comes to an animal to have sex with it, you must kill the woman. Also, (you must kill) the animal. They must die. They will be responsible for their own deaths.
v17 It will bring shame to a man if he marries his sister or *half sister. If they have sex (with each other it is a bad thing). You must *cut them off from their people. All their people must know about it. The man has caused shame to his sister, and he is responsible (for his *sin).
v18 A man must not have sex with a woman during her monthly *period. He has shown where her (blood) flows from. She, too, has shown where her (blood) flows from. So *cut off both the man and the woman from their people.
v19 Do not have sex with your mother’s sister or with your father’s sister. That would cause shame to a close relative. Both of you would be responsible (for this *sin).
v20 If a man has sex with his aunt, he has caused shame to his uncle. They are both responsible (for this *sin). They will die before they can have children.
v21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is a very *unclean act. He has caused shame to his brother. They will die before they can have children.
v22 You must obey all my rules and (all my) laws. Then the land to which I am bringing you will not be (like a sick person). It will not throw you out from its stomach. You can remain in the land.
v23 I am going to send out the nations (that live there) in front of you. You must not follow their customs. Because they did all these things, I hated them.
v24 I have told you that their land will become yours. I myself will give their land to you. It will be your possession. It is a land where the milk and honey are plentiful. I am the *LORD (who is) your God. I have made you separate from the people (who belong to other countries).
v25 You must make a difference between animals that are *clean and *unclean. Also (you must make a difference between) birds that are *clean and *unclean. I have separated many animals birds and insects; they are *unclean for you. Do not make yourselves really *unclean with any of them.
v26 You must be holy for me, because I, the *LORD, am holy. I have separated you from the people (who belong to other countries). You are to be mine.
v27 If a man or woman among you tries to inquire of dead people, you must kill them. Throw stones at them (until they are dead). They will be responsible for their own deaths.” ’
Notes
Verse 2 *Molech was a false god. Leviticus 18:21 mentions him, but here there are more details. The ‘people in your country’ must kill people who give their children to *Molech. ‘Give their children’ means that they *sacrifice the children to *Molech. Bible students are not sure who ‘the people in your country’ are. There are two possibilities:
A group of leaders of the people.
The ordinary people.
Even foreigners who live in *Israel must obey the rules. God told the *Israelites to kill people who had done wrong things in this way. This was the proper punishment for this very wicked *sin.
Verse 3 The *Hebrew words for ‘I will be against’ mean this. ‘I will turn my faces against’. (Also in verses 5, 6 and so on.) This may remind us that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is so, although he is one God. Or it may mean that every part of God is against this. God would separate or ‘*cut off’ that person. The people who serve *Molech are not part of God’s people any longer. But most important is the *Hebrew word that we have translated ‘children’. The *Hebrew word is tserah. It really means ‘seed’.
God made his promises to Abraham and to his tserah, Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18 and Genesis 24:7. These promises are not only for Abraham.
The tserah does not only mean Abraham’s children. It means children who share the same God with Abraham. It includes us, if we believe God.
Thus when an *Israelite gives his tserah to *Molech, he spoils God’s plans. God will not allow this to happen. So the punishment is death.
Verse 4 God will be against that man, even if the people in the country do not kill him.
Verse 5 ‘Have sex with *Molech’ means this. They love *Molech and they do not love God.
Verse 6 People still try to speak to people who are dead. They use *mediums and *spiritists. *Mediums and *spiritists say that they can contact dead people. Christians do not believe that they can. Here, God says that we must not even try to do it. Again, the punishment is similar.
This *sin was one of the reasons for King Saul’s death. See 1 Samuel chapter 28 and 1 Chronicles 10:13.
Verses 7-8 These two verses contain the main message of Leviticus. ‘Be holy, because I (the *LORD) am holy.’ The word holy appears about 60 times in Leviticus. Only in Psalms and Isaiah does it appear so often. If we are God’s people, we must be like him! We may often fail. But we must always try again to do what God wants us to do.
Verse 9 In this verse, *curse does not mean ‘to use bad language’. It means that someone says, ‘I want bad things to happen to you.’ People often used magic in their *curses. Luke 6:28 says that Christians must not *curse people. They must bless people. They must ask that good things will happen to other people.
Verses 10-16 This repeats Leviticus 18:6-23. But here, there are the punishments also. These punishments should help to persuade people that they should be holy. If a person does these wicked things, then God is against that person. That person deserves a death that brings shame. And God would punish that person if the *Israelites did not do it.
People should know that shame and death are the results of wicked behaviour.
The *Hebrew words for ‘they are responsible for their own deaths’ means this. ‘Their blood is on them.’ It is a special way that the *Jews spoke. Usually, the *Jews killed people with stones as a legal punishment. They threw stones at criminals until they were dead. But in verse 14, they burnt the criminals.
God said that certain actions were bad. Therefore, God’s people must not do them. They had to be like God; in other words, they should be holy. Read verses 7 and 8 again.
Verses 17-21 A *half sister is the daughter of your father or mother but not of your other parent. In other words, you have just one parent in common with a *half sister. This section tells people whom they may not marry. God gave this list as people often married relatives (for example, cousins).
There is a further rule in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. It allows a man to marry and then to have sex with his dead brother’s wife. This was called a levirate marriage.
Verse 18 is not about the people whom someone may marry. It is about sex while the woman is *unclean. Leviticus 15:19-24 has more instructions about this.
Verses 22-26 God was taking his people to *Canaan. To do that, the people who lived there had to leave *Canaan. God would force them to leave that country because they were bad people. They did not obey God’s laws. So the land was like a sick person. It would throw them out. Our stomachs throw things out when we are sick. Another word for this is *vomit. It is a strong word.
Verse 27 Compare this verse with verse 6. Here, the *Israelites must punish anyone who helps other people to contact dead people.
Something to do
1. Read Leviticus 24:16; Deuteronomy 13:6-10 and Numbers 15:32-36. Now make a list of punishments that God told the *Israelites to use. There are 2 more examples in this chapter.
2. Learn to say verses 7 and 8 from memory. Then you will not need to look at the words while you say them aloud.
3. Read Matthew 14:1-12. Of which verse in Leviticus chapter 20 does this story remind you?
4. Christians must be ‘separate’ from the people round them. Read1 Peter 1:14-15; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:8.
5. King Manasseh gave his children to *Molech. And he did many other things that are very wicked, too. But after that, he asked God to forgive him. Read about his life in 2 Chronicles 33:1-20.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Molech ~ the name of a false god.'cut off ~ to give someone a punishment that separates that person from his family or nation. That punishment may be death. But it may be to force that person to live abroad.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
curse ~ an evil statement that bad things should happen to someone. Or, to make such a statement. People often used magic in their curses.'half sister ~ the daughter of only one (and not both) of your parents.
period ~ when women lose blood once a month.
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
medium ~ a person who says they can contact dead people.
spiritist ~ a person who says they can contact dead people.
medium ~ a person who says they can contact dead people.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Canaan ~ the old name for the countries afterwards called Israel and Judah.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
vomit ~ when food returns to our mouths from our stomachs.