Leviticus 18:20

Translations

Modern

You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

Traditional

Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.

Literal

And to the wife of your neighbor you shall not give your lying to seed to defile yourself with her.

Latin

Cum uxore proximi tui non coibis, nec seminis commistione maculaberis.

Original

Hebrew

English

You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

Notes

Leviticus 18:20

The Hebrew word translated as defile yourself can be more literally translated as to become ceremonially unclean.
In the Old Testament, sexual intercourse with a neighbor’s wife or any married woman was adultery. Breaking this law was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 22:22). Like incest, adultery threatened the integrity and security of the home and family. It violated the marriage covenant and divided the adulterer’s affection between his spouse and his mistress.

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes Family, Community, and Sexual Sin Holiness and Sexual Purity Holy War Human Sexuality

Related verses

Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery.
Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
Matthew 5:27–28
You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Deuteronomy 5:18
You shall not commit adultery.
Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
2 Samuel 11:3–4
So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
Romans 2:22
You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
Deuteronomy 22:25
But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die.

Leviticus 18:20

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