Leviticus 18

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the Israeli people and tell them [that I, Yahweh, say this] this: I am Yahweh, your God.

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'I am Yahweh 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.

You must not do the things that the people do in Egypt, where you lived previously. You must not do the things that the people do in Canaan, the land to which I am taking you. Do not follow their customs.

4 You must obey all of my laws [DOU], because it is I, Yahweh your God, [who am commanding those laws].

My laws are what you must do, and my commandments are what you must keep, so that you walk in them, because I am Yahweh 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]:

Therefore you must keep my decrees and my laws. If a person obeys them, he will live because of them. I am Yahweh.

6 “Do not have sex with any of your close relatives. It is I, Yahweh, [who am commanding that].

No one must sleep with any close relative to uncover his nakedness. I am Yahweh.

7 “Do not disgrace your father by having sex with your mother [DOU].

Do not dishonor your father by sleeping with your mother. She is your mother! You must not dishonor her.

8 “Do not have sex with any of your father’s [other] wives, because that would disgrace your father.

Do not sleep with any of your father's wives; you must not dishonor your father like that.

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.

Do not sleep with any sister of yours, whether she is the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether she was raised at your home or distant from you. You must not sleep with your sisters.

10 “Do not have sex with your granddaughter, because that would disgrace you.

Do not sleep with your son's daughter or with your daughter's daughter. That would be your own shame.

11 “Do not have sex with your half-sister, because she is your sister.

Do not sleep with your father's wife's daughter, who was born of your father. She is your sister, and you must not sleep with her.

12 “Do not have sex with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative.

Do not sleep with your father's sister. She is a close relative to your father.

13 “Do not have sex with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.

Do not sleep with your mother's sister. She is a close relative to your mother.

14 “Do not disgrace your (uncle/father’s brother) by having sex with his wife, because she is your aunt.

Do not dishonor the brother of your father by sleeping with his wife. Do not go near her for that purpose; she is your aunt.

15 “Do not have sex with [DOU] your daughter-in-law, because she is your son’s wife.

Do not sleep with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not sleep with her.

16 “Do not have sex with your brother’s wife, because that would disgrace your brother.

Do not sleep with your brother's wife; do not dishonor him in this way.

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.

Do not sleep with a woman and her daughter, or with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close relatives to her, and sleeping with them would be wicked.

18 “While your wife is still living, do not marry your wife’s sister and have sex with her.

You must not marry your wife's sister as a second wife and sleep with her while your first wife is alive.

19 “Do not have sex with any woman while she is having her monthly menstrual period.

Do not sleep with a woman during her menstruation. She is unclean during that time.

20 “Do not (defile yourself/make yourself unacceptable to me) by having sex with someone else’s wife.

Do not sleep with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her in this way.

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.

You must not give any of your children to put them into the fire, so that you sacrifice them to Molech, because you must not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.

22 “No man should have sex with another man; that is detestable.

Do not sleep with other men as with a woman. This would be wicked.

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.

Do not sleep with any animal and defile yourself with it. No woman must consider sleeping with any animal. This would be perversion.

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).

Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for in all these ways the nations are defiled, the nations that I will drive out from before you.

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.

The land became defiled, so I punished their sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.

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, therefore, must keep my commandments and decrees, and you must not do any of these detestable things, neither the native-born Israelite nor the foreigner who lives 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.

For this is the wickedness that the people in the land have committed, those who lived here before you, and now the land is defiled.

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.

Therefore be careful so that the land does not vomit you up also after you have defiled it, as it vomited out the people who were before you.

29 “You must not allow people who do any of those detestable things to associate with you who are my people.

Whoever does any of these detestable things, the persons who do such things will be cut off from among 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].”

Therefore you must keep my command not to practice any of these detestable customs which were practiced here before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am Yahweh your God.'”