Leviticus 18
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
2 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: I am the Lord your God.
“Speak to the Israeli people and tell them [that I, Yahweh, say this] this: I am Yahweh, your God.
3 You shall not do according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt: neither shall you act according to the manner of the country of Chanaan, into which I will bring you, nor shall you walk in their ordinances.
[So you must do what I want you to do]; you must not do the things that the people in Egypt, where you lived previously, do; and you must not do what is done by the people in Canaan, the land to which I am taking you. Do not imitate their behavior.
4 You shall do my judgments, and shall observe my precepts, and shall walk in them. I am the Lord your God.
You must obey all of my laws [DOU], because it is I, Yahweh your God, [who am commanding those laws].
5 Keep my laws and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. I am the Lord.
If you obey all my laws and decrees, you will continue to remain alive [for a long time]. I, Yahweh, [am the one who is promising that to you]. [These are some of my laws]:
6 No man shall approach to her that is near of kin to him, to uncover her nakedness. I am the Lord.
“Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. It is I, Yahweh, [who am commanding that].
7 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother: she is thy mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
“Do not disgrace your father by having sex with your mother [DOU].
8 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife: for it is the nakedness of thy father.
“Do not have sex with any of your father’s [other] wives, because that would disgrace your father.
9 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy sister by father or by mother, whether born at home or abroad.
“Do not have sex with your sister or your stepsister; it does not matter whether she was born in your house or somewhere else.
10 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or thy daughter’s daughter: because it is thy own nakedness.
“Do not have sex with your granddaughter, because that would disgrace you.
11 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, whom she bore to thy father, and who is thy sister.
“Do not have sex with your half-sister, because she is your sister.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: because she is the flesh of thy father.
“Do not have sex with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative.
13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: because she is thy mother’s flesh.
“Do not have sex with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother: neither shalt thou approach to his wife, who is joined to thee by affinity.
“Do not disgrace your (uncle/father’s brother) by having sex with his wife, because she is your aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: because she is thy son’s wife, neither shalt thou discover her shame.
“Do not have sex with [DOU] your daughter-in-law, because she is your son’s wife.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: because it is the nakedness of thy brother.
“Do not have sex with your brother’s wife, because that would disgrace your brother.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy wife and her daughter. Thou shalt not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to discover her shame: because they are her flesh, and such copulation is incest.
“Do not have sex with the daughter or granddaughter of any woman whom you have previously had sex with; they are [her] (OR, [your]) close relatives. Having sex with any of them would be a wicked thing to do.
18 Thou shalt not take thy wife’s sister for a harlot, to rival her, neither shalt thou discover her nakedness, while she is yet living.
“While your wife is still living, do not marry your wife’s sister and have sex with her.
19 Thou shalt not approach to a woman having her flowers, neither shalt thou uncover her nakedness.
“Do not have sex with any woman while she is having her monthly menstrual period.
20 Thou shalt not lie with thy neighbour’s wife, nor be defiled with mingling of seed.
“Do not (defile yourself/make yourself unacceptable to me) by having sex with someone else’s wife.
21 Thou shalt not give any of thy seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, nor defile the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
“Do not give any of your children to be burned to be a sacrifice to the god Molech, because that would show that you do not revere me [MTY], Yahweh, your God.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, because it is an abomination.
“No man should have sex with another man; that is detestable.
23 Thou shalt not copulate with any beast, neither shalt thou be defiled with it. A woman shall not lie down to a beast, nor copulate with it: because it is a heinous crime.
“No one, man or woman, should (defile himself/cause himself to become unacceptable to me) by having sex with an animal; that is a perverse act.
24 Defile not yourselves with any of these things with which all the nations have been defiled, which I will cast out before you,
“Do not (defile yourselves/cause yourselves to become unacceptable to me) in any of those ways, because doing those things is how the people of the nations that I expelled as you advanced became (unacceptable to me/defiled).
25 And with which the land is defiled: the abominations of which I will visit, that it may vomit out its inhabitants.
They even caused the land to become defiled, so I punished them for their sins, and [it was as though] the land vomited out the people who lived there.
26 Keep ye my ordinances and my judgments, and do not any of these abominations: neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you.
You must all obey my laws and decrees. That includes you people who were born here and the foreigners who live among you.
27 For all these detestable things the inhabitants of the land have done, that; were before you, and have defiled it.
All those detestable things were done by the people who lived in this land before you came here, and they caused the land to become defiled.
28 Beware then, lest in like manner, it vomit you also out, if you do the like things, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
So if you defile the land, I will get rid of [MET] you like I got rid of the people of those nations that were here before you came.
29 Every soul that shall commit any of these abominations, shall perish from the midst of his people.
“You must not allow people who do any of those detestable things to associate with you who are my people.
30 Keep my commandments. Do not the things which they have done, that have been before you, and be not defiled therein. I am the Lord your God.
Obey everything that I command you to do, and do not defile yourselves by practicing any of the detestable customs that were practiced [by the people who were there] before you came. I, Yahweh your God, [am the one who is commanding these things].”
