Passage

Leviticus 18.6-18

Book: Leviticus · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"4. Mine ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God. 5. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Jehovah."

"6. None of you shall approach to any that are near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am Jehovah. 7. The nakedness of thy father, even the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. 9. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10. The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. 11. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. 14. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. 15. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness. 18. And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, besides the other in her life-time."

"19. And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. 20. And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her." (Leviticus 18:4-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"4. You shall do my ordinances, and you shall keep my statutes, and walk in them: I am Yahweh your God. 5. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances; which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am Yahweh."

"6. “‘None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh. 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 to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet 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." (Leviticus 18:4-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"4. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 5. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD."

"6. None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. ^{near: Heb. remainder of his flesh} 7. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. 9. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10. The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. 11. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. 14. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. 15. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. 18. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. ^{a wife: or, one wife to another}"

"19. Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. 20. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her." (Leviticus 18:4-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"4. 'My judgments ye do, and My statutes ye keep, to walk in them; I [am] Jehovah your God; 5. and ye have kept My statutes and My judgments which man doth and liveth in them; I [am] Jehovah."

"6. 'None of you unto any relation of his flesh doth draw near to uncover nakedness; I [am] Jehovah. 7. 'The nakedness of thy father and the nakedness of thy mother thou dost not uncover, she [is] thy mother; thou dost not uncover her nakedness. 8. 'The nakedness of the wife of thy father thou dost not uncover; it [is] the nakedness of thy father. 9. 'The nakedness of thy sister, daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, born at home or born without; thou dost not uncover their nakedness. 10. 'The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter: thou dost not uncover their nakedness; for theirs [is] thy nakedness. 11. 'The nakedness of a daughter of thy father's wife, begotten of thy father, she [is] thy sister; thou dost not uncover her nakedness. 12. 'The nakedness of a sister of thy father thou dost not uncover; she [is] a relation of thy father. 13. 'The nakedness of thy mother's sister thou dost not uncover; for she [is] thy mother's relation. 14. 'The nakedness of thy father's brother thou dost not uncover; unto his wife thou dost not draw near; she [is] thine aunt. 15. 'The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law thou dost not uncover; she [is] thy son's wife; thou dost not uncover her nakedness. 16. 'The nakedness of thy brother's wife thou dost not uncover; it [is] thy brother's nakedness. 17. 'The nakedness of a woman and her daughter thou dost not uncover; her son's daughter, and her daughter's daughter thou dost not take to uncover her nakedness; they [are] her relations; it [is] wickedness. 18. 'And a woman unto another thou dost not take, to be an adversary, to uncover her nakedness beside her, in her life."

"19. 'And unto a woman in the separation of her uncleanness thou dost not draw near to uncover her nakedness. 20. 'And unto the wife of thy fellow thou dost not give thy seed of copulation, for uncleanness with her." (Leviticus 18:4-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.