Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, September 13th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Bible in Basic English

Leviticus 20:12

And if a man has sex relations with his son's wife, the two of them are to be put to death: it is unnatural; their blood will be on them.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Adultery;   Incest;   Punishment;   Sanitation;   The Topic Concordance - Confusion;   Execution;   Sexual Activities;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Fornication;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Immorality, Sexual;   Incest;   Kill, Killing;   Marriage;   Punishment;   Sexuality, Human;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bastard;   Capital Punishment;   Crimes and Punishments;   Daughter-In-Law;   Incest;   Leviticus;   Pentateuch;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canon of the Old Testament;   Congregation, Assembly;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Hexateuch;   Holiness;   Law;   Leviticus;   Priests and Levites;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Stoning;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Peculiarities of the Law of Moses;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bastard;   Confusion;   Genesis;   Leviticus;   Relationships, Family;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Capital Punishment;   Chastity;   Incest;   Leviticus;   Marriage Laws;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
If a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have created confusion; their blood shall be on them.
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
As for a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed a perversion—their blood is on them.
New Century Version
"‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is not natural. They have brought their own deaths on themselves.
New English Translation
If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; their blood guilt is on themselves.
Amplified Bible
'If a man lies [intimately] with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall most certainly be put to death; they have committed incest; their blood is on them.
New American Standard Bible
'If there is a man who sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed incest, and have brought their own deaths upon themselves.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also the man that lyeth with his daughter in lawe, they both shall dye the death, they haue wrought abomination, their blood shalbe vpon them.
Legacy Standard Bible
If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
Contemporary English Version
It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve.
Complete Jewish Bible
If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them.
Darby Translation
And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall certainly be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood is upon them.
Easy-to-Read Version
"If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed a terrible sexual sin! They are responsible for their own death.
English Standard Version
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.
George Lamsa Translation
And if a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death, because they have committed a sin; their blood shall be upon them.
Good News Translation
If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, they shall both be put to death. They have committed incest and are responsible for their own death.
Christian Standard Bible®
If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely; their death is their own fault.
Literal Translation
And a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them dying shall die; they have performed a perversion; their blood shall be on them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf eny man lye wt his doughter in lawe, they shall dye both of them, for they have wrought abhominacion: their bloude be vpon them.
American Standard Version
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.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
If a man lye with his daughter in lawe, let them dye both of them: they haue wrought abhomination, their blood be vpon them.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have wrought corruption; their blood shall be upon them.
King James Version (1611)
And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they haue wrought confusion; their blood shall be vpon them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if any one should lie with his daughter-in-law, let them both be put to death; for they have wrought impiety, they are guilty.
English Revised Version
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.
Berean Standard Bible
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If ony man slepith with `his sones wijf, euer either die, for thei han wrouyt greet synne; her blood be on hem.
Young's Literal Translation
`And a man who lieth with his daughter-in-law -- both of them are certainly put to death; confusion they have made; their blood [is] on them.
Update Bible Version
And if a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they did something perverted; their blood shall be on them.
Webster's Bible Translation
And if a man shall 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.
World English Bible
If a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have created confusion; their blood shall be on them.
New King James Version
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them.
New Living Translation
"If a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both must be put to death. They have committed a perverse act and are guilty of a capital offense.
New Life Bible
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a bad sex sin. They will suffer for their own sin.
New Revised Standard
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion, their blood is upon them.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And any man who lieth with his daughter-in-law, they both shall, surely be put to death, confusion, have they wrought - their blood shall be upon themselves.
Douay-Rheims Bible
If any man lie with his daughter in law: let both die, because they have done a heinous crime. Their blood be upon them.
Revised Standard Version
If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed incest, their blood is upon them.
THE MESSAGE
"If a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is perverse. And they are responsible for their own deaths.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

Contextual Overview

10 And if a man has sex relations with another man's wife, even the wife of his neighbour, he and she are certainly to be put to death. 11 And the man who has sex relations with his father's wife has put shame on his father: the two of them are to be put to death; their blood will be on them. 12 And if a man has sex relations with his son's wife, the two of them are to be put to death: it is unnatural; their blood will be on them. 13 And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them. 14 And if a man takes as wife a woman and her mother, it is an act of shame; let them be burned with fire, all three of them, so that there may be no shame among you. 15 And if a man has sex relations with a beast, let him be put to death, and let the beast be put to destruction. 16 And if a woman goes near a beast and has sex relations with it, you will put an end to the woman and the beast: their blood will be on them. 17 And if a man takes his sister, daughter of his father or his mother, and has sex relations with her and she with him, it is an act of shame: they are to be cut off before the children of their people; he has had sex relations with his sister, and his sin will be on him. 18 And if a man has sex relations with a woman at the time when she is unwell, he has seen her fountain and she has let the fountain of her blood be uncovered, and the two of them are to be cut off from among their people. 19 And you may not have sex connection with your mother's sister or your father's sister, for they are his near relations: their sin will be on them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

lie: Leviticus 18:15, Genesis 38:16, Genesis 38:18, Deuteronomy 27:23

confusion: Leviticus 18:23

Reciprocal: Leviticus 18:6 - to uncover Ezekiel 22:11 - hath lewdly Acts 18:6 - Your

Cross-References

Genesis 11:29
And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Genesis 12:13
Say, then, that you are my sister, and so it will be well with me because of you, and my life will be kept safe on your account.
1 Thessalonians 5:22
Keep from every form of evil.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If a man lie with his daughter in law,.... His son's wife, whether in the lifetime of his son, or after his death, or whether she was espoused or married, according to the above tradition f:

both of them shall surely be put to death; it being a breach of the law in Leviticus 18:15; and this is the penalty annexed to it, even death:

they have wrought confusion: have been guilty of a shocking and shameful mixture, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, as well as confounded the degrees of relation and affinity:

their blood [shall be] upon them; it being a capital crime, their, blood shall be shed for it; they shall be found guilty of death by stoning, as the Targum of Jonathan.

f Misn. ut supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4.)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 20:12. They have wrought confusion — See Leviticus 18:1-30, and especially Clarke's note on "Leviticus 18:6".


 
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