Leviticus 20:13
in Leviticus 20If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
KJV
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man lies with his father’s wife
on Leviticus 20:11-13
Three offenses from chapter 18 receive the same sentence and the same closing words, "their blood is upon them". The formula lays the guilt of the execution on the offender, and the court that carries it out bears none.
This site's exposition
they have both committed an abomination
Leviticus 18:22 forbade this act and called it an abomination, and this verse attaches the penalty. The word both places the guilt on each man alike.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If a man lie also with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
משכבי אשה means he inserts as a brush into a tube [i.e. in the manner of marital intercourse].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֗ישׁ | veish | and a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִשְׁכַּ֤ב | yishkav | he will lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זָכָר֙ | zakhar | a male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י | mishkevei | [the] lyings of | H4904 → | 46 times |
| אִשָּׁ֔ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| תּוֹעֵבָ֥ה | toevah | an abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| עָשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | they have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם | sheneihem | both of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מ֥וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָ֖תוּ | yumatu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| דְּמֵיהֶ֥ם | demeihem | blood<s> their | H1818 → | 360 times |
| בָּֽם׃ | bam | [are] on <the> them |
וְאִ֗ישׁand a man
veishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִשְׁכַּ֤בhe will lie with
yishkavH7901 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זָכָר֙a male
zakharH2145 →82 times
מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י[the] lyings of
mishkeveiH4904 →46 times
אִשָּׁ֔הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
תּוֹעֵבָ֥הan abomination
toevahH8441 →117 times
עָשׂ֖וּthey have done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
שְׁנֵיהֶ֑םboth of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
מ֥וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָ֖תוּthey will be put to death
yumatuH4191 →839 times
דְּמֵיהֶ֥םblood<s> their
demeihemH1818 →360 times
בָּֽם׃[are] on <the> them
bam
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
it leads to
- Galatians 5:19–21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:22
You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 1:9–10
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers,
- Ephesians 5:4–5
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Galatians 5:19–21
Through
Leviticus 18:22You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.
it leads to
- Romans 1:26–27
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- 1 Timothy 1:10
for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- Romans 1:26–27
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.