Leviticus 18
1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
The Lord told Moses,
2 “Speak to the Israeli people and tell them [that I, Yahweh, say this] this: I am Yahweh, your God.
“Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God.
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.
Don't follow the ways of Egypt where you used to live, and don't follow the ways of Canaan where I'm going to take you. Don't adopt their practices.
4 You must obey all of my laws [DOU], because it is I, Yahweh your God, [who am commanding those laws].
Do what I tell you and keep my rules. I am the Lord your God.
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]:
If you keep my rules and do what I tell you, you will live. I am the Lord.
6 “Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. It is I, Yahweh, [who am commanding that].
Don't have sex with a close relative.
7 “Do not disgrace your father by having sex with your mother [DOU].
Don't shame your father by having sex with your mother. She is your mother; don't have sex with her.
8 “Do not have sex with any of your father’s [other] wives, because that would disgrace your father.
Don't have sex with any of your father's wives and shame 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.
Don't have sex with your sister, whether she's your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, or whether she was born in the same house as you or somewhere else.
10 “Do not have sex with your granddaughter, because that would disgrace you.
Don't have sex with your granddaughter, your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, because that would be shameful thing for you.
11 “Do not have sex with your half-sister, because she is your sister.
Don't have sex with the daughter of any of your father's wives and your father, she is your sister.
12 “Do not have sex with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative.
Don't have sex with your father's sister. She is a close relative of your father.
13 “Do not have sex with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
Don't have sex with your mother's sister. She is a close relative of your mother.
14 “Do not disgrace your (uncle/father’s brother) by having sex with his wife, because she is your aunt.
Don't bring shame on your uncle by having sex with his wife. She is your aunt.
15 “Do not have sex with [DOU] your daughter-in-law, because she is your son’s wife.
Don't have sex with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. Don't have sex with her.
16 “Do not have sex with your brother’s wife, because that would disgrace your brother.
Don't have sex with your brother's wife and bring shame on your brother.
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.
Don't have sex with both a woman and her daughter. Don't have sex with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are her close relatives. That is something I loathe.
18 “While your wife is still living, do not marry your wife’s sister and have sex with her.
Don't marry your wife's sister and have sex with her while your wife is still alive. They will be hostile wives to one other.
19 “Do not have sex with any woman while she is having her monthly menstrual period.
Don't have sex with a woman during the time she is unclean because of her period.
20 “Do not (defile yourself/make yourself unacceptable to me) by having sex with someone else’s wife.
Don't commit any sex act with any other man's wife. This would pollute you and make you unclean.
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.
Don't give any of your children as a human sacrifice to Molech, for you must not disgrace the character of your God. I am the Lord.
22 “No man should have sex with another man; that is detestable.
Don't have sex with a man as with a woman. That is something disgusting.
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.
Don't have sex with any animal. This would pollute you and make you unclean.
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).
A woman must not give herself to an animal to have sex with it. That is something disgusting. Don't pollute yourselves and make yourselves unclean by doing anything like this. That's the reason I'm expelling these nations from the land—they polluted themselves because of all these practices.
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.
Even the land has become polluted, so I am punishing it for the sins committed by the people who live there, and the land will vomit them out.
26 You must all obey my laws and decrees. That includes you people who were born here and the foreigners who live among you.
You, however, must do what I tell you and keep my rules. You must not do any of these disgusting acts, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you.
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.
The people who lived in the land before you practiced all these disgusting things, and the land became polluted.
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.
If you pollute the land, it will vomit you out just like it did the nations before you.
29 “You must not allow people who do any of those detestable things to associate with you who are my people.
Consequently anyone who does any of these disgusting things must be expelled from 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].”
You must accept my demand that you don't follow any of these disgusting practices done before you arrived. Don't pollute yourselves and make yourselves unclean. I am the Lord your God.”
