20Leviticus 20

Penalties for Disobeying God's Laws

1The Lord told MosesSelect Leviticus 20:1

2to say to the community of Israel: Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech.Select Leviticus 20:2

3They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people.Select Leviticus 20:3

4Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice,Select Leviticus 20:4

5but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.Select Leviticus 20:5

6I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people.Select Leviticus 20:6

7Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the Lord your God.Select Leviticus 20:7

8I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.Select Leviticus 20:8

9If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.Select Leviticus 20:9

10If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.Select Leviticus 20:10

11Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve.Select Leviticus 20:11

12It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve.Select Leviticus 20:12

13It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve.Select Leviticus 20:13

14It isn't natural for a man to marry both a woman and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death.Select Leviticus 20:14

16If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.Select Leviticus 20:16

17If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community.Select Leviticus 20:17

18If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel.Select Leviticus 20:18

19The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them.Select Leviticus 20:19

20If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children.Select Leviticus 20:20

21And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children.Select Leviticus 20:21

22Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out.Select Leviticus 20:22

23The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example.Select Leviticus 20:23

24I am the Lord your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people.Select Leviticus 20:24

25That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean—this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me.Select Leviticus 20:25

26I am the Lord, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.Select Leviticus 20:26

27If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.Select Leviticus 20:27