Leviticus 24:16
in Leviticus 24Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he that blasphemeth the name of Jehovah, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the sojourner, as the home-born, when he blasphemeth the name of Jehovah, shall be put to death.
KJV
And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
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This verse in Leviticus 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWe take up the name of God in vain through uttering of blasphemous speech; and this occurs in three ways: first, when someone, speaking of God, uses cursing speech, as when he curses God. The second mode is through mendacious speech, when someone denies what …
This site's exposition
Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin
on Leviticus 24:15-16
The case produces a statute and the statute is given twice, once as a general rule and once with the penalty attached. Bearing his own sin is the language used of a man who has no sacrifice to carry it for him. The rule binds the stranger on the same terms as the homeborn, and the first man it falls on is the son of a foreigner. Matthew 26:65 has the high priest tearing his clothes and naming this charge at the trial of Jesus, and John 10:33 has the same charge in the mouths of men already holding stones.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He that was put to death for blasphemy is said to bear his sin, in the punishment of it; no sacrifice being appointed, on the head of which the sin might be transferred, he himself was to bear it upon his own head, as a sacrifice to divine justice.
He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord - This is a repetition of the same sin in other words, which is common. As this law is laid down in general terms, ver. 15, so both the sin and the punishment are particularly expressed, ver. 16.
And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Blasphemeth the name of the Lord - ונקב שם יהוה venokeb shem Yehovah, he who pierces, transfixes, or, as some translate it, expounds, the name of Jehovah; see the note on Lev 24:10. This being the name by which especially the Divine Essence was pointed out, it should be held peculiarly sacred. We have already seen that the Jews never pronounce this name, and so long has it been disused among them that the true pronunciation is now totally lost; See on the word Jehovah, Exo 6:3 (note).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death--Although strangers were not obliged to be circumcised, yet by joining the Israelitish camp, they became amenable to the law, especially that which related to blasphemy.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Stranger - i. e. foreigner. See Lev 16:29 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
ונשא חטאו [WHOSOEVER EXECRATETH HIS GOD] SHALL BEAR HIS SIN — i. e. shall be punished with excision if there was no legal warning preceding the offence (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19; cf. Rashi on Leviticus:27).
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. 5 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנֹקֵ֤ב | venokev | and [one who] slanders | H5344 → | 19 times |
| שֵׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מ֣וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָ֔ת | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| רָג֥וֹם | ragom | certainly <to stone> | H7275 → | 16 times |
| יִרְגְּמוּ־ | yirgemu- | they will stone | H7275 → | 16 times |
| ב֖וֹ | vo | <in> <the> him | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעֵדָ֑ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| כַּגֵּר֙ | kager | as the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| כָּֽאֶזְרָ֔ח | kaezrach | as the native-born | H249 → | 17 times |
| בְּנָקְבוֹ־ | benakvo- | when slanders he | H5344 → | 19 times |
| שֵׁ֖ם | shem | [the] name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יוּמָֽת׃ | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְנֹקֵ֤בand [one who] slanders
venokevH5344 →19 times
שֵׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מ֣וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָ֔תhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
רָג֥וֹםcertainly <to stone>
ragomH7275 →16 times
יִרְגְּמוּ־they will stone
yirgemu-H7275 →16 times
ב֖וֹ<in> <the> him
vo
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעֵדָ֑הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
כַּגֵּר֙as the sojourner
kagerH1616 →92 times
כָּֽאֶזְרָ֔חas the native-born
kaezrachH249 →17 times
בְּנָקְבוֹ־when slanders he
benakvo-H5344 →19 times
שֵׁ֖ם[the] name
shemH8034 →864 times
יוּמָֽת׃he will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
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
Matthew 12:31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
it leads to
- Luke 12:10
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
- Mark 3:28–30
Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
- Hebrews 10:29
How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of…
- Hebrews 10:26
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Luke 12:10
Through
1 Timothy 1:13I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.
it leads to
- Acts 8:3
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
- 1 Peter 2:10
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
- Hebrews 6:4–8
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- Acts 8:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.