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11 If a man goes to bed with[a] his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness.[b] Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:11 tn Heb “lies down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” acts as a euphemism, implying going to bed for sexual relations.
  2. Leviticus 20:11 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
  3. Leviticus 20:11 tn See the note on v. 9 above.

12 If a man goes to bed[a] with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion;[b] their blood guilt is on themselves.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:12 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  2. Leviticus 20:12 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” (cf. KJV, ASV “they have wrought confusion”).

14 If a man has marital relations with both a woman and her mother,[a] it is lewdness.[b] Both he and they must be burned to death,[c] so there is no lewdness in your midst.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:14 tn Heb “takes a woman and her mother.” The verb לָקַח (laqakh) is sometimes used idiomatically with אִשָּׁה (ʾishah) to mean “take a wife,” or “marry,” and may mean that here (cf. NIV, NASB). But the same expression in v. 21 probably does not imply marriage itself, but only the sexual act of marriage. This chapter uses different expressions for sexual relations, though the subtleties for exegesis are not clear. Since this Hebrew expression can imply marriage, the translation uses “marital relations” as the metaphor in vv. 14, 17, and 21.
  2. Leviticus 20:14 tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
  3. Leviticus 20:14 tn Heb “in fire they shall burn him and them.” The active plural verb sometimes requires a passive translation (GKC 460 §144.f, g), esp. when no active plural subject has been expressed in the context. The present translation specifies “burned to death” because the traditional rendering “burnt with fire” (KJV, ASV; NASB “burned with fire”) could be understood to mean “branded” or otherwise burned, but not fatally.

17 “‘If a man has marital relations with[a] his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people.[b] He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:17 tn The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh) “to take” sometimes means to take a woman in marriage (cf. Gen 34:16; Lev 20:14; and see HALOT 534 s.v. לקח) as understood by, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV. It is possible that expression here simply means to have sexual relations, or that it does so in combination with the following two clauses. See note at v. 14.
  2. Leviticus 20:17 tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
  3. Leviticus 20:17 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a person has exposed his own close relative.[a] They must bear their punishment for iniquity.[b] 20 If a man goes to bed[c] with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 21 If a man has marital relations with[d] his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness;[e] they will be childless.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:19 tn Heb “his flesh.”
  2. Leviticus 20:19 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
  3. Leviticus 20:20 tn Heb “lies down with.” See note at v. 11.
  4. Leviticus 20:21 tn Heb “takes.” See notes at vv. 14 and 17. sn It must be assumed that the brother is still alive in this situation, since Deut 25:5 requires a man to marry his brother’s widow and have a child in his brother’s name. It is less clear whether the brother in this case has divorced his wife.
  5. Leviticus 20:21 sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.