Leviticus 18

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the Israeli people and tell them [that I, Yahweh, say this] this: I am Yahweh, your God.

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, I [am] the Lord your God.

3 [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.

You shall not do according to the devices of Egypt, in which you lived: and according to the devices of the land of Chanaan, into which I bring you, you shall not do; and you shall not walk in their ordinances.

4 You must obey all of my laws [DOU], because it is I, Yahweh your God, [who am commanding those laws].

You shall observe my judgments, and shall keep my ordinances, and shall walk in them: I [am] the Lord your God.

5 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]:

So you shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments, and do them; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] the Lord your God.

6 “Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. It is I, Yahweh, [who am commanding that].

No man shall draw near to any of his near kindred to uncover their nakedness; I [am] the Lord.

7 “Do not disgrace your father by having sex with your mother [DOU].

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, or the nakedness of your mother, for she is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness.

8 “Do not have sex with any of your father’s [other] wives, because that would disgrace your father.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness.

9 “Do not have sex with your sister or your stepsister; it does not matter whether she was born in your house or somewhere else.

The nakedness of your sister by your father or by your mother, born at home or abroad, their nakedness you shall not uncover.

10 “Do not have sex with your granddaughter, because that would disgrace you.

The nakedness of your son's daughter, or your daughter's daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; because it is your nakedness.

11 “Do not have sex with your half-sister, because she is your sister.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife; she is your sister by the same father: you shall not uncover her nakedness.

12 “Do not have sex with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister, for she is near akin to your father.

13 “Do not have sex with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is near akin to your mother.

14 “Do not disgrace your (uncle/father’s brother) by having sex with his wife, because she is your aunt.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, and you shall not go in to his wife; for she is your relation.

15 “Do not have sex with [DOU] your daughter-in-law, because she is your son’s wife.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law, for she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

16 “Do not have sex with your brother’s wife, because that would disgrace your brother.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness.

17 “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.

The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shall you not uncover; her son's daughter, and her daughter's daughter, shall you not take, to uncover their nakedness, for they are your kinswomen: it is impiety.

18 “While your wife is still living, do not marry your wife’s sister and have sex with her.

You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, as a rival, to uncover her nakedness in opposition to her, while she is yet living.

19 “Do not have sex with any woman while she is having her monthly menstrual period.

And you shall not go in to a woman under separation for her uncleanness, to uncover her nakedness.

20 “Do not (defile yourself/make yourself unacceptable to me) by having sex with someone else’s wife.

And you shall not lie with your neighbor's wife, to defile yourself with her.

21 “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.

And you shall not give of your seed to serve a ruler; and you shall not profane my holy name; I [am] the Lord.

22 “No man should have sex with another man; that is detestable.

And you shall not lie with a man as with a woman, for it is an abomination.

23 “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.

Neither shall you lie with any quadruped for copulation, to be polluted with it: neither shall a woman present herself before any quadruped to have connexion with it; for it is an abomination.

24 “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).

Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for in all these things the nations are defiled, which I drive out before you,

25 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.

and the land is polluted; and I have recompensed their iniquity to them because of it, and the land is aggrieved with them that dwell upon it.

26 You must all obey my laws and decrees. That includes you people who were born here and the foreigners who live among you.

And you shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and you shall do none of these abominations; neither the native, nor the stranger that joins himself with you:

27 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.

(for all these abominations the men of the land did who were before you, and the land was defiled, )

28 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.

and lest the land be aggrieved with you in your polluting it, as it was aggrieved with the nations before you.

29 “You must not allow people who do any of those detestable things to associate with you who are my people.

For whoever shall do any of these abominations, the souls that do them shall be destroyed from among their people.

30 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].”

And you shall keep mine ordinances, that you may not do any of the abominable practices, which have taken place before your time: and you shall not be polluted in them; for I [am] the Lord your God.