Passage

Leviticus 18

Leviticus 18 is the chapter that defines the boundaries of permissible sexual behavior for covenant Israel. It opens with a frame ("I am the LORD your God; you shall not do as they do in Egypt or in Canaan"), lists about a dozen specific prohibitions, incest in graded degrees, adultery, child sacrifice to Molech, male same-sex intercourse, bestiality, and closes with the warning that the land itself vomits out inhabitants who practice these things. For Christian apologetics it is the most-disputed chapter in the Pentateuch on sexual ethics, the central OT text in the contemporary homosexuality debate, and a major test case for the broader OT-NT moral-continuity question.

Book: Leviticus · NASB95

Key verses

"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22, NASB95)

"You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:21, NASB95)

"Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants." (Leviticus 18:24-25, NASB95)

Immediate context (4 public-domain translations)

ASV (ASV)

"1. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God. 3. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. 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. 21. And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to make them pass through the fire to Molech; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. 22. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23. And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you; 25. And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26. Ye therefore shall keep my statutes and mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you; 27. (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled); 28. that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29. For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30. Therefore shall ye keep my charge, that ye practise not any of these abominable customs, which were practised before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am Jehovah your God." (Leviticus 18:1-30, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Yahweh said to Moses, 2. “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God. 3. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. 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. 21. “‘You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh. 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. 25. The land was defiled: therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. 26. You 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); 28. that 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. 30. 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 yourselves with them. I am Yahweh your God.’”" (Leviticus 18:1-30, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 3. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 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. 21. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. ^{Molech: Gr. Moloch} 22. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25. And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27. (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28. That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. 29. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 18:1-30, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 2. 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, I [am] Jehovah your God; 3. according to the work of the land of Egypt in which ye have dwelt ye do not, and according to the work of the land of Canaan whither I am bringing you in, ye do not, and in their statutes ye walk not. 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. 21. 'And of thy seed thou dost not give to pass over to the Molech; nor dost thou pollute the name of thy God; I [am] Jehovah. 22. 'And with a male thou dost not lie as one lieth with a woman; abomination it [is]. 23. 'And with any beast thou dost not give thy copulation, for uncleanness with it; and a woman doth not stand before a beast to lie down with it; confusion it [is]. 24. 'Ye are not defiled with all these, for with all these have the nations been defiled which I am sending away from before you; 25. and the land is defiled, and I charge its iniquity upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants: 26. and ye, ye have kept My statutes and My judgments, and do not [any] of all these abominations, the native and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst, 27. (for all these abominations have the men of the land done who [are] before you, and the land is defiled), 28. and the land doth not vomit you out in your defiling it, as it hath vomited out the nation which [is] before you; 29. for any one who doth [any] of all these abominations, even the persons who are doing [so], have been cut off from the midst of their people; 30. and ye have kept My charge, so as not to do [any] of the abominable statutes which have been done before you, and ye do not defile yourselves with them; I [am] Jehovah your God.'" (Leviticus 18:1-30, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: YHWH speaking through Moses; "I am the LORD" punctuates the chapter and frames every prohibition as a personal command, not merely a community policy
Audience: the Israelite covenant community at Sinai, on the cusp of entering Canaan
Location: in the wilderness, with Egypt behind and Canaan ahead, both framed as cultures with the practices this chapter forbids
Time period: narrative setting in the 13th-15th century BC depending on Exodus dating; Leviticus 17-26 (the Holiness Code) is the literary unit this chapter belongs to

Theological reading

The chapter is bracketed by two motivations that distinguish biblical sexual ethics from surrounding ANE practice. First, the "I am the LORD" frame: these prohibitions are not pragmatic tribal taboos but the personal will of the covenant God, repeated seven times in the chapter for emphasis. Second, the Egypt/Canaan frame: Israel is told explicitly that the surrounding nations practiced what is forbidden here, and that the land "vomited out" the Canaanites precisely because of these practices. The implication is that the sexual ethics of Leviticus 18 are not novel Israelite inventions but cosmic moral order, a violation invites the same consequence whether the violator is Canaanite or Israelite.

