Leviticus 18

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And YHWH speaks 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 sons of Israel, and you have said to them: I [am] your God YHWH;

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 do not do according to the work of the land of Egypt in which you have dwelt, and you do not do according to the work of the land of Canaan to where I am bringing you in, and you do not walk in their statutes.

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

You do My judgments and you keep My statutes, to walk in them; I [am] your God YHWH.

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]:

And you have kept My statutes and My judgments which man does and lives in them; I [am] YHWH.

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

None of you draws near to any relation of his flesh to uncover nakedness; I [am] YHWH.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother, she [is] your mother; you do not uncover her nakedness.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of the wife of your father; it [is] the nakedness of your father.

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, daughter of your father, or daughter of your mother, born at home or born outside—you do not uncover their nakedness.

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

The nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter—you do not uncover their nakedness; for theirs [is] your nakedness.

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

The nakedness of a daughter of your father’s wife, begotten of your father, she [is] your sister—you do not uncover her nakedness.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of a sister of your father; she [is] a relation of your father.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she [is] your mother’s relation.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you do not draw near to his wife; she [is] your aunt.

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

You do not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she [is] your son’s wife; you do not uncover her nakedness.

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

You do 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.

You do not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor do you take her son’s daughter and her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they [are] her relations; it [is] wickedness.

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

And you do not take a woman [in addition] to her sister, to be an adversary, to uncover her nakedness beside her, in her life.

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

And you do not draw near to a woman in the separation of 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 do not give your seed [from] intercourse to the wife of your fellow, to become unclean 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 do not give from your seed to pass over to the Molech, nor do you defile the Name of your God; I [am] YHWH.

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

And you do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; 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.

And you do not commit your intercourse with any beast, to become unclean with it; and a woman does not stand before a beast to mate with it; it [is] perversion.

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 all these, for with all these the nations have been defiled which I am sending away from 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 defiled, and I charge its iniquity on it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.

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 have kept My statutes and My judgments, and do not do [any] of all these abominations, the native and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst,

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 the men of the land who [are] before you have done all these abominations and the land is 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 the land does not vomit you out in your defiling it, as it has vomited out the nation which [is] before you;

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

for anyone who does [any] of all these abominations—even the persons who are doing [so]—have been cut off from the midst of 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 have kept My charge, so as not to do [any] of the abominable statutes which have been done before you, and you do not defile yourselves with them; I [am] your God YHWH.”