Leviticus 20:14

Bible in Basic English

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.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
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.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
"‘As for a man who marries a woman and her mother, that is depravity; they shall burn him and them, so that it shall not become depravity in the midst of you all.

New Century Version
"‘If a man has sexual relations with both a woman and her mother, this is evil. The people must burn that man and the two women in fire so that your people will not be evil.

New English Translation
If a man has sexual intercourse with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness. Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness in your midst.

Amplified Bible
'It is immoral and shameful if a man marries a woman and her mother; all three shall be burned in fire, so that there will be no immorality among you.

New American Standard Bible
'If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is an outrageous sin; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no such outrageous sin in your midst.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Likewise he that taketh a wife and her mother, committeth wickednesse: they shal burne him and them with fire, that there be no wickednes among you.

Legacy Standard Bible
If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is lewdness; both he and they shall be burned with fire so that there will be no lewdness in your midst.

Contemporary English Version
It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death.

Complete Jewish Bible
If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity; they are to be put to death by fire, both he and they, so that there will not be depravity among you.

Darby Translation
And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is infamy: they shall burn him and them with fire, that there be no infamy among you.

Easy-to-Read Version
"It is a sexual sin if a man has sexual relations with a woman and her mother. The people must burn that man and the two women in fire! Don't let this sexual sin happen among your people.

English Standard Version
If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you.

George Lamsa Translation
And if a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness; they shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.

Good News Translation
If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burned to death because of the disgraceful thing they have done; such a thing must not be permitted among you.

Christian Standard Bible®
If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned, so that there will be no depravity among you.

Literal Translation
And a man who takes a woman and her mother, it is wickedness; they shall burn him and them; and there shall be no wickedness in your midst.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
If eny man take a wyfe, and hir mother therto, the same hath wrought wickednes: he shalbe burnt with fyre, and so shal they also, that there be no wickednes amoge you.

American Standard Version
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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if a man take a wyfe, and her mother also, it is wickednesse: They shall burne with fire both hym & them, that there be no wickednesse among you.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if a man take with his wife also her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

King James Version (1611)
And if a man take a wife, and her mother, it is wickednesse: They shalbe burnt with fire, both he and they, that there be no wickednesse among you.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Whosoever shall take a woman and her mother, it is iniquity: they shall burn him and them with fire; so there shall not be iniquity among you.

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that weddith ouer his wijf hir moder, hath wrouyt greet synne; he schal be brent quyk with hem, and so greet vnleueful doynge schal not dwelle in the myddis of you.

Young's Literal Translation
`And a man who taketh the woman and her mother -- it [is] wickedness; with fire they burn him and them, and there is no wickedness in your midst.

Update Bible Version
And if a man has sex with his wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there will be no wickedness among you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And if a man shall 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.

World English Bible
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.

New King James Version
If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.

New Living Translation
"If a man marries both a woman and her mother, he has committed a wicked act. The man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you.

New Life Bible
If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is sin. Both he and they will be burned with fire, so this kind of sin will not be among you.

New Revised Standard
If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, any man, who taketh a woman and her mother, wickedness, it is, - in fire, shall both he and they be consumed, that wickedness be not in your midst.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If any man after marrying the daughter, marry her mother, he hath done a heinous crime. He shall be burnt alive with them: neither shall so great an abomination remain in the midst of you.

Revised Standard Version
If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is wickedness; they shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.

THE MESSAGE
"If a man marries both a woman and her mother, that's wicked. All three of them must be burned at the stake, purging the wickedness from the community.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst.

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

a wife: Leviticus 18:17, Deuteronomy 27:23, Amos 2:7

burnt: Leviticus 21:9, Joshua 7:15, Joshua 7:25

Cross-References

Genesis 12:16
And because of her, he was good to Abram, and he had sheep and oxen and asses, and men-servants and women-servants, and camels.

Genesis 20:2
And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.

Genesis 20:7
So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house.

Genesis 20:11
And Abraham said, Because it seemed to me that there was no fear of God in this place, and that they might put me to death because of my wife.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if a man take a wife, and her mother,.... Marry both the one and the other, or commit uncleanness with them, they consenting to it:

it [is] wickedness; abominable wickedness, shocking and detestable; there are other things, which also are wicked and not to be done, but this is extremely wicked, wickedness to a high degree:

they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; the man, the mother and her daughter both being married together to him, or both consenting to his lying with them; otherwise, if one of them was first his wife, it was not reasonable that she should be put to death; and therefore some interpret "they", one of them, as Jarchi observes, one or other of them; and so Aben Ezra explains it, this or that; if the mother was his wife, the daughter was to be burnt; and so on the contrary, if the daughter was his wife, the mother was to be burnt; according to the Targum of Jonathan, they were to be burnt by pouring lead into their mouths: and so the manner of burning is described in the Misnah g; they that are to be burnt are fixed in dung up to their knees, then they put a hard napkin within a soft one, and roll it about is neck; one draws it one way, and another another way, until he opens his mouth; then they take hot melted lead, and pour it into his mouth, which goes down into his bowels and burns them. But it was rather done with faggots, of which an instance is given:

that there be no wickedness among you; of such kind, continued, countenanced, and pass unpunished. This punishment was to be inflicted, to deter persons from it. The law against it is in Leviticus 18:17.

g Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The burning under the sentence of the Law took place after the death of the criminal by stoning, or strangling. Joshua 7:25.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 20:14. They shall be burnt with fire — As there are worse crimes mentioned here, (see Leviticus 20:11 and Leviticus 20:17), where the delinquent is ordered simply to be put to death, or to be cut off, it is very likely that the crime mentioned in this verse was not punished by burning alive, but by some kind of branding, by which they were ever after rendered infamous. I need not add that the original, באש ישרפו baesh yishrephu, may, without violence to its grammatical meaning, be understood as above, though in other places it is certainly used to signify a consuming by fire. But the case in question requires some explanation; it is this: a man marries a wife, and afterward takes his mother-in-law or wife's mother to wife also: now for this offence the text says all three shall be burnt with fire, and this is understood as signifying that they shall be burnt alive. Now the first wife, we may safely presume, was completely innocent, and was legally married: for a man may take to wife the daughter if single, or the mother if a widow, and in neither of these cases can any blame attach to the man or the party he marries; the crime therefore lies in taking both. Either, therefore, they were all branded as infamous persons, and this certainly was severe enough in the case of the first wife; or the man and the woman taken last were burnt: but the text says, both he and they; therefore, we should seek for another interpretation of they shall be burnt with fire, than that which is commonly given. Branding with a hot iron would certainly accomplish every desirable end both for punishment and prevention of the crime; and because the Mosaic laws are so generally distinguished by humanity, it seems to be necessary to limit the meaning of the words as above.