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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Leviticus 18

Holiness, sacrifice, priesthood, purity, atonement, and life near God's presence.

Old Testament

Leviticus 18

1The LORD said to Moses,

2“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.

3You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.

4You shall do my ordinances. You shall keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God.

5You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am the LORD.

6“‘None of you shall approach any close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

7“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

8“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is your father’s nakedness.

9“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad.

10“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness; for theirs is your own nakedness.

11“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.

12“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s near kinswoman.

13“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.

14“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife. She is your aunt.

15“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

16“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness.

17“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near kinswomen. It is wickedness.

18“‘You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.

19“‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

20“‘You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her.

21“‘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 LORD.

22“‘You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. That is detestable.

23“‘You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it. No woman may give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.

24“‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.

25The land was defiled. Therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.

26You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you

27(for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled),

28that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

29“‘For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.

30Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.’”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Holiness, sacrifice, priesthood, purity, atonement, and life near God's presence. Read Leviticus 18 within the complete Leviticus overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Leviticus 18

Leviticus 18 contains 30 verses and about 628 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “The LORD said to Moses,” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 30 closes: “Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include nakedness, uncover, daughter, land, father’s, wife. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Leviticus 18

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Leviticus 18:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

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