Leviticus 20

1 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “And you are to say to the children of Israel: If anyone from the children of Israel, or from the newcomers who have joined Israel, gives any of his seed to a ruler, he is certainly to be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him with stones. [a] 3 And I will set my face against that man and destroy him from among his people, because he gave some of his seed to a ruler, defiling my holy things and treating as common the name of those made holy to me. 4 And if the native-born of the land deliberately shut their eyes to that man when he gives some of his seed to a ruler, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and I will destroy him and all who are of one mind with him in his going whoring after the rulers, from among their people. 6 And the soul who follows after mediums or chanters, going whoring after them — I will set my face against that soul and destroy it from among its people. 7 And you are to be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 8 And you are to keep my decrees and do them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

9 Any man who speaks evil of his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death. He has spoken evil of his father or his mother; he is guilty. [b] 10 A man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, or who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife — they are certainly to be put to death, the man and the woman both. 11 And if a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. They are both certainly to be put to death; they are guilty. 12 And if a man lies with his son’s wife, they are both certainly to be put to death, for they have done an ungodly thing; they are guilty. 13 And whoever lies with a male as one lies with a woman — they have both done a detestable thing. They are to be put to death; they are guilty. 14 Whoever takes a woman and her mother — it is a lawless deed. They are to burn him and them with fire, so that there is no lawlessness among you. 15 And whoever lies with an animal is certainly to be put to death, and you are to kill the animal. 16 And a woman who goes up to any animal to be mounted by it — you are to kill the woman and the animal. They are certainly to be put to death; they are guilty.

17 Whoever takes his sister, by his father or by his mother, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness — it is a disgrace. They are to be destroyed in front of the children of their own family. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; they will carry their sin. 18 And a man who lies with a woman who is sitting apart and uncovers her nakedness — he has uncovered her spring, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. They are both to be destroyed from among their family. 19 And you are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister or of your mother’s sister; for such a man has uncovered his own close kin. They will carry their sin. 20 Whoever lies with his close relative has uncovered the nakedness of his own kin. They will die childless. 21 Whoever takes his brother’s wife — it is uncleanness. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will die childless.

22 And you are to keep all my decrees and my judgments and do them, so that the land I am bringing you into to live in is not sickened by you. [c] 23 And you are not to walk in the practices of the nations I am driving out ahead of you; for they did all these things, and I detested them. 24 And I said to you: You will take their land as your inheritance, and I will give it to you to hold — a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who has marked you off from all the nations. 25 And you are to make a separation between clean cattle and unclean cattle, and between clean birds and unclean; and you are not to make your souls detestable with the cattle or the birds or any of the crawling creatures of the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean. 26 And you are to be holy to me, because I, the Lord your God, am holy, and I have set you apart from all the nations to be mine. 27 And a man or a woman among them who is a medium or a chanter is certainly to be put to death, both of them. Stone them with stones; they are guilty.”