Israelites Are to Be Moral People & Not Defile Themselves |
Leviticus 18:1-30 The Third Book of Moses Called Leviticus |
The Lord [spoke] to Moses saying, Speak to the children [people] of Israel, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do [according ]to [all the things that were done] in the land of Egypt [where you lived] & you shall not do [them.] And after [what was done in] the land of Canaan, [where I am bringing] you. |
[Ezekiel 6:5-6 And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel, before their idols & I will scatter your bones [around] your altars. The cities shall be [in ruins in all the places you live in] the cities & the high places shall be desolate [& empty] & your idols may be broken & cease & your images may be cut down & your works may be abolished.] |
You shall not [follow] in their [rules.] You shall do My [Laws] & keep [My rules,] to walk [in them.] I am the Lord your God. Therefore, you shall keep My [mandates] & My [Laws], [for the person who obeys them] shall live [by] them. I am the Lord. |
None of you shall approach [& be intimate with any close relatives:] your father,]; your mother; your father’s wife; your sister; the daughter of your father or your mother, whether she is gone at home or abroad; your son’s daughter; your daughter’s daughter; your father’s wife’s daughter; your father’s sister; your mother’s sister; your father’s brother, or his wife, she is your aunt; your daughter-in-law; your brother’s wife & you shall not uncover the nakedness of any of these, because they are your [close relatives.] |
[Also,] you shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman & her daughter, nor her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, for they] are [close relatives to her] & it is wickedness. Neither shall you take [intimately] a woman who is your wife’s sister [who will be a rival to her sister] during her lifetime. |
You shall not approach a woman [intimately] as long as she is in her [monthly impurity.] [Also] you shall not lie [intimately] with your neighbor’s wife to defile yourself with her. |
You shall not let any of your [descendants] pass through fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the Name of your God: I am the Lord. [2 Kings 17:17 And they caused their sons & their daughters to pass through the fire & to use divinations, enchantments [a.k.a. witchcraft] & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.] |
You shall not lie [intimately] with a [man] as with a [woman.] It is an abomination. Neither shall you [mate] with any animal to defile yourself with it. Neither shall any woman stand [in front of] an animal to [have sexual relations] with it. It is [perversion.] |
Don’t defile yourselves with any of these things, [because that’s how] the nations [I’m] driving out before you became defiled. For the land is defiled, so I will [punish it] for their [sins] & the land shall vomit out [its] inhabitants. |
Therefore, you shall keep My [mandates] & My [Laws] & shall not commit any of these abominations. Neither [shall] any of [those of] your nation, nor any stranger [who stays] among you. |
(For all these abominations [have been done by those who] lived in the land before you & the land is defiled.) If you defile the land, the land will vomit you out [just] like it [did] to the [previous] nations. |
For [whoever] shall commit any of these abominations, shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore, you shall keep My [rules, so] you don’t commit any of these [detestable] customs that were [done before you came] & defile yourself [with them.] I am the Lord your God. |