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Leviticus 20:6

in Leviticus 20

Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

KJV

And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

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This verse in Leviticus 20

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Those do so who turn after those that deal in the black art, and know the depths of Satan. This is spiritual adultery as much as idolatry is, giving that honour to the devil which is due to God only; and the jealous God will give a bill of divorce to those that thus go a whoring from him, and will cut them off, they having first cut themselves off from him.

This site's exposition

the soul that turneth after such

on Leviticus 20:6-8

The list of penalties breaks off here for two verses about holiness. Turning after those that have familiar spirits is called going a whoring after them, the same words used of Molech in verse 5, so the text treats the practice as unfaithfulness rather than as a technique. Verses 7 and 8 then put both halves of holiness side by side, sanctify yourselves and I am the LORD which sanctify you, and Gill reads the first as the separation a man makes and the second as the work God does in him.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Familiar spirits - See the notes on Lev 19:31; and Exo 22:18 (note).

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְהַנֶּ֗פֶשׁand the person

    vehanefeshH5315 →754 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • תִּפְנֶ֤הit will turn

    tifnehH6437 →135 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הָֽאֹבֹת֙the necromancers

    haovotH178 →17 times

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔יםthe soothsayers

    haiyideonimH3049 →11 times

  • לִזְנ֖וֹתto act as a prostitute

    liznotH2181 →94 times

  • אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑םafter them

    ʾachareihemH310 →715 times

  • וְנָתַתִּ֤יand I will set

    venatatiH5414 →2011 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • פָּנַי֙face my

    panaiH6440 →2123 times

  • בַּנֶּ֣פֶשׁon the person

    banefeshH5315 →754 times

  • הַהִ֔וא<the> that

    hahiv'H1931 →1879 times

  • וְהִכְרַתִּ֥יand I will cut off

    vehikhratiH3772 →288 times

  • אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • מִקֶּ֥רֶבfrom among

    mikerevH7130 →227 times

  • עַמּֽוֹ׃people his

    amoH5971 →1873 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 8:19When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?18 works1 Chronicles 10:13So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,14 worksLeviticus 19:31You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.10 worksExodus 22:18You must not allow a sorceress to live.9 works1 Samuel 15:23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”9 worksMalachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.6 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Leviticus 20:27A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”6 works1 Peter 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”6 worksDeuteronomy 18:10–14Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,5 worksPsalms 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.4 worksEzekiel 6:9Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.4 worksExodus 34:15–16Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.4 worksNumbers 15:39These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.4 worksHosea 4:12My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.4 worksLeviticus 19:26You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.4 works2 Chronicles 33:6He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.4 worksActs 8:9Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,4 worksIsaiah 2:6For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east; they are soothsayers like the Philistines; they strike hands with the children of foreigners.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 8:19

    When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 33:6

      He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Leviticus 19:31

      You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 10:13

      So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

    • Psalms 106:28

      They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.

    • 1 Samuel 28:8

      So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring…

  • Through

    Leviticus 19:31

    You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 8:19

      When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    • Leviticus 20:27

      A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

    • Leviticus 20:6–7

      Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

About Leviticus

Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Leviticus: the study guide →Read Leviticus 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Leviticus 20 →