Leviticus Chapter 20

At a Glance

  • Leviticus 20 intensifies the covenantal boundaries by detailing punishments for violations of sexual and religious laws.
  • In addition to punitive measures, there is space for divine judgment and personal accountability; the Lord’s face will turn against those who engage in these practices.
  • As part of the Priestly corpus, Leviticus 20 reinforces the covenantal boundary markers and the seriousness with which Israel must guard its identity.
  • - Holiness and punitive consequences: The covenant community must respond decisively to offenses that threaten its integrity.
  • - Assurance of divine judgment: God’s justice is active against idolatry and sexual immorality.

Leviticus 20 intensifies the covenantal boundaries by detailing punishments for violations of sexual and religious laws. The chapter lists offenses—idolatry through Molech worship, familiar spirits, and a spectrum of sexual sins—and prescribes capital punishment for many of them. The consistent refrain is that the people of Israel must sanctify themselves and be holy because God is holy. The chapter acts as a stern reminder of the seriousness of covenant fidelity and the consequences of apostasy or moral compromise. It emphasizes communal accountability: if a neighbor commits these offenses, the community must respond to preserve the holiness and integrity of the people and the sanctuary.

In addition to punitive measures, there is space for divine judgment and personal accountability; the Lord’s face will turn against those who engage in these practices. The text articulates that sanctification requires a concerted, communal effort to separate from what contaminates the covenant community. This is not merely punitive; it is a form of proximal worship—keeping the nation holy so that it can bear witness to God’s holiness among the nations.

As part of the Priestly corpus, Leviticus 20 reinforces the covenantal boundary markers and the seriousness with which Israel must guard its identity. The list of penalties aligns with ancient Near Eastern legal cultures while rooting the sanctions in divine prohibition rather than mere social custom. The passage maintains the priestly concern for purity, order, and the protection of the community’s sanctity, highlighting the relationship between worship, ethics, and civic life.

- Holiness and punitive consequences: The covenant community must respond decisively to offenses that threaten its integrity.

- Assurance of divine judgment: God’s justice is active against idolatry and sexual immorality.

- Collective accountability: The community bears responsibility for safeguarding holiness.

- Boundaries as protection: Laws are meant to preserve life, families, and worship integrity.

- Covenant identity through obedience: God’s people are defined by obedience, not merely belief.

Today’s readers can wrestle with the seriousness of wrongdoing without losing sight of grace. Leviticus 20’s emphasis on communal accountability challenges Christians to pursue holiness in personal life and in communal settings—church discipline, ethical leadership, and safeguarding vulnerable members. Many readers bridge the Old Testament penalties with New Covenant understanding by recognizing that while Christ fulfills the law’s punitive aspects, the ethical core—holiness, fidelity, and justice—remains essential. The chapter invites reflection on how communities respond to sin: with restoration, accountability, and the promotion of life-affirming practices. It also raises questions about the use of divine judgment language in contemporary faith communities and how to balance justice with mercy.

- Leviticus 18 (sexual mores)

- Leviticus 26 ( blessings and punishments)

- Romans 6–8 (law and the Spirit)

- 1 Corinthians 5 (church discipline)

- Hebrews 10 (Christ’s superior and final sacrifice)

- Jesus (fulfillment of the law’s moral demands through grace)

- Paul (church discipline and ethics in community)

- Moses (lawgiver enforcing covenant fidelity)

- David (repentance and the consequences of sin)

- Elijah (confronting idolatry and false worship)

Key Themes

Holiness and punitive consequences: The covenant community must respond decisively to offenses that threaten its integrity.Assurance of divine judgment: God’s justice is active against idolatry and sexual immorality.Collective accountability: The community bears responsibility for safeguarding holiness.Boundaries as protection: Laws are meant to preserve life, families, and worship integrity.

Chapter Text

1

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2

Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

3

And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.

4

And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:

5

Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.

6

And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

7

Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

8

And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

9

For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

10

And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

11

And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

12

And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

13

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

14

And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

15

And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

16

And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

17

And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

18

And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

19

And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.

20

And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

21

And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

22

Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

23

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.

24

But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

25

Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

26

And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

27

A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

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