God’s Word Translation
Exodus 22:18
18“Never let a witch live.
Exodus 22:18 in other versions
Context of Exodus 22:18
16“Whenever a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride-price and marry her. 17If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride-price for virgins. “Never let a witch live. 19“Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. 20“Whoever sacrifices to any god except the Lord must be condemned and destroyed.
Read all of Exodus 22Exodus 22:18 word by word
מְכַשֵּׁפָ֖ה לֹ֥א תְחַיֶּֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 22:18
- Leviticus 19:26“Never eat any meat with blood still in it. “Never cast evil spells, and never consult fortunetellers.
- Leviticus 20:6“I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people.
- Deuteronomy 18:10You must never sacrifice your sons or daughters by burning them alive, practice black magic, be a fortuneteller, witch, or sorcerer,
- 1 Samuel 28:3Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his hometown Ramah. (Saul had rid the land of mediums and psychics.)
- Isaiah 19:3The Egyptians will lose courage. I will unravel their plans. They will turn to idols, ghosts, mediums, and fortunetellers.
- Acts 8:9A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great.
- Acts 16:16One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female servant met us. She was possessed by an evil spirit that told fortunes. She made a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
- Acts 19:19Many of those who were involved in the occult gathered their books and burned them in front of everyone. They added up the cost of these books and found that they were worth 50,000 silver coins.
- Galatians 5:20idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions,
- Revelation 22:15Outside are dogs, sorcerers, sexual sinners, murderers, idolaters, and all who lie in what they say and what they do.
Commentaries on Exodus 22:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live - If there had been no witches, such a law as this had never been made. The existence of the law, given under the direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the thing. It has been doubted whether מכשפה mecash -shephah, which we translate witch, really means a person who practiced divination or sorcery by spiritual or infernal agency. Whether the persons thus denominated only pretended to have an art which…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live - See the marginal references. and Leviticus 20:27. The witch is here named to represent the class. This is the earliest denunciation of witchcraft in the law. In every form of witchcraft there is an appeal to a power not acting in subordination to the divine law. From all such notions and tendencies true worship is designed to deliver us. The practice of witchcraft was therefore an act of rebellion against Yahweh…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The practices of a sorceress (a woman who uses magic or calls on spirits) reflected the pagan worldview (a way of understanding life that does not follow the true God). God was rescuing his people from this way of thinking and living. This worldview was completely different from the biblical one. The Lord had already commanded his people not to worship other gods (see 20:3; 23:13).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 22:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 22
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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