The OT-NT continuity question turns on how Leviticus 18 relates to the Mosaic law as a whole. The traditional Christian division, moral, civil, ceremonial, sees the moral law (the Decalogue plus the sexual ethics of Leviticus 18 and 20) as binding on the new-covenant church, while the civil law (Israel-specific case law) and the ceremonial law (sacrifices, kosher, etc.) are fulfilled in Christ and not directly binding. The NT itself supports this reading at multiple points: the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:20 requires Gentile believers to abstain from porneia (sexual immorality) and idol-meat in language that echoes Leviticus 17-18; Paul's vice lists in 1 Corinthians 6.9-10 include arsenokoitai (a term plausibly coined from the LXX of Leviticus 18:22's meta arsenos koiten); and Romans 1.26-27 frames male and female same-sex intercourse with the same "against nature" language the Holiness Code presupposes.

The Molech prohibition in v. 21 is theologically dense and sometimes overlooked. The chapter is not only about sex, it places child sacrifice in the middle of its sexual prohibitions, which suggests that ancient Israel saw fertility cult, sexual transgression, and child sacrifice as parts of a single corrupted complex of false worship. The Canaanite religious system used sexual rite and child immolation as worship of fertility deities; Israel's God prohibits both as defilement of the land. This is the OT background for the consistent prophetic critique of Israelite child sacrifice (cf. Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5, 32:35) and, in modern apologetic application, ris3n's argument that the Levitical prohibition of child-immolation places biblical ethics in direct opposition to ANE norms rather than continuous with them.

Verse 22, "you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination", is the central battleground text in the contemporary debate over Christian sexual ethics and same-sex relationships. The revisionist reading argues the verse targets specifically idolatrous or pederastic same-sex acts (linking it to the Molech context immediately above); the traditional reading argues the verse universalizes the male-male sexual act as such (linking it to the broader incest-bestiality framework on either side, neither of which is idolatry-specific). The traditional reading is reinforced by Leviticus 20:13 (which prescribes the death penalty without idolatry-qualification) and by the NT recapitulation in Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6, where the prohibition appears in moral and not cultic-law contexts.

Key words

toebah, to'evah (Strong's H8441), "abomination, detestable thing"; the term applied to v. 22 (and used throughout the Holiness Code for both moral and cultic violations).
galah, galah (Strong's H1540), "to uncover, to reveal"; the verb in the recurring euphemism "uncover the nakedness of" for sexual intercourse.
H1320 - basar, basar (Strong's H1320), "flesh, kin"; the Hebrew kinship language that grounds the incest prohibitions.
molek, molech (Strong's H4432), the Ammonite/Canaanite deity to whom children were sacrificed.

Theological themes

Sexual ethics as creational, not cultural. The Egypt/Canaan frame argues the prohibitions express cosmic moral order, not local Israelite taboo.
Holiness and the land. The land itself responds to defilement; sexual transgression carries cosmic, not just personal, consequences.
OT-NT moral continuity. The Jerusalem Council, Paul's vice lists, and Romans 1 all reaffirm the substance of Leviticus 18 as binding on the new-covenant church.
Defilement complex. Sexual transgression, child sacrifice, and idolatry are presented as a single complex, not three unrelated topics.

Cross-references

Leviticus 20, the parallel chapter that recapitulates many of these prohibitions with penalties attached.
Romans 1.18-32, Paul's argument that same-sex acts express idolatrous suppression of natural revelation, the NT recapitulation of Leviticus 18's framing.
1 Corinthians 6.9-10, the arsenokoitai vice-list term plausibly coined from the LXX of Leviticus 18:22.
Acts 15:20, the Jerusalem Council requires Gentile believers to abstain from porneia in language echoing Leviticus 17-18.
Matthew 19.4-6, Jesus grounds sexual ethics in the male-female creational order of Genesis 1-2, the underlying anthropology presupposed by Leviticus 18.
Genesis 1.27, the male-female image-bearing structure that grounds the OT-NT sexual ethic.

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.