Leviticus 18:1-30
Do Not Walk in Their Ways
1Then the LORD said to Moses,
2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.
3You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.
4You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.
5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
6None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
7You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.
8You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.
9You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.
11You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
13You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.
14You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.
15You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.
16You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.
17You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.
18You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.
19You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.
20You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.
21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
22You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.
23You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.
24Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.
25Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.
26But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.
27For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.
28So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.
29Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.
30You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”
Berean Standard Bible
The LORD tells Moses to speak to Israel: do not imitate the practices of Egypt, where you lived, or Canaan, where God is bringing you. Israel is to follow God's judgments and statutes and live by them because He is the LORD their God.
The chapter prohibits uncovering the nakedness of close relatives. It names a father, mother, father's wife, sister, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law, brother's wife, and a woman and her daughter. The list protects family boundaries and refuses to treat kinship as permission for sexual use.
Other prohibitions address a woman during her menstrual period, a neighbor's wife, a man lying with a male as with a woman, and sexual relations with an animal. The text also forbids offering children to Molech. The practices are named directly because the LORD says they defile the people and the land.
Israel is warned not to make itself unclean by these practices. The nations before them have become defiled, and the land has vomited them out. The chapter's standard is not whatever a surrounding culture normalizes; Israel belongs to the LORD and must live according to His holiness.
How We Know
This chapter contains covenant laws for Israel and uses “uncover nakedness” as a formal expression for prohibited sexual relationships. It should be read as a serious protection of family boundaries and human dignity, not as permission to shame victims, excuse abuse, or treat every modern relationship as an exact one-to-one legal case without careful interpretation.
Questions
1 Which two nations' practices were Israel not to imitate?
AnswerIsrael was not to imitate the practices of Egypt, where it had lived, or Canaan, where it was going.
2 What did the family prohibitions protect?
AnswerThey protected the boundaries and dignity of close family relationships.
3 What child sacrifice was forbidden?
AnswerThe LORD forbade Israel from giving children to Molech.
4 Why was Israel to obey these statutes?
AnswerIsrael was to obey because the LORD was their God and had called them to live as a holy people.
What This Means for Us
Leviticus is clear that holiness includes the way people use power and bodies. Family connection, cultural acceptance, or private desire does not turn exploitation into faithfulness.
Protect the vulnerable and speak clearly about boundaries. Never use Scripture to silence someone who has been harmed; the God who commands holiness also cares about justice and truthful protection.
Prayer
Holy God, make our homes safe and our relationships honorable. Give us courage to protect the vulnerable, reject exploitation, and live faithfully when surrounding voices call harmful practices normal. Amen.