Leviticus 18

1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.

3 After the doings of the Land of Egypt, wherein ye have dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan whither I am bringing you, shall ye not do; and in their customs shall ye not walk.

You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

4 My ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.

You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.

5 And ye shall keep my statutes, and my ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.

Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

6 None of you shall approach to any that are near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.

None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

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.

You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, —even the nakedness of any of these shalt thou not uncover.

You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, —even the nakedness of any of these, shalt thou not uncover; for theirs is thy own nakedness.

You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, —thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12 The nakedness of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover: she is thy father's near kinswoman.

You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

13 The nakedness of thy mother's sister shalt thou not uncover; for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.

You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

14 The nakedness of thy father's brother shalt thou not uncover: his wife shalt thou not approach, she is thy aunt.

You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

15 The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law shalt thou not uncover: she is thy son's wife, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

16 The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness.

You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

17 The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shalt thou not uncover: her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter shalt thou not take, to uncover her nakedness; for they are near kinswomen; it is incest.

You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

18 And a woman together with her sister shalt thou not take, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other, in her lifetime.

You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

19 And a woman in the separation of her uncleanness shalt thou not approach, to uncover her nakedness.

You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

20 And with thy neighbor's wife shalt thou not lie carnally, to defile thyself with her.

You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

21 And any of thy seed shalt thou not let pass through [the fire] to Molech, and thou shalt not profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.

You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

22 And with a man shalt thou not lie, as with a woman: it is an abomination.

You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

23 And with any beast shalt thou not lie to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

24 Do not defile yourselves through any of these things.; for through all these have become defiled the nations which I cast out before you:

Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.

25 And the land became defiled; wherefore I have visited its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomited out its inhabitants.

Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, and ye shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you;

But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.

27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land hath become defiled; )

For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.

28 That the land may not vomit you out also, when ye defile it, as it hath vomited out the nations that were before you.

So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations 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.

Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.

30 Therefore shall ye keep my charge, so that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye do not defile yourselves therewith: I am the Lord your God.

You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”