Deuteronomy 27:21
in Deuteronomy 27‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
KJV
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife
on Deuteronomy 27:20-23
All four stand in Leviticus 18, at 18:8, 18:23, 18:9 and 18:17. Like the curses around them, each is done inside a household where no outside witness would be present.
This site's exposition
lies with any animal
Leviticus 20:15-16 had already put both the offender and the animal to death, whether the offender was a man or a woman. The curse adds God's wrath to the judge's sword, Henry notes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Against the sixth commandment. Two of the worst kinds of murder are here specified:-- (1.) Murder unseen, when a man does not set upon his neighbour as a fair adversary, giving him an opportunity to defend himself, but smites him secretly (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast,.... See Lev 18:23, and all the people shall say Amen; as being shocking and abhorrent to human nature.
These crimes not only exposed men to the sword of the magistrate ( Lev. xx. 11 ), but, which is more dreadful, to the wrath of God; bestiality likewise,
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the L ORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. A general charge to the people to keep God's commandments; for in vain did they know them, unless they would do them. This is pressed upon them, 1.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָר֕וּר | ʾarur | [is] cursed | H779 → | 63 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֖ב | shokhev | [one who] lies | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֑ה | behemah | animal | H929 → | 190 times |
| וְאָמַ֥ר | veamar | and it will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אָמֵֽן׃ ס | ʾamen | amen | H543 → | 30 times |
אָר֕וּר[is] cursed
ʾarurH779 →63 times
שֹׁכֵ֖ב[one who] lies
shokhevH7901 →212 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּהֵמָ֑הanimal
behemahH929 →190 times
וְאָמַ֥רand it will say
veamarH559 →5305 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אָמֵֽן׃ סamen
ʾamenH543 →30 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 20:15If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:23
You 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 22:19
Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:23
Through
Leviticus 18:23You 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.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:15–16
If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 20:12
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.
- Leviticus 20:15–16
Through
Exodus 22:19Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:25
Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.
- Leviticus 18:25
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.