Leviticus 18
1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto 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 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.
[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 My ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: 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 And ye shall keep my statutes, and my ordinances, 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 None of you shall approach to any that are near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.
“Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. It is I, Yahweh, [who am commanding that].
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.
“Do not disgrace your father by having sex with your mother [DOU].
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
“Do not have sex with any of your father’s [other] wives, because that would disgrace 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.
“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 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.
“Do not have sex with your granddaughter, because that would disgrace you.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, —thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
“Do not have sex with your half-sister, because she is your sister.
12 The nakedness of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
“Do not have sex with your father’s sister, because 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.
“Do not have sex with your mother’s sister, because 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.
“Do not disgrace your (uncle/father’s brother) by having sex with his wife, because 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.
“Do not have sex with [DOU] your daughter-in-law, because she is your son’s wife.
16 The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness.
“Do not have sex with your brother’s wife, because that would disgrace 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.
“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 And a woman together with her sister shalt thou not take, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other, in her lifetime.
“While your wife is still living, do not marry your wife’s sister and have sex with her.
19 And a woman in the separation of her uncleanness shalt thou not approach, to uncover her nakedness.
“Do not have sex with any woman while she is having her monthly menstrual period.
20 And with thy neighbor's wife shalt thou not lie carnally, to defile thyself with her.
“Do not (defile yourself/make yourself unacceptable to me) by having sex with someone else’s wife.
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.
“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 And with a man shalt thou not lie, as with a woman: it is an abomination.
“No man should have sex with another man; that is detestable.
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.
“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 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/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 the land became defiled; wherefore I have visited its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomited 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 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;
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 abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land hath become defiled; )
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 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, I will get rid of [MET] you like I got rid of the people of those nations that were here before you came.
29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, — even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
“You must not allow people who do any of those detestable things to associate with you who are my 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.
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].”
