Leviticus 18

Rules about sex

1The LORD said to Moses, 2‘Tell Israel’s people that I am the LORD their God. 3They lived in the country called Egypt. They must not do as the people in Egypt do. I am bringing them to live in Canaan’s country. They must not do as the people in Canaan do. 4They must obey my rules. I am the LORD. 5If they obey my rules, they will give me pleasure. If they obey my rules, they will remain alive. I am the LORD.

6A person must not have sex with a person who belongs to his own family. I am the LORD.

7Do not have sex with your mother. You will cause your father to be ashamed.

8Do not have sex with a wife of your father. Your father will be ashamed.

9Do not have sex with your sister. Do not have sex with the sister who has the same mother but a different father from you. Do not have sex with the sister who has the same father but a different mother from you. Do not have sex with your sister even if she lives in the same house as you.

10Do not have sex with any granddaughter. You will be ashamed.

11Do not have sex with the daughter of your father and his wife. She is your sister.

12Do not have sex with your father’s sister. She is his sister.

13Do not have sex with your mother’s sister. She is her sister.

14Do not have sex with the wife who is married to your father’s brother. She is your aunt.

15Do not have sex with your son’s wife.

16Do not have sex with your brother’s wife. You will make your brother ashamed.

17Do not have sex with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sex with her son’s daughter or with her daughter’s daughter. They are her family and they are near to her. If you do this you are sinning.

18Do not take your wife’s sister for a 2nd (second) wife. Do not have sex with your wife’s sister if your wife is alive.

19Do not have sex with a woman when she is bleeding. She does this each month.

20Do not have sex with the wife of another man. You would become unclean.

21Do not give a child as a sacrifice to the god called Molech. This would destroy God’s honour. He is the LORD.

22Do not have sex with another man. To do this is very wrong.

23Do not have sex with an animal. To do this is a sin. It would make you unclean. A woman must not have sex with an animal. She would not be obeying the rules of her nature.

24Do not do these things. They would make you unclean. The people who live in Canaan do these things. It made them unclean. God will send those people out of their country. 25Canaan is unclean because the people did these things. This is why God pushed the people out of that country. 26But you and the foreigners with you must not do these wrong things. 27The people in Canaan did these bad things and the country became unclean. 28If you do these bad things, I will push you out of Canaan’s country. I will send you away, like the people before you.

29You must send away any person who does any of these bad things. 30All the people must obey my rules. They must not do the bad things that the people in Canaan did. If they did them, my people would become unclean. I am the LORD your God.’