Leviticus 20:23

Leviticus 20:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
• New International Version (NIV)You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.

Context of Leviticus 20:23

21If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is a hated and unclean thing; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless. 22‘Therefore keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out [as it did those before you]. You shall not follow the statutes (laws, practices, customs) of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them. 24But I have said to you, “You are to inherit and take possession of their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples (pagan nations). 25You are therefore to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean.

Leviticus 20:23 word by word

וְלֹ֤א תֵֽלְכוּ֙ בְּחֻקֹּ֣ת הַגּ֔וֹי אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י מְשַׁלֵּ֖חַ מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם כִּ֤י אֶת־כָּל־אֵ֙לֶּה֙ עָשׂ֔וּ וָאָקֻ֖ץ בָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And ye shall not walkיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• in the mannersחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
• of the nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• which I cast outשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• you: for they committedעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• all these things, and therefore I abhorredקוּץqûts · to loatheH6973

Cross-references for Leviticus 20:23

• Leviticus 18:3You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, and you shall not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes (practices, customs).
• Deuteronomy 12:30beware that you are not lured (ensnared) into following them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods, so that I too may do likewise?’
• Jeremiah 10:1Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
• Leviticus 18:27(for all these repulsive acts have been done by the men who lived in the land before you, and the land has become defiled);
• Deuteronomy 9:5It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out before you, and to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Psalms 78:59When God heard this, He was filled with [righteous] wrath; And utterly rejected Israel, [greatly hating her ways],
• Zechariah 11:8Then I eliminated the three [incompetent, unfit] shepherds [the civil rulers, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was impatient with them, and they also were tired of me and despised me.

Commentaries on Leviticus 20:23

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22-26Verses 22-26 The ground is here again stated on which all these laws of holiness should be obeyed. See Leviticus 18:24-30 note. Leviticus 20:24 Compare the margin reference. Leviticus 20:25, Leviticus 20:26 The distinction between clean and unclean for the whole people, and not for any mere section of it, was one great typical mark of “the kingdom of priests, the holy nation.” See the Leviticus 11:42 note. Leviticus 20:25 Any manner of living thing that…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-27Verses 10-27 These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-27Pagan worship influenced ethics, so God has family rules follow those about pagan religious practices. Some laws in this section repeat parts from Leviticus 18:6–30, which come before the section on proper expressions of holiness (19:1–37). These issues connect. Proper worship of God leads to good behavior toward others, while improper worship leads to moral violations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-272. Whosoever ... giveth any of his seed unto Molech--(See on Le 18:21). the people of the land shall stone him with stones, &c.--Criminals who were condemned to be stoned were led, with their hands bound, without the gates to a small eminence, where was a large stone placed at the bottom. When they had approached within ten cubits of the spot, they were exhorted to confess, that, by faith and repentance, their souls might be saved. When led forward to…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 20:23

• Canaanites
• Company
• Example

In the dictionaries

• Accomplish
• Alliance
• Crucifixion
• Heathen
• Wizard
• Clean
• Criticism
• Ezekiel
• Holiness
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Leviticus 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings