1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying, 2 Speake vnto the children of Israel, and say vnto them, I am the Lord your God. 3 After ye doings of the land of Egypt, wherin ye dwelt, shall ye not doe: and after the maner of the land of Canaan, whither I will bring you, shall ye not do, neither walke in their ordinances, 4 But do after my iudgements, and keepe mine ordinances, to walke therein: I am the Lord your God. 5 Ye shall keepe therefore my statutes, and my iudgements, which if a man doe, he shall then liue in them: I am the Lord. 6 None shall come neere to any of ye kinred of his flesh to vncouer her shame: I am the Lord. 7 Thou shalt not vncouer the shame of thy father, nor the shame of thy mother: for she is thy mother, thou shalt not discouer her shame. 8 The shame of thy fathers wife shalt thou not discouer: for it is thy fathers shame. 9 Thou shalt not discouer the shame of thy sister the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether shee bee borne at home, or borne without: thou shalt not discouer their shame. 10 The shame of thy sonnes daughter, or of thy daughters daughter, thou shalt not, I say, vncouer their shame: for it is thy shame. 11 The shame of thy fathers wiues daughter, begotten of thy father (for she is thy sister) thou shalt not, I say, discouer her shame. 12 Thou shalt not vncouer the shame of thy fathers sister: for she is thy fathers kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not discouer the shame of thy mothers sister: for she is thy mothers kinsewoman. 14 Thou shalt not vncouer the shame of thy fathers brother: that is, thou shalt not goe in to his wife, for she is thine aunte. 15 Thou shalt not discouer the shame of thy daughter in lawe: for she is thy sonnes wife: therefore shalt thou not vncouer her shame. 16 Thou shalt not discouer the shame of thy brothers wife. for it is thy brothers shame. 17 Thou shalt not discouer the shame of the wife and of her daughter, neither shalt thou take her sonnes daughter, nor her daughters daughter, to vncouer her shame: for they are thy kinsfolkes, and it were wickednesse. 18 Also thou shalt not take a wife with her sister, during her life, to vexe her, in vncouering her shame vpon her. 19 Thou shalt not also go vnto a woman to vncouer her shame, as long as she is put apart for her disease. 20 Moreouer, thou shalt not giue thy selfe to thy neighbours wife by carnall copulation, to be defiled with her. 21 Also thou shalt not giue thy children to offer them vnto Molech, neither shalt thou defile the name of thy God: for I am the Lord. 22 Thou shalt not lie with ye male as one lieth with a woman: for it is abomination. 23 Thou shalt not also lie with any beast to bee defiled therewith, neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie downe thereto: for it is abomination. 24 Yee shall not defile your selues in any of these things: for in al these the nations are defiled, which I will cast out before you: 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I wil visit the wickednesse thereof vpon it, and the lande shall vomit out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall keepe therefore mine ordinances, and my iudgements, and commit none of these abominations, aswell hee that is of the same countrey, as the straunger that soiourneth among you. 27 (For all these abominations haue the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled: 28 And shall not the lande spue you out if ye defile it, as it spued out the people that were before you?) 29 For whosoeuer shall commit any of these abominations, the persons that doe so, shall bee cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall yee keepe mine ordinances that ye do not any of the abominable customes, which haue bene done before you, and that yee defile not your selues therein: for I am the Lord your God.
Forbidden Sexual Practices
1 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord your God. 3 Do not follow the practices of the people of Egypt, where you once lived, or of the people in the land of Canaan, where I am now taking you. 4 Obey my laws and do what I command. I am the Lord your God. 5 Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. I am the Lord.”
6 The Lord gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives. 7 Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother. 8 Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives. 9 Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you. 10 Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you. 11 Do not have intercourse with a half sister; she, too, is your sister. 12-13 Do not have intercourse with an aunt, whether she is your father's sister or your mother's sister. 14 Do not have intercourse with your uncle's wife; she, too, is your aunt. 15 Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law 16 or with your brother's wife. 17 Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest. 18 Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living.
19 Do not have intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, because she is ritually unclean. 20 Do not have intercourse with another man's wife; that would make you ritually unclean. 21 Do not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord. 22 No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that. 23 No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean.
24 Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these acts, for that is how the pagans made themselves unclean, those pagans who lived in the land before you and whom the Lord is driving out so that you can go in. 25 Their actions made the land unclean, and so the Lord is punishing the land and making it reject the people who lived there. 26-27 They did all these disgusting things and made the land unclean, but you must not do them. All of you, whether Israelites or foreigners living with you, must keep the Lord's laws and commands, 28 and then the land will not reject you, as it rejected the pagans who lived there before you. 29 You know that whoever does any of these disgusting things will no longer be considered one of God's people.
30 And the Lord said, “Obey the commands I give and do not follow the practices of the people who lived in the land before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by doing any of these things. I am the Lord your God.”