God’s Word Translation
Leviticus 18:20
20Never have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife and become unclean with her.
Leviticus 18:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her.
Context of Leviticus 18:20
18While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her. 19“Never have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is unclean during her monthly period. Never have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife and become unclean with her. 21Never give your children as sacrifices to the god Molech ⌞by burning them alive⌟. If you do, you are dishonoring the name of your God. I am the Lord. 22Never have sexual intercourse with a man as with a woman. It is disgusting.
Read all of Leviticus 18Leviticus 18:20 word by word
וְאֶל־אֵ֙שֶׁת֙ עֲמִֽיתְךָ֔ לֹא־תִתֵּ֥ן שְׁכָבְתְּךָ֖ לְזָ֑רַע לְטָמְאָה־בָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Leviticus 18:20
- Leviticus 20:10“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife or with his neighbor’s wife, both he and the woman must be put to death for their adultery.
- Exodus 20:14“Never commit adultery.
- Deuteronomy 5:18“Never commit adultery.
- Deuteronomy 22:22If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with a married woman, both that man and the woman must die. You must get rid of this evil in Israel.
- 2 Samuel 11:3David sent someone to ask about the woman. The man said, “She’s Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
- Proverbs 6:25Do not desire her beauty in your heart. Do not let her catch you with her eyes.
- Malachi 3:5“I will come to judge you. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, lying witnesses, and those who cheat workers out of their wages and oppress widows and orphans. I will also testify against those who deprive foreigners of their rights. None of them fear me,” says the Lord of Armies.
- Matthew 5:27“You have heard that it was said, ‘Never commit adultery.’
- Romans 2:22As you tell others not to commit adultery, are you committing adultery? As you treat idols with disgust, are you robbing temples?
- 1 Corinthians 6:9Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals,
- Galatians 5:19Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity,
- Hebrews 13:4Marriage is honorable in every way, so husbands and wives should be faithful to each other. God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.
Commentaries on Leviticus 18:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Thy neighbor's wife - See Clarke's note on Exodus 20:14.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The Hebrew word translated as defile yourself can be more literally translated as to become ceremonially unclean. In the Old Testament, sexual intercourse with a neighbor’s wife or any married woman was adultery. Breaking this law was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 22:22). Like incest, adultery threatened the integrity and security of the home and family. It violated the marriage covenant and divided the adulterer’s affection between his spouse and his…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-302-4. I am the Lord your God--This renewed mention of the divine sovereignty over the Israelites was intended to bear particularly on some laws that were widely different from the social customs that obtained both in Egypt and Canaan; for the enormities, which the laws enumerated in this chapter were intended to put down, were freely practised or publicly sanctioned in both of those countries; and, indeed, the extermination of the ancient Canaanites is…Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 18:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 18
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